What works for you may not work for someone else.
Look for a style that fits you!
For my background, take a look here.
The search for your new therapist:
You may think that it’s going to be hard to find a therapist who is right for you, who understands and can help with your problems. For some people, the very idea of revealing very personal emotional information about yourself to a stranger can be so scary that they never get around to making that first call.
Those are very normal feelings. Even people who have seen a therapist before (and even therapists themselves!) can feel a little anxious about contacting someone new. And – there’s a good reason for that. Research has shown that, while a therapist’s experience, techniques, and general competence are important, they are not the most important factors in successful therapeutic outcomes.
According to a number of studies, the most significant predictor of a successful result in therapy is the connection between the client and the therapist. While you can read through this website for information, research my training, experience, and theoretical orientation, the one thing you can’t know from just reading is – will you feel as though I can help you? The only way you can determine that is by talking with and meeting me!
However, to prepare you for that first conversation, I’d like to offer you a little more information about my therapeutic style – how I think and work.
My approach and style:
People who are uncomfortable asking for help tend to find my office a safe and comfortable place to take that risk. This is, for me, a collaborative process. You are the one who gets to decide how much of your story, your concerns, you are comfortable sharing during a session. My style is interactive and my approach to therapy is eclectic – integrative. This means that I make use of strategies and thoughts from a variety of sources that are appropriate to your needs at the time.
I believe therapy must be a collaboration. If you’re not sure why you are feeling the way you do and what you’d like to see happen, we can work together to figure it out. If you have a specific outcome you’d like to see as a result of your therapy, we’ll work together to accomplish that goal.
My training and practice are grounded in systems theory. I believe that your history and current experiences in your family and in your world are important and help to shape the person you are today. In addition, I know that current relationships can suffer, if you haven’t yet made peace with some old and still-happening life challenges.
How you learned to cope with anger, sadness, the challenges your family may have presented – all of this may be impacting you today, as you try to improve your professional and personal relationships. Coping skills you learned as a child may no longer work for you. Dealing with life’s challenges can be lonely, if you’re missing the emotional support you need. Routine communication can be so difficult if you are feeling stressed, angry, and without options.
In addition, in my experience, many people, as they struggle to deal with life’s challenges, say that too many things are changing too fast – and they just feel overwhelmed with the changes life has been presenting lately. Sometimes, people can’t even explain the problem (to me or to themselves) – they just know they aren’t getting along the way they’d like to.
With a collaborative approach to therapy, I can help you identify the reasons for your struggles. Working together, we can explore and resolve old/unfinished issues that keep you from having the quality of life you crave. Together we can develop a personalized toolbox of strategies to help you reduce anger and anxiety and develop more effective communication skills that can result in better relationships.
Please contact me if you have questions, would like to make an appointment, or to schedule a free phone consultation.
For information about my professional affiliations and to check out my license, take a look here: Affiliations.