Here’s a list of our FAQ, however, we recommend that you give us a call and schedule a FREE 15 minute telephone consultation for more specific answers to your concerns.

How Can Therapy Help Me?

A number of benefits are available from participating in therapy. Therapists can:

• Provide support
• Assist in problem-solving skills
• Help you to enhance coping strategies
• Work with you to understand your interpersonal relationships
• Provide a fresh perspective on a difficult problem
• Team with you to become aware of your inherent power

The benefits you obtain from therapy depend on how well you use the process and put into practice what you learn.

Some of the benefits available from therapy include:

• Attaining a better understanding of yourself, your goals and values
• Developing skills for improving your relationships
• Finding resolution to the issues or concerns that led you to seek therapy
• Learning new ways to cope with stress and anxiety
• Managing anger, grief, depression, and other emotional pressures
• Improving communications and listening skills
• Changing old behavior patterns and developing new ones
• Discovering new ways to solve problems in your family or marriage
• Improving your self-esteem and boosting self-confidence

Do I really need therapy? I can usually handle my problems.

Everyone goes through challenging situations in life, and while you may have successfully navigated through other difficulties you’ve faced, there’s nothing wrong with seeking out extra support when you need it. In fact, therapy is for people who have enough self-awareness to realize they need support, and that is something to be admired. You are taking responsibility by accepting where you’re at in life and making a commitment to change the situation by seeking therapy. Therapy provides long-lasting benefits and support, giving you the tools you need to avoid triggers, re-direct damaging patterns, and overcome whatever challenges you face.

Why do people go to therapy and how do I know if it’s right for me?

People have many different motivations for coming to therapy. Some may be going through a major life transition (unemployment, divorce, new job, etc.), or are not handling stressful circumstances well. Some people need assistance managing a range of other issues such as low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, spiritual conflicts and creative blocks. Therapy can help provide the needed encouragement and help with skills to get them through these periods. Others may be at a point where they are ready to learn more about themselves or want to be more effective with their goals in life. In short, people seeking psychotherapy are ready to meet the challenges in their lives and ready to make changes in their lives.

What is therapy like?

Because each person has different concerns and goals for therapy, therapy will be different depending on the individual. In general, you can expect to discuss the current events happening in your life, your personal history relevant to your issue, and report progress (or any new insights gained) from the previous therapy session. Depending on your specific needs, therapy can be short-term, for a specific issue, or longer-term, to deal with more difficult patterns or your desire for more personal development. Either way, it is most common to schedule regular sessions with your therapist (usually weekly). It is important to understand that you will get more results from therapy if you actively participate in the process. The ultimate purpose of therapy is to help you bring what you learn in session back into your life. Therefore, beyond the work you do in therapy sessions, your therapist may suggest some things you can do outside of therapy to support your process such as reading a pertinent book, journaling on specific topics, noting particular.

What about medication vs. psychotherapy?

We specialize in helping people heal without medication and also help people get off of medication in conjunction with their doctor, if that is their goal and it is clinically appropriate.

Your body and psyche wants to feel things and learn how to cope with them. Medication inhibits that process often and then there is often a boomerang effect after some time on the medication that causes the symptom to resist the medication.

We may look at negative thinking patterns, automatic responses in the body, feelings that are stuck, patterns with food, exercise, and sleep, and when indicated, looking at spiritual beliefs.

Does what we talk about in therapy remain confidential?

Confidentiality is one of the most important components between a client and psychotherapist. All information disclosed within sessions and the written records pertaining to those sessions are confidential and may not be revealed to anyone without your written permission, except where the law requires disclosure. Exceptions include:

• Where there is reasonable suspicion of child or elder abuse or neglect
• Where a client presents a danger to him/herself or to another person
• A client is gravely disabled

Disclosure of confidential information may be required by your health insurance carrier for HMO/PPO/ MCO/EAP in order to process your claims. Only the minimum necessary information will be provided to your insurance as permitted by law. This information is called the Protected Health Information (PHI) as determined by the HIPAA Privacy Rule.