More about...The Nature of Counseling
Since I
believe that all individuals have within themselves the capacity for
growth and self actualization, the goal of therapy is for me to assist my clients
in learning healthy coping skills, more useful communication skills, and more
functional behaviors, through teaching, encouraging, and modeling necessary
behaviors. In the therapeutic process we will use various techniques including,
but not limited to: assertiveness training, educational teaching, transforming
family rules into guidelines, the empty chair, critical impact
reconstruction, psychodrama, family sculpting, role playing, parts party,
ingredients of an interaction, family reconstruction, genograms, mandala of the
self, meditations, and bibliotherapy. If counseling is successful, you
will feel that you are able to face life's challenges in the future without my
support or intervention.
Some clients need only a few counseling
sessions to achieve their goals; others may require months or even years of
counseling. As a client, you are in complete control and may end our counseling
relationship at any time, though I
do ask that you participate in a termination session. You also have
the right to refuse or negotiate modification of any of my suggestions. At any
time, either you or I may initiate discussion of possible positive or negative
effects of entering or not entering counseling, continuing or not continuing
counseling, and/or using or not using certain techniques. Please note that it
is impossible to guarantee any specific results regarding your counseling
goals. However, together we will work to achieve the best possible results for
you. I assure you that my services will be rendered in a professional manner,
consistent with accepted ethical standards. While the course of therapy is
designed to be helpful, it may at times be difficult or uncomfortable.
Sessions for individual clients are
usually held weekly for 45 minutes. Couple or family group sessions are held
for 90 minutes. Although our sessions will be very intimate psychologically, ours
is a professional relationship rather than a social one. Our contact will
be limited to the counseling sessions that you arrange with me, except in case
of emergency when you may contact the counseling office by phone. Please do not
invite me to social gatherings, offer me gifts, ask me to write references for
you, or ask me to relate to you in any way other than the professional context
of our counseling sessions. You will be best served if our sessions concentrate
exclusively on your concerns. You will learn a great deal about me as we work
together during your counseling experience. However, it is important for you to
remember that you are experiencing
me in my professional role only.