I view therapy as a safe place to explore relationships, whether those relationships are with people (family, co-workers, partner) or things (food, money, alcohol). I also feel an important part of therapy is addressing the social, economic, and cultural influences on a person and that the process of therapy should be a collaborative one, with the client seen as the expert on their life.

Some examples of what you might want to choose to focus on are relationships, career dissatisfaction, self-esteem, overwhelm, or how perfectionism is impacting your life. Are there “What if’s?” you think about that make you feel worried? Decreasing fear of failure is a useful goal in these scenarios as is exploring how any of these issues might relate to feelings of anxiety and depression. Topics of exploration in couples therapy sessions might include parenting strategies, the impact of the commuter regularly leaving and returning, resentment, dual career challenges, and stress management techniques. I’m curious what clients want to change as well as what is going well in their lives. What are your strengths and who is part of your support network are just a few of the questions I ask when getting to know clients.

Confidentiality: Dialogue between you and the counselor is held in strict confidence. No information about your therapy (discussions and written records) can be released without written consent from you the client(s).

Exceptions to Confidentiality: State law requires that all mental health workers must report suspected child abuse, suspected elder abuse, suspected dependent adult abuse, and serious threats of physical violence to another person. All mental health workers have the right to break confidentiality to prevent a threatened suicide or when a client presents a general danger to self, to others, to property, or is gravely disabled.

The Process of Therapy: Participation in therapy can result in a number of benefits to you, including improving interpersonal relationships and resolution of the specific concerns that led you to seek therapy. I work in a collaborative style and consider you the expert on your life. As such, I will ask about your personal strengths and times a problem wasn’t a problem in order to build on what is working well. I also feel it is important to look at how societal and cultural expectations may be impacting the problem. I will ask for your feedback and views about your therapy and its progress. During therapy, remembering or talking about unpleasant events, feelings, or thoughts can sometimes result in your experiencing considerable discomfort or strong feelings. I may propose different ways of looking at, thinking about, or handling situations, which may cause you to feel upset, disappointed, hopeful, or relieved. Attempting to resolve issues that brought you to therapy in the first place may result in changes that were not originally intended. Psychotherapy may result in decisions about changing behaviors, employment, substance use, or relationships. Sometimes a decision that is viewed as positive for one family member may be viewed differently by another family member. Change will sometimes be easy and quick, but it also may be slow. There is no guarantee that psychotherapy will yield positive or intended results. Sometimes more than one approach can be helpful in dealing with a certain situation and during the course of therapy I am likely to draw on various psychological approaches according, in part, to the issue(s) being addressed in therapy. These approaches include Post-modern (solution-focused and narrative), cognitive-behavioral, object-relations, family systems, psycho-educational, and behavioral.