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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.