13 Years of Experience Helping People with:
Relationship Difficulties & Conflict, Emotional Distress,
Depression, Anxiety, Women’s Issues, Transitions,
Separation & Divorce, Family Blending, Adult Student Issues,
Grief & Loss, Family-of-Origin, Multi-Cultural issues
With over 13 years of counseling experience, I help individuals and couples solve problems in a way that equips them to better handle future problems on their own.
People are relationally interconnected, that is, the actions of one person affect the actions of the other. At times these interconnections can be problematic, and professional counseling specifically tailored to the person or couple’s unique situation can be instrumental in forging a new path with an old problem.
Counseling needs to be safe and nonjudgmental, a place to freely express your thoughts, feelings, disappointments, and fears, as well as your hopes. My goal is to provide you personalized and compassionate care that is practical, care that is active and problem-solving in focus, and care that is couched within a respectful counseling relationship where we work together to reach your goals.
How do you know if Counseling could help you?
Common distress signals are:
- Emotional distress when talking about a close relationship, a family member, or other important interpersonal relationship.
- Unexplainable fatigue or pain.
- Persistent feelings of loneliness, depression, anxiety, isolation, moodiness.
- Significant disruption in daily patterns such as work, leisure, eating or sleeping habits, or social involvement.
- Trouble healing from past hurts.
- Ongoing problems in decision-making, or difficulty achieving goals.
- Difficulty concentrating, keeping focus, or persistent problems in academic studies.
- Feelings of dissatisfaction in a relationship, marriage, family, work, or other relationship.
- Questions about life and spirituality.
Nature of Counseling & the Counseling Relationship
Blending problem exploration with an active, problem-solving approach, I integrate ideas from cognitive-behavioral (CBT), family systems, solution focus, narrative, and family-of-origin counseling models.
Both short and longer-term therapy is available. Short-term therapy (1- 15 sessions) addresses immediate problems and reduces overall distress so that you can return to your normal or previous level of functioning. Longer-term therapy (6 to 12+ months) allows more time for deeper insight and growth and can be appropriate for problems that are long-standing.
Length & Frequency of Sessions
Sessions are usually 50 minutes and usually occur once weekly. During a time of crisis, sessions can be more frequent if needed. Toward the end of the therapy process, sessions may be every 2 or more weeks.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is extremely important to the counseling process. All communications and all records are protected according to ethical and legal standards.
What to Expect . . . in the First Session
- Initial consultation and understanding of the concerns that bring you to counseling.
- Exploring what solution or goals would best address your concerns.
- Rough estimate of the probable length of the therapy.
- Consideration of other treatment options if applicable.
. . . Throughout the Counseling
We will work together to explore your situation and consider the options for dealing with it. There may be homework suggestions. While working on your goals together, we will periodically review the progress in order to keep the counseling on track.
. . . Finishing the Counseling
You will know the time is right to end the counseling when you see that you have met your goals. It is to your advantage to end counseling with a ‘closing session’ in order to consolidate your progress and orient toward the future. A ‘follow-up’ or ‘check-in session’ down the road is always available. Following the end of the counseling, a Feedback Questionnaire is offered to those wishing to share their thoughts.
Call now for a free on-the-spot consultation:
214-498-8067
