New to Therapy?

I'm not gonna lie to you -- therapy isn't magic. It's often pretty hard work, and the payoff is priceless. I love what I do. To witness and help people transform their lives is one of the great privileges of my life.

The Therapeutic Process and the Therapeutic Relationship are complex things. Who I am and who you are greatly affect the course of treatment and the relationship we establish. For me, the therapeutic alliance is a collaboration -- You hold great responsibility in working toward your goals, and generally speaking, I believe you usually get out of it what you put into it. We will work together to find out what will best lead you to better mental and physical health, improvements in your relationships, as well as to an overall better sense of well-being.   

Ups & downs of Therapy

Therapy can assist you in working toward developing and acquiring insight and skills which can lead to a more desirable and/or functional way of life. This implies change. Although change often results in desired benefits, change can also yield repercussions that you may be surprised by and/or have difficulty managing. Some examples may be feelings of sadness, loneliness, anxiety, frustration, anger, or guilt. It is also possible to experience resistance within current relationships as you move toward change. While predicting such occurrences is impossible, it is important to realize there is a potential for these feelings or issues to surface. Know that you will be supported in working through these experiences should any arise.

How long will this take?

Therapy can be short or long-term. Time frame can be difficult to determine and depends on the nature and depth of the issues presented as well as on how the course of treatment is progressing. My personal goal is to foster and enable the development of skills and knowledge that will be useful and beneficial to you in your everyday life. I encourage discussion at any and all times when you, the client, would like to discuss goals specific to length of treatment. This type of discussion may include the issue of termination of therapy, and yes, termination is a goal! Termination of therapy tends to be a joint decision and may be brought to the discussion table at any point by either me or you.