Some Personal Thoughts Regarding Therapy

If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step,
you know it's not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take.
That's why it's your path.  
Joseph Campbell

First:  The most important factor for successful therapy is the relationship you have with your therapist. This relationship must be based on mutual trust and honesty. I think oftentimes one of the hardest steps in therapy is the first one—the reaching out to a therapist. When you invite a therapist into your world, you are inviting that person to accompany you on your life journey, if only for a few steps.

Second: There is no “one size fits all” type of therapy.  Each one of us has had experiences that make us unique persons.  Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may appear trivial to others may be of immense importance to you.  Therapy can help us deepen our understanding the language of ourselves. Therapy should not mold you to a language created by someone else. It should give you a language that allows you to be author of our own story.

Third: The work one does in therapy happens in the present--the here and now. Our past and our future are dynamic forces. While we cannot change past events, they all too often continue to exert influence over our present, and thus, our future. The future is beyond our immediate control, and yet, the future grows from all that has preceded it.  Our awareness of the future influences how we respond to the present. Understanding the pulls of past and future allow for greater awareness of the present. This is the work of therapy.

 There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.   Maya Angelou

Frequently Asked Questions:  

1. What is the difference between Psychotherapy and Counseling?
    This is a frequently asked question. Some practitioners do not make a distinction. For me, counseling focuses on a specific problem or issue and treatment is aimed at relieving distress caused by the problem. Counseling tends to be of shorter duration than psychotherapy.  Therapy addresses one's life journey, allows one the opportunity to explore existential questions, and develop deeper self-understanding.

2. Do you do psychotherapy or counseling? Which is right for me?
    I provide both counseling and psychotherapy.  Counseling and therapy focus on bring about a change of some kind. We will look at what brings you to therapy and what you hope to accomplish at this time. 

3. How long does therapy last?
    When I am asked this question, my usual response is: How long is a novel? Novels are as long as they need to be to tell the story. Some need a 1000 pages, some barely a 100 to tell the author's story.  Therapy should last as long as it takes to do the work.  For some this might be a couple of sessions, and for others that might be a few years.  Length of treatment will vary from person to person. What is important is that therapy continue to be meaningful for you.  I make a practice of discussing with you how the therapy is going and whether it is still beneficial.  If it is not, then we discuss your options.