Individual Therapy

The problems that bring people to therapy are almost always a combination of life’s hardships and ways of coping that are no longer working. While therapy is no guarantee against misfortune, what it can do is change the way you think about and respond to life’s challenges.  A key to this process, and to overall mental health is self-acceptance, a deep awareness that while problems and symptoms may hurt you, they don’t define you.

Just as we develop ways of coping within our early family relationships, it is in relationship that we can change them. Your relationship with me as your therapist will be both like and unlike other relationships.It will be alike in that the way you relate with me, inevitably will be similar to the way you relate to other people in your life outside. It will be different in that it will be exclusively focussed on you and your goals, and our interactions will take place in the therapy sessions.

As your counselor, I will work together with you to understand your symptoms in the context of your life as a whole.Does your depression coincide with a particular event or series of stressful events, like the birth of a child, the loss of a job, or marriage problems? Is your anxiety always present, or is it triggered in social situations or when you have experiences that remind you of a past traumatic event?  Is your stress stemming from marriage or other relationship problems? Does the same theme seem to repeat itself in your close, social and work relationships? What we learn from understanding your symptoms in the broad context of your life history, will help determine what you need, the path your therapy should follow.

You may need to come to therapy for a few months to sort some things out, or for a longer time to make deeper changes in the way you interact with the world. Either way, as a licensed psychologist, I am available to help you on your path to better relationships and a more satisfying life.