Services

*

Services *

Individual Counseling

Everyone experiences challenging periods in their lives, and therapy can often be helpful during those times.
Individual counseling can help you to: gain better control over unwanted emotions or thoughts, learn new ways to cope with anxiety, stress, depression, and urges to engage in problematic behaviors, improve your ability to resolve problems, increase insight into the causes of current challenges, replace problematic behaviors with new, more helpful behaviors, improve your self-esteem, better understand yourself, your values and your identity, improve your current relationships and/or build new relationships, and/or cope with grief and loss.

EMDR

EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is an evidence-based therapy developed by Francine Shapiro that is helpful in the treatment of trauma and anxiety. The premise of this therapy is that some traumatic or difficult situations are too overwhelming for the brain to process, and EMDR helps the brain to reprocess these events effectively. EMDR reprocessing works by focusing on an aspect of a distressing memory while doing eye movements from side-to-side, feeling alternating vibrations in your hands, and/or hearing alternating tones. This process allows the brain to heal trauma and gain insight into the situation.

Teen Counseling

Adolescence is often a tumultuous stage of our development. Most teens struggle with their identities. At the same time, they also face the task of learning to balance the desire for more freedom while taking on more responsibilities. Therapy could be beneficial to your teen during this period by helping them to: better identify their values and understand themselves, improve self-esteem, learn to communicate more effectively with family members, friends, teachers or coaches, boost confidence, improve problem-solving skills, learn skills to cope with difficult emotions, improve resiliency to life’s challenges, and/or balance the demands of school, extra-curricular and home life.

Family Counseling

All families experience stressors. Because families are made up of unique individuals that often have differing needs, opinions, values and priorities, dealing with these stressors can be confusing and lead to conflicts among members. Family counseling can be effective for: improving communication between family members, helping family members come to terms with one of the members’ illness, addiction or death, facilitating successful blending of families, providing support to family members during a difficult transition such as divorce or a move, resolving conflicts, and/or helping with parenting issues, such as setting healthy boundaries with children.

FAQs

  • If you are interested in learning more about therapy and how it might work for you, please call or e-mail me and we can schedule a free phone consultation to discuss your situation and goals. During the phone consultation I will: ask you a few questions to get a better idea of what you are seeking help with, provide specific details about what treatment approach I am considering in addressing your goals, briefly explain the assessment and treatment process, and determine together with you if we are a good fit. If we decide to work together, the next step would be scheduling an initial appointment. If it is decided that your treatment needs would best be addressed by another type of specialist, I may provide you with a referral.

  • Therapy is a collaborative process between a client and a therapist in which the therapist provides feedback, education and coaching to support the client in attaining their goals and resolving the problems that led them to seek therapy. Generally, the first few sessions of therapy are devoted to assessment and education. Assessment is a process in which the therapist asks you questions about your problem, the history of the problem and for specific details about how the problem is impacting your life. Assessment usually includes one or several questionnaires that ask about specific emotions, behaviors or symptoms. Education is a process in which the therapist provides you with information about your problem and/or the approach(es) that the therapist will take in addressing your specific treatment goals.

  • Shortly after we schedule an initial appointment, I will send you a packet of forms to complete. I will ask you to bring the completed forms to our first session so that we can spend more time getting to know one another and beginning the therapy process. If you are using health insurance for therapy, bringing your insurance card will be helpful. Many people find taking notes during therapy helps them to better remember and reflect on the sessions, so bringing paper or a notebook and a pen is an option.

  • If you would feel more comfortable having the support of a friend or other loved one in your initial session, or the sessions that follow, please feel free to bring them along. I am here to support you in overcoming your challenges in whatever way that will be most effective for you. Please inform me ahead of time if you are planning to bring someone with you to your session.