New Clients

Description and Risks of Therapy:

While it may not be easy to seek therapy, it is hoped that you will be better able to understand your situation and feelings and move toward resolving your difficulties. A therapist assists you in developing goals that will be worked on in the course of therapy. These goals will help guide you in the direction you wish to move in your life. A therapist will use his knowledge of human behavior and development to help you gain a new understanding and awareness of the situations you seek to change. The success of therapy depends on the cooperative efforts of our work together. A therapist can help to give guidance toward optimal growth and change through his education and experience. However, change will ultimately come from within you and the choices you make. Often, growth cannot occur until you experience and confront issues that induce feelings of sadness, sorrow, anxiety, or pain. As we work together, the hope is that you will be able to move through these thoughts and feelings, successfully release them, and then move toward the change you desire.

Important aspects within the therapeutic relationship:

Open Communication is Always Encouraged

Please feel free to ask any questions about anything you are not sure you understand. Also, always feel free to share any concerns you may have. Within a therapeutic relationship, open communication is vital. It is the job of the therapist to share with you their honest opinion of observations made which may at times upset or offend you. If it does offend you, always feel free to express whatever you may be feeling. Please, never feel afraid to offend me. The keys to an effective therapeutic relationship come from being open, honest, consistent, respectful, motivated, and always open to change. These are things that develop as the therapeutic relationship develops. It is not assumed that either one of us will fully encompass these things in the beginning, but it should always be our goal to obtain this level in our relationship. The key is to have an authentic relationship with one another so that other relationships in your life may also be modeled by the same authenticity.