I’ve never talked to anyone. I’m used to handling things on my own and I’m not sure therapy is for me?
Everyone needs a little extra help and support sometimes. Part of being strong is having the courage to seek help when you need it. An outside objective person can notice things you may not. When experiencing strong emotions such as depression and anxiety, our minds are more cloudy, confused, and indecisive. During therapy we can discuss evidence-based strategies and tools, to address challenges you are struggling to solve. Therapy can also help uncover your strengths and skills that have worked in the past, and we can become more aware of why they worked, and use them more often. Therapy is an opportunity for you to set time aside just for yourself. How often do you stop your busy life to take care of yourself first, to invest into your knowledge, mental health and well being? Most of us will for our physical health. I want to encourage you to take the time to acknowledge your emotional and mental wellness needs and address them. My job is to help you discover what that truly means to you in your life. By attaining a better understanding of yourself, your values and goals, we can begin to bridge the gap between where your mental wellness stands today and where you would like to be in the future.
What’s the difference between talking to you or my best friend or family?
The therapeutic relationship is fundamentally different than friendship. Therapy is highly confidential, strictly professional with the sole purpose of helping you, and is based on therapeutic principles, structure and technique. As your therapist, I’m objective, unbiased and without judgement. These learned skills I have refined over years of education and experience. I am professionally trained in human behavior, relationship dynamics, and effective interventions that allow me to observe and measure your progress, provide support by helping you develop new problem-solving skills and enhance your coping strategies so you can begin to experience long term real change. Friends become emotionally attached to you and may naturally want to “take your side” even if that means missing the opportunity to help. Their ability to help you is restricted to the nature of your relationship. The therapeutic relationship is a neutral space where you can explore the aspects of self you may not be willing or able to explore within the context of friendship.
How long does therapy last, and how often do I need to attend?
The length of therapy varies for each person. It all depends on what you want and need. Sometimes there is a very specific problem that needs to be solved and might happen in a couple sessions. Or, the problem might be deeper than finding an immediate solution, and you might want to allow yourself more time as therapy could last several months. The duration of therapy is influenced by your needs and expectations, which we will talk about at the beginning. Some other influences that may effect the duration of therapy include symptoms, trauma, habits/patterns, leaning and practicing new skills, and progress towards goals. Keep in mind, the single greatest predictor of positive therapeutic outcomes is the quality of the relationship and rapport you develop with your therapist.
In my practice, we generally create a regular weekly session at first, because the more we measure your progress the more chance you have to obtain success by finding out what is working or not working. If something is not working, we can adjust and modify sooner than later. We can discuss if there are any other goals you would like to address, and adjust our treatment plan as needed. Therapy does not end when there are no more problems, problems are a part of life. Therapy ends once you feel confident about how to handle the problems. As you progress we can discuss reducing the frequency of sessions to biweekly, monthly, as needed, or for an occasional “tune up”. My goal is not to keep you dependent on therapy, but to no longer need it. This means you are empowered with the tools that work for you. Another goal I have, is for change to last or long-term results. We will discuss what makes change last, to reduce the need for returning to therapy.
How do you decide your rates?
My private pay rates are competitive to the area served and the services provided. Rates take into consideration my experience, education, training and credentials. Please note that payment is due in full at the time of service.
Please contact me if you have more questions or would like to schedule an intake appointment.