About Therapy

Asking for help is often one of the hardest things to do.

If you’ve never done this before and it feels intimidating, guess what… that’s because it is! What happens is that the thought of opening up to someone can seem more daunting than the problems we may be facing.

We stay stuck. We resign ourselves to our hard feelings, grit our teeth, and just make do with where we are – all the while knowing there’s got to be a better way.

If you are here, you’re tired of just “making do.” I commend you for considering making an appointment and beginning the work that will carry you to greater happiness, joy, and satisfaction in your life. Please remember that fear is a part of the process. This is so, because whenever we move from something we know to something we don’t, fear rears its head.

Courage only grows where fear is present.

Here’s where we’ll work together…

I’ve created a very welcoming, warm, and comfortable office area in my home where my clients and I work together.

Armchair, love seat, a couple tables, a couple lamps… pretty typical stuff. But these things do not “welcoming, warm, and comfortable” make – not on their own, anyway. Those elements come from presence. My presence. My almost 30 years of therapeutic presence with countless clients, working toward the ideal life they desire.

I’ve been told I have a way of putting folks at ease. Connecting. Bringing about that place where comfort gives flight to flow. Where insight, openness, and collaboration thrive, leading to confidence, positive change, and realized personal growth. It happens, and I love it!

We will identify your challenges; develop a plan; and carry out real, substantive, life-transforming change.

In our first session together, we will develop rapport. I will get to know you personally and some of the reasons that have brought you in. But, most importantly, we will make sure that working with me is a good fit. That you feel comfortable and understood.

The approach to counseling I’ve developed over the years is largely cognitive behavioral therapy with a heavy dose of person-centered theory. This likely doesn’t mean much to you, but I believe it’s important for you to know where I’m coming from.

Have you ever wondered where feelings even come from?

How we come to feel the way we do?

Not to let the cat out of the bag too soon, but they don’t come from others, events, or ANY external “stuff.” They are not being “flung” upon you by others.

Over the course of our life, with each experience, we create a “filter,” a looking glass through which we see the world. This filter is comprised of our thoughts and judgments about what we experience and about ourselves.

What we all do, myself included, is become (to varying degrees) at least partially blinded to the shape, color, and angle of our own internal filter. Cognitive behavioral therapy looks at that filter with a critical eye for what’s accurate, what works, and… most importantly… what doesn’t.

Wouldn’t it be great to control your feelings rather than them controlling you?

You can do it. I can help.

The most important decision about your therapy…

…is choosing a counselor with whom you “click.” In terms of moving your life forward and achieving your goals through therapy, this is the number one thing to consider.

In fact, psychotherapy research shows that this match is even more important than your therapist’s skill or your motivation to change!

Therefore, it is vital that you know enough about your counselor to feel comfortable, safe, and understood. To that end, let me tell you a little more about me…