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 I hope this website can help you in your search for a therapist.
It provides answers to some questions you might have about psychotherapy
and gives you information about me and how I work.
"The real voyage of discovery consists
not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
—Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust was a great novelist, not a therapist, but his words
capture much of what I believe therapy can offer people: new eyes
for seeing oneself and others more clearly. Many of the problems
that people bring to therapy are in areas where their viewpoint
has become restricted; they can only see things one way. Much of
my work is to help people to identify and change old ways of thinking
that have become rigid or don’t take into account new information.
I strive to help people open to new possibilities, new ways of seeing….
“having new eyes.” I strongly believe in people’s
ability to continue to change and grow throughout their lives. Therapy
provides a unique opportunity for you to focus on your deepest concerns.
It provides you with time and the tools to see your concerns and
yourself more clearly. As therapy enables you to confront what troubles
you, often the behavior and ways of thinking that you want to change
become clear.
Some people feel confused about the difference between counseling
and psychotherapy. Webster’s dictionary defines counseling
as providing “advice or consultation”, and psychotherapy
as the “treatment of emotional or mental disorders by psychological
means." In practice, these terms are often used interchangeably
to describe similar services and practititioners. I am comfortable
with my work being called either counseling or psychotherapy. As
you choose a counselor or therapist what I want people to know about
me has to do with the way I relate to my clients and view our work
together. I hope as you read further you will find the information
you need.
My clientele includes both men and women, and I welcome diversity
both in ethnic background and sexual orientation. I work with adults,
both individual and couples struggling with the following concerns:
(For additional thoughts on anxiety, depression, relationship issues
and loss, please see my articles).
- – We now know
so much more about depression and how to overcome it. I work with
clients who struggle with depression to understand what depression
is and how it may be impacting their life. Then we work together
to find the best strategies that will work for them to overcome
their depression.
- – Anxiety can be
so painful and disruptive to people’s lives. It may come
up for people in a variety of ways. My main goal with clients
is to understand their particular patterns of anxiety, and to
help them find ways to face their fears so that they feel they
have more control and choice in their lives.
- – Relationship
problems are the primary concern for some of my individual clients
as well as for the couples who seek counseling help. My article
on Relationship issues gives a pretty clear idea of how I work
with this concern.
- – I have seen a number of people who are
adjusting to a diagnosis of cancer or some other illness and are
struggling to find how to live with their “new normal”.
I have also worked with people who are friends or relatives of
someone with an illness or disability. These people are often
struggling with their own feelings of fear and loss, and at the
same time are trying to know how to best provide support to their
loved one. Other losses that some of my clients are dealing with
is the loss of a job, which can have a devastating effect on a
person’s sense of competence and self esteem. In all of
these situations I find that much of my work is helping people
understand that their feelings and reactions are normal, and giving
them information so they have reasonable expectations for themselves
as they come to terms with their situations. I also know that
in grieving loss, having a safe place to sort out and express
painful feelings is critically important.
- – some of
my clients come to counseling for one reason, but as we talk,
it becomes evident that they are finding their life a struggle.
They need help to think about what is most meaningful and important
in their life, and what they need to do to make room for what
they most value in their daily routines. With these people, I
try to use my skills at listening to help them to better hear
themselves. As with many clients, they often find that what they
feel in their heart and what they are saying to themselves in
their mind are in conflict. Our work is to resolve that conflict
in some way.
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