Counseling/Therapy

Therapy can help you tap back into your authentic self.

 

Counseling gives you the space to listen to yourself and honor what you hear. Having a place where you can openly and outwardly express your authentic self makes it easier to express yourself to others. Feeling your therapist’s care and attention shows you that your wants and needs are important and gives you a map of how to attend to those needs yourself. It allows you to practice asserting yourself in what really matters to you. Therapy also helps to develop your capacity of accepting others the way they truly are so that you can connect and experience deeper intimacy in all of your relationships.

 

Psychotherapy is a safe place to learn about yourself - your strengths, weaknesses, emotions, behaviors, reactions, and the ways you may be acting unconsciously. You know, those times when you think, “I don’t know why I keep doing that.”  As you gain understanding and compassion for yourself, you gain strength and freedom to make better choices about relationships, career, money, sex, parenting, and everything else in your life.

 

 

When you are connected to your true self you…

 

• Feel when you are in balance and harmony.

• Stay focused on yourself and don’t get caught up in other people’s drama.

• Realize that your feelings and needs are really okay. You can accept yourself with all of your uniqueness – your strengths and your weaknesses.

• Tolerate other people’s difficult feelings such as anger, sadness, grief, and irritation, without taking it personally or robbing them of their feelings and experiences.

• Take responsibility for your actions and behaviors and communicate in ways that are firm yet kind and non-defensive.

• Allow your feelings to come into consciousness, giving you a greater sense of who you are and what you need to feel good.

• Practice healthy boundaries in all of your relationships and honor other people’s boundaries too, making relationships lighter, kinder and less stressful.

• Resolve conflict directly and effectively when it arises so you don’t have to avoid or pretend that everything is okay when it’s not.

• Are honest with yourself and others.

• Live with connection, compassion and an open heart in your life.

 

What to expect from counseling…

 

In the beginning of therapy, it’s my job to get to know you – to learn about your life, your history and the pain or problems you’ve been facing. This is also your time to discover how it feels to share your life with me.

 

As you begin to feel safe with me and trust grows, our work will deepen. During this time, you may use my support to:

 

• Try new ways of communicating.

• Set limits or say “no” assertively.

• Test (and release) old beliefs that no longer serve you.

• Change old relationships or create new ones in which you feel loved and supported.

• Try new ways of behaving or being in the world that make you feel good.

• Let go of habits that get in your way.

 

 

You may find you have more patience and understanding for yourself. We may use some specific techniques like EMDR to help you let go of old trauma, emotional injuries, or negative beliefs so you can feel better.

 

 

This may also be a time when you learn to sit with discomfort – not having to fix things or avoid them, but learning that you can:

 

• Soothe yourself.

• Cope with difficulties.

• Find strength and freedom in these abilities.

​

The last and perhaps most important phase of therapy is often referred to as “termination,” reflecting closure. During this time, we will review the process of your journey, highlight your growth and change, and evaluate future hopes and goals.

 

Through this journey, you will learn how to live your true self more and more each day. Eventually, if you are dedicated to practicing the tools, this will become a habit and you will experience a greater sense of fulfillment in your relationships, energy and life.