My Approach to Helping
Sometimes things seem to go just right while at other times there is a sense of coming up short. Sometimes we face life achievements and experience disappointment in situations, others, and often ourselves that can seem overwhelming. We often enter therapy to regain or perhaps gain a better sense of ourselves as capable persons able to achieve the accommodations required for our own sense of a fulfilling life. And not many want a non-fulfilling life. We can often ask do these difficulties lay within me, the people I choose to exchange in loving relationships, or due directly to unplanned life circumstances. Unfortunately, these many issues cannot seem to be solved with the persons close to us due to various reasons. The privacy of therapy can facilitate open self-understanding. My therapy is private and confidential.
Aren’t we all so complex? It would be my hope you would experience a sense of being understood and my ability to explore possibilities of new perspectives or resources. With self-reflection most are able to achieve even more insight often, involving an understanding of our pasts, that empowers one to act in new and refreshing ways or engage in those activities related to their newfound alternatives of mind and behavior.
More Info About My Practice
Psychotherapy is a collaborative treatment based on the relationship between an individual and a therapist. Grounded in dialogue, it provides a supportive environment that allows you to talk openly with someone who’s objective, neutral, and nonjudgmental. You and your therapist will work together to identify and change the thought and behavior patterns that are keeping you from feeling your best.
Psychotherapy and other treatment options
Psychotherapy can be used as an alternative to or alongside medication and other treatment options. Choosing the right treatment plan should be based on a person's individual needs and medical situation and occur under the guidance of a mental health professional.
Even when medication relieves symptoms, psychotherapy can help a person address specific issues. These might include self-defeating ways of thinking, irrational fears, problems interacting with other people, or difficulty coping with situations at home, school, or work.
Elements of psychotherapy
A variety of psychotherapies and interventions have shown effectiveness in treating mental health disorders. Often, the type of treatment is tailored to the specific disorder. For example, the treatment approach for someone who has obsessive-compulsive disorder is different than the approach for someone who has bipolar disorder. Therapists may use one primary approach or incorporate other elements depending on their training, the disorder being treated, and the needs of the person receiving treatment.
Elements of psychotherapy can include:
Helping a person become aware of automatic ways of thinking that are inaccurate or harmful (for example, having a low opinion of their abilities) and then finding ways to question those thoughts, understand how the thoughts affect their emotions and behavior, and change self-defeating patterns, in an approach known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Identifying ways to cope with stress and developing specific problem-solving strategies
Examining a person’s interactions with others and teaching social and communication skills
Applying mindfulness and relaxation techniques, such as meditation and breathing exercises
Using exposure therapy (a type of CBT) for people with anxiety disorders, in which a person spends brief periods in a supportive environment learning to tolerate the distress caused by certain items, ideas, or imagined scenes until, over time, the fear associated with those things dissipates
Tracking emotions and behaviors to raise awareness of their impact on each other
Using supportive counseling to help a person explore troubling issues and receive emotional support
Creating a safety plan to help a person who has thoughts of self-harm or suicide recognize warning signs and use coping strategies, such as contacting friends, family, or emergency personnel
The Duration and Frequency of Therapy
How Long Does It Take to See Results in Therapy?
Most of us go into therapy hoping to see results. Basically, regardless of what mental health condition prompted us to seek therapy, our end goal is to feel happier, more emotionally balanced, and better equipped to function and thrive.
Those of us who are dealing with an acute issue?such as an eating disorder, a psychotic episode, an addiction, or a recent loss?may be looking for immediate relief of the worst of our symptoms. Those of us who have lived with a mental health condition for years, such as anxiety or depression, may be looking for more long-term solutions for healing.
Either way, we want to know how soon we should expect to see any change in the state of our mental health. There is good news on this front. Research has found that most people see some results from therapy pretty soon after starting. According to the American Psychological Association:2
About 50% of people will start to feel better after about 15-20 sessions of therapy
Certain short-term therapy types can produce results in as few as 12-16 sessions
More complex psychological conditions, and certain personality disorders, may require lengthier treatments (between 12-18 months)
People with chronic conditions may need longer and more extensive treatment?this may depend on personal preference or recommendation from a therapist or psychiatrist
Seeing results and feeling better means making the commitment to therapy, and sticking with it, however long it takes. Unfortunately, many people end up dropping out of therapy before they see results. For example, one study found that up to 1 in 5 people (20%) drop of therapy prematurely.
Clinicians who offer sliding scale payment structures may offer lower or reduced fees based on an individual's ability to pay. Please contact this clinician for more details regarding their fees or sliding scale policy.