Claire Zimmerman, Clinical Social Worker in Alpharetta, 30009

Claire Nichols Zimmerman, LCSW, CIRT

Profession(s):
Clinical Social Work
License Status:
I'm a licensed professional.
Primary License:
LCSW - CSW 003018

My Approach to Helping

My approach is based on respecting each person's strengths, wisdom, and unique experience. I strive to be a warm, open-minded, caring, direct clinician who enjoys the use of humor and works to create a safe place to collaboratively help people to better know and understand themselves and their relationships and work on those barriers that prevent them from living as fully as possible.

More Info About My Practice

As a clinical social worker, Certified Imago Relationship Therapist, parent and step-parent in an active step/blended family, I benefit from my formal and informal training and experience. These enhance my ability to help people transform their struggles into growth, to see the potential in their challenges, and to help people find and live from a place of joy. I work with a variety of couples and individuals struggling with relationship difficulties, contemplating separation/divorce, trying to find direction after a life transition, or looking to reconnect and strengthen their relationships. I find it rewarding working with those challenged by infidelity, depression, anxiety, trauma, obesity, and the challenges of blended/step-family life.

Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With

I work with people on relationships and one area in relationships that I feel especially excited about helping people with is step family relationships. I am a parent and step-parent in a blended family, and I know that some of the challenges in those types of family structures are unique. The regular couples' challenges are there and are made more complicated by ex-spouses or children, or grief and loss. All those great parenting programs out there don't quite fit. The feelings and alliances are complicated. And while I don't want to pretend that know everything about anybody's experience with this, I do know enough to know that it's different. Along those same lines I think having been in a situation in which I struggled with divorce in the past helps me to empathize with people's difficulties as they contemplate this choice. I am a strong advocate of working on a healthy committed realtionship, but am compassionate towards people who find themselves at difficult, painful junctures in their relationships.

Importance of the Client-Therapist Alliance

Therapy is a process and the fit between the therapist and client is essential to that process. In order to grow you have to be vulnerable and you can't do that if you don't feel safe and connected to the person who is there to help you with that. I believe that one reason that people who I have worked with are able to connect with me is that I am warm and nonjudemental. I like to laugh when there's a good time to do that. I am direct and I will give you feedback. I work hard to convey the fact that I am open to your feedback regarding my part in our work as well. I can comfortably hear from you if something isn't working.

Services I Provide

Individual Therapy & Counseling
Marriage, Couples, or Relationship Counseling
Family Therapy
Group Therapy
Clinical Supervision

Ages I Work With

Adults
Elders

Languages I Speak

English

Groups I Work With

Non-traditional couples, Step-families, Families struggling with mental health challenges, couples recovering from affairs, people struggling with obesity.