Individual Therapy
“You are the hero of your own story”- Joseph Campbell.
The problems in our personal lives don’t just impact us. They impact our family, spouse, friends, coworkers, etc. The symptoms that drive us to seek therapy also impact the system of people in our lives. Working with you individually, it will be important for me to bring your relationship system into our therapeutic conversation.
Changes occur throughout the therapeutic process. One of the best ways to recognize these changes is to notice the impact that the changes have had on the significant people in your life. Interestingly the same individuals that may have encouraged you to come to therapy can become powerful sources of support in sustaining your progress.
I believe that a key to therapeutic success is in focusing on the desired future without the problem. My interest in the problem that brought you to therapy is focused on how you have coped effectively thus far. I want to know what your life will look like without the problem.
In having a conversation about your desired future, we can collaborate to design what your best hopes for therapy are. Focusing on your strengths and coping abilities, we will be able to outline a set of resources that you already possess. The combination of having a designed future and a collection of your assets will provide a roadmap of the steps we need to take to create your desired future in your life.
I believe that no problem is happening all the time. For that reason, I will focus on exceptions to the problem. This means that I will ask you about the best times in your life. This will include current times when the problem is either not present, or less intense. These exceptions allow me to pinpoint things that you are doing already that are helping to overcome the problem. It is important to note that often times, these exceptions are occurring outside of your awareness. Once you become more aware of these exceptions, you can expand those times when the problem isn’t present until the problem is finally gone.