How do I know if I need therapy?

Sometimes it’s hard to tell. We can help with that.

Are you experiencing any of the following?

  • Addiction or substance use (poor coping skills, lack of resources or support)

  • Career-related stress (job instability or dissatisfaction, poor work performance)

  • Difficulty coping with mental illness (affects and behaviors that won’t subside)

  • Grief, loss, bereavement issues (prolonged grief, difficulty adjusting to life, lingering saddness)

  • Life-transitions & adjustment delays (co-dependency issues, medical-environmental challenges)

  • Meaningless or purposeless (feeling lost, confused or stuck in one’s life)

  • Relationship Issues (poor communication skills, unmet needs, attachment-based issues) 

  • Trauma-related symptoms (hypervigilance, distrubed thoughts, impaired functioning) 

  • Other

Did you notice any of the following changes?

Inability to work or go to school

Hospitalization or somatic symptoms

Difficulty in relationships or taking care of children

Fatigue, overwhelm, or hopelessness

Increased risk of health issues

Other

If so, you might benefit from
individual therapy.

How does adult therapy work?

Upon booking an appointment with the therapist best suited to your needs, we meet with you for an initial 50 minute session. During this appointment, we establish a therapeutic rapport with you and observe your initial presentation of symptoms.

The next 2-3 sessions are a continuation of these steps, as well as an opportunity for us to gather more information and form an initial impression of your needs. A treatment plan is then formulated out of which future sessions are designed, and for each session thereafter, clinical interventions are utilized in service of meeting the established treatment goals.

Meeting weekly is our recommended frequency for beginning the process. Meeting in-person is our recommended mode for conducting adult therapy.

What happens
in an adult therapy session?

Seated in comfortable sofas on a private office floor, we hold a clinical frame in mind while you express, explore and process lived (or living) experiences that cause you distress. We work to create the unique, environmental conditions needed for you to feel comfortable in the process of looking more deeply into your life, as well as the conscious and conscious parts of yourself. Where clinically meaningful, we enter the dialogue with you to restructure the meaning of events and help you identify opportunities for different perspectives.

Each session may look different or similar depending on where your focus is. We use your participation in therapy, or the lack thereof, as information to guide the treatment in the direction where it is most needed during a given appointment. All the while, we stay close to your long term goals.

With your treatment objectives in mind, we walk a careful line of being client-lead and clinician informed simultaneously.

Depending on your clinical needs, our methods vary. Sometimes we utilize educational worksheets, videos or the white board for cognitive-behavioral techniques. Sometimes we use insight-oriented methods such as Gestalt's Empty Chair technique, transference or counterference reflections, and dream interpretation. Other times we integrate mindfulness techniques, especially during exposure therapy for treating anxieties or phobias. Essentially, we see your progression through therapy as both an art and a science to be balanced.

You have questions, we have answers

  • The severity of symptoms, the level of need and the rate of progress are all factors which influence the length of therapy. Certainly, therapy beyond what is necessary for your mental health will not be entertained out of respect for your time, finances and independence. When the majority of treatment goals are met, the frequency of therapy may be reduced to bi-weekly, monthly or as needed.

  • Your confidence that we will respect your privacy fosters your willingness to be open and is the best indication that we can help you. In order to earn this trust with you, we practice the following policy on confidentiality:

    All information disclosed within therapy sessions and the written records pertaining to those sessions are kept confidential and may not be revealed to anyone without your written permission except where disclosure is required by law. The circumstances requiring disclosure by law are listed below:

    ABUSE. When there is a reasonable suspicion of child abuse, elder abuse, or abuse of a dependent adult that is physical, sexual, or emotional, we will file a report with the appropriate state agency.

    HARM TO SELF. When the client threatens serious bodily harm to self, we will seek hospitalization for the client and contact family members or others who can help provide safety.

    HARM TO OTHER. When a client threatens serious bodily harm to another, we will notify the potential victim, contact the police, or seek hospitalization for the client.

    COURT ORDER. When disclosure is required for a legal proceeding, we comply.

    PERMISSION: When a client wishes their therapist to speak with a third party, we comply with written consent by the client.

    If the above circumstances do not apply, all information discussed or written pertaining to our therapy is kept confidential. When the above circumstances apply, we make every effort to inform you of the steps we take when breaching your confidentiality and share the minimum information required to secure your safety and the safety of others.

  • When you have reached the therapeutic goals previously established in the initial treatment plan, we will have a discussion with you about a termination date. Our door remains open in case new challenges arise.

What if I have more questions?

For additional questions not answered here, please feel free to contact us.
At your first appointment, you may learn all you need to know.