About Therapy

This is what therapy is… in a nutshell.

It’s meeting and working with a specialist to solve various issues.

Therapy can help any number of problems, including personal feelings, relationship challenges, stress, anxiety, depression, or the ups and downs of daily life.

Like many, you might think that counseling is something you do in response to a crisis. It can be helpful during a crisis, of course, but seeking therapy actually allows you to do more meaningful work.

Therapy is about self-improvement, discovering who you really are, and finding relief from gnawing anxiety or despair.

I believe you can live fully and feel peace and confidence.

Therapy can provide you with many benefits to improving your quality of life.

From our work together, you can develop healthy coping skills whenever you feel stressed or overwhelmed.

I’ll be in your corner: I will listen to you, ask exploring questions, and then work with you to find solutions to the challenges you’re facing.

You can also achieve your desired goals resulting in higher self-esteem and confidence to continue challenging yourself and living your best life.

I’ll help you overcome the past: sometimes issues, experiences, and events from the past get in the way of your present. By providing trauma-informed therapy, we can address the root cause together, allowing you to move forward.

We’ll also work to improve your relationships – the relationships we have with others can significantly impact our quality of life… they can really drag us down or make us feel better. In therapy, you can improve your relationship with others.

We’ll not only improve your relationship with others, but we’ll improve your relationship with yourself. Learning who you are, what you want and need, and expressing this effectively to others, while also learning how to treat yourself with compassion and take care of yourself.

Therapy helps you understand how your thoughts, feelings, and behavior impact your body – learn to listen to the invitations and messages the body has for you.

If you’re uncertain about starting therapy, I understand…

I was in that same boat myself (and I was a therapist at the time!). I was scared to go in and tell someone I didn’t know how I was feeling.

From the outside, it may look like you have it all together.

So… letting someone know what is going on inside feels intimidating and downright terrifying. Because I have been in your shoes entering a therapy room for the first time, I know how important it is to create a space where you feel comfortable and welcome. I will do everything I can in this first session to create this experience for you.

Let’s ease your mind by exploring the good things you’ll get from therapy.

Service

Always remember: My primary goal is to help you. We will work together to minimize your anxiety and make your brain more resilient.

Discovering a deep sense of value and worth is possible. We will find ways to get you “unstuck” from the gray clouds of depression.

Empathy

Empathy is about seeking to understand you. I focus my time and energy on you during session. I am deeply interested in you as an individual and will see and relate to you in ways that are tailored to you.

In session, you can expect that I will listen by placing myself in your world and connecting with your pain – it as if it were my own. Outside of the therapy room, you may have to keep on a brave face. Together in session, though, is a time for acknowledging and feeling. I will stay with you in your pain, and together we will discover the way toward healing.

Control

I believe you have the capacity to control and make decisions for your own life. You decide when and what you are ready to change.

In session, we will go at your pace.

I will ask permission before we dive into painful or challenging topics.

You are in control of the process.

Dignity

I believe each person has intrinsic value and worth… and that means you!

In therapy sessions, I will actively listen to your struggles, shame, and embarrassing thoughts and/or behavior… judgment-free. We all have done or experienced things that are hard to admit. It does not change your value as a person.

I will treat you with care and compassion, being mindful of individual and cultural differences.

Tools

I know you’re seeking therapy because you want to feel better. I take this responsibility seriously.

We’ll spend time in the first session getting a clear picture of what you want to be different and define goals. From there, we will lay out a path to “living above normal.”

To get there, we might need to take a look at your past to understand your present. Or, it might be sufficient to explore your current stresses, thoughts, and behaviors.

Either way, you will leave sessions with practical tools and insight to bring about the permanent change you desire. Imagine being about to change the channel on your worry, enjoy social settings, engage in relationships, recognize when your brain creates a fear response, and you know exactly what to do to minimize it. Imagine being active again, feeling motivated to the things you use to enjoy.

A few of the tools we’ll utilize are mindfulness, effective journaling skills, breathing skills, sleep training, thought stopping, re-wiring the brain, and activity planning.

Relationship

Relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for change, which is why the success of our therapeutic relationship (why you’ll either improve or fail to improve) depends on that relationship. This is confirmed by research.

That’s why I focus all of our session time and energy on YOU. There is a regular dialogue about how you are experiencing the therapy process, what you find helpful, and what I may need to adjust.

Let’s work together to get you soaring to new heights!

Here are just a few common themes I hear from the clients I work with:

You are so calming.

I have never been able to say that out loud.

I really like having goals and direction for therapy.

I have never done so much work with a therapist before.

I am already feeling so much better.

I truly believe people can soar above ordinary life and experience their own transcendence and lightness. I would love to start helping you soar!

Now… take that next step. Call me at (615) 219-9932 for a free 20-minute phone consultation.