What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a relationship between a trained therapist and a client. Depending on the training of the therapist, and the needs of the clients, the purpose of the relationship could vary. A client might want to alleviate mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety, or it could be to bring about a desired change in one’s life. Allowing for deeper work over a longer period of time is where clients find the most profound change.
What happens during a session?
For individuals, we meet together for an hour. For couples, we meet for 1-2 hours. We talk about your goals for therapy, how you know it will be helpful, and then we walk this path together. As your therapist, I show up at each session ready and able to meet you where you are at, with whatever is most present for you at that moment in time. I use my expertise, tools and training to guide our work together and to tailor our work to your specific needs. We will talk together, laugh together and cry together. We will be human together in your journey of change, healing and integration.
What about medication?
Medication can be very effective in the treatment of mental health issues. If it appears medication would be helpful, I will assist you in connecting with a psychiatrist if you don’t already have one. Psychotherapy along with medication serves the purpose to help you dive deeper into any underlying issues that contribute to your mental health symptoms (such as depression and anxiety). We know that some mental health conditions have a strong genetic component and medication is simply necessary. There is no right or wrong answer as to if you should or shouldn’t take medication. It is a process to figure out what works best for you.
How long will therapy take?
Unfortunately there is no direct answer to this question. This answer really varies depending on your individual or couple needs. Most people wait until they are in crisis mode to contact a therapist. Due to this, weekly sessions are best. We will talk about the duration together as each client’s needs are different.
Should I do individual or couple therapy?
If you are currently in a relationship and experiencing struggles there, I recommend couple therapy. Individual therapy will not allow you to work with the relationship, which is what is having problems. By working together with your partner, we can get to the root of your issues, and I can see your relationship in action and work with it directly, in the moment.
If I am working with you as an individual, and you decide you want to do couple therapy, I will refer you out to another couple therapist. It does not work to move from individual to couple therapy with the same therapist due to trust issues.
