Individual Therapy

Individual therapy focuses on emotions that you are experiencing in the moment. We will explore more specifically where these feelings are coming from and possibly how they originated. After gaining some perspective on what is troubling you, we will move towards maintaining happy and healthy thoughts and emotions.

You will guide the counseling sessions in a way that feels right for you. I will provide insight, understanding, and possibly new perspectives in order to help you cope with overwhelming thoughts or emotions.

Many clients believe it is the therapist's job to make them feel better. While feeling better may be the outcome of counseling, it is not always the case in every situation. The therapist's main role is to help the client feel the emotion more clearly and to perhaps provide insight as to why it is surfacing so intensely. Individual therapy is a safe place to experience emotions, no matter what they are or how they manifest. It may seem counterintuitive to think of therapy as not making you feel better, but if one can fully allow and accept an emotion without duress (which can prompt unhealthy or destructive reactions), then one can learn to handle stronger emotions in the future. If a client develops the capacity to endure intense negative emotions, then a process of normalizing and desensitizing occurs, thereby reducing the tendency to react and/or take action against uncomfortable feelings.

Ending Individual Therapy

Individual therapy can be short or long term. It's an organic process, not a "one-size-fits-all." We will discuss the possibility of ending counseling when you begin to feel healthy and deliberate in your daily life on a consistent basis. At that time, you may choose to come in less frequently (bi-weekly or monthly) in order to stay on track.