About Counseling

So why is talking to a stranger helpful?

The idea of going to counseling to spend time and money to talk to a stranger about your most intimate and personal stuff can feel unnatural and even a little scary.  So why do so many people do it and why does it work?

Here are a few reasons.

The saying, “You can’t see the forest through the trees” can be so true!

A therapist helps you see the things causing you trouble that you may not be able to see yourself because you’re just too close. Counseling can give you new perspectives on yourself, your problems and your relationships. This can provide you with clarity and new solutions that may have seemed hidden or out of reach before. Most often the answers and solutions come from you.  Gaining new perspectives helps us find them.

Why not just talk to friends or family?

A therapist is not supposed to replace friends or family. In fact, in counseling a therapist can help you improve those relationships. But friends and family usually can’t provide you with the unbiased relationship and environment that allows you to gain clarity and and make the best changes for yourself that a therapist can. As much as friends and family can be loving and supportive, they will always have their own agenda for you. Often its just that they want you to be ok. But sometimes we need to address things about ourselves and our lives without worrying about how it will affect our loved ones. A therapist can provide that space for you. In therapy is ok to not be ok. We can take it.

Is counseling a good investment of my time and money?

I know everyone’s time and money are precious and itis important to me that our time together is helpful, effective and meets your individual needs. For this reason I practice a Solution Focused and Strengths Based approach as well as Mindfulness and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy because these approaches are well research and are shown to produce positive results.  Using  these individualized approaches that are backed by research gives us the best chance of being successful in addressing your unique needs and getting beneficial results.

Benefits of professionalism

Seeing a professional can be a really good thing for all the above reasons, as well as some additional ethical and legal reasons.  Therapists are guided by a code of ethics and laws that help ensure that each client’s unique needs and rights are considered and the therapeutic experience is empowering and respectful. Therapists are clinically trained to help you make the changes that are right for you and provide unconditional and nonjudgmental support through difficult times. We are also legally responsible for maintaining confidentiality so you can be confident that your privacy is protected. The only reason this would not apply would be in certain circumstances to protect your safety or the safety of others. This can be clarified and discussed at anytime.