Counseling Services
I provide counseling and therapy for teens, and adults with depression, anxiety, anger issues, relationship problems or family conflict. I also have expertise and training in working with adolescents and adults who have been diagnosed or believe they have a mood disorder. I provide couples counseling in my office
What to expect
Therapy with me is like a conversation. You do most of the talking, I do most of the listening. As I listen, I begin to ask questions: “Tell me more,” “Could you describe that with a specific example?” “I’m wondering about . . . “ or “Looking back, what are thinking now?” As I build a understanding of you, I might ask questions to confirm my impressions: “Let me run this past you. You feel like. . . “ . In early stages of our therapy, I may offer coping skills if you state you feel that you are suffering. As a integrated mental health therapist, I may ask you to consider breathing exercises for anxiety, or exercise as a way of managing uncomfortable moods. As we build our relationship, I am more likely ask much more specific questions and I may ask you to confirm my observations as accurate or not so accurate. I also may begin offering therapeutic insight into your situation. I might ask you about your how you grew up, or about your most important relationships, past and present. I take a client-centered approach—you are the expert on your life, and I am the expert on therapy.
For Couples
If you and your partner or family members are struggling, I can help. When I work with couples in conflict, I consider the relationship to be the client. I focus on how the each of you communicate, verbally and non-verbally. When we begin, I ask about your conflicts as a way of starting to understand what’s bringing the two of you to counseling and what issues you would like to prioritize. The conflicts and issues you bring to counseling help me understand your relationship and especially, how you understand or misunderstand one another. Sometimes I interview each of you, with the other present, about your family of origin as a way of seeing how each partner built their earliest attachments and ways of being in relationship. Observations about the two of you are offered for your response. I often ask one partner about the other partner’s responses to observations and questions. This is to check what the two of you know about one another’s emotional reactions and responses.
Parents in conflict with teenagers or adult children
Couples and families are the same—the relationship is my client—and different in that families bring roles and responsibilities that are tied to their family role. My focus is still to figure out how the two or three of you communicate, process that communication, and most importantly, whether you understand one another in the way that’s most meaningful for repairing and rebuilding your relationships.
I have years of experience and specialized training in working with all kinds of mood disorders, from depression to mood swings to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Schedule a free 20 minute phone consultation today. 512.294.8043
