About

It takes courage to acknowledge that something in your life isn’t working and you need help.

To give you an idea of how I help, here’s a peek into the typical experience of a client who comes to see me for talk therapy.

(If you’d like to read about the process of EMDR, click here.)

Let’s call this person Tom.

At the end of our initial phone call, Tom schedules his first session with me. He fills out some paperwork online before we meet. He’s a little nervous when he arrives in the waiting area.

I greet him with a smile, welcome him into my office, and offer him something to drink. He settles into the couch with a cup of tea and takes a deep breath. He starts to talk about a problem he’s having in his relationship. He can tell that I’m listening and really want to understand him. I share my understanding of his problem and check to make sure I have it right. I encourage him to share more about the circumstances leading up to what’s bothering him now.

Once I feel like I have a good understanding of Tom, we work together to define some goals for therapy. Each week we meet at the same time for 50 minutes. I follow Tom’s lead and see what feels most important to talk about each week. I guide him back toward his goals when necessary but am open to taking the detours that feel important. Tom experiences me as attentive, calm, caring, and unafraid to laugh at the funny things about life.

Tom and I discuss how his past experiences affect him in the present. I help him understand what he’s experienced. With this new awareness, he is able to make more effective choices. Together, we come up with ideas of things he can do differently to help improve his current situation. Tom tries things out and sees what works for him. He finds new ways of thinking and being that lead to him feeling better.

When Tom has reached his goal, he either decides to end therapy or realizes that a new goal has emerged and chooses to continue to work on that. Either way, we celebrate the progress he has made. Tom feels better and enjoys his relationships more. He has found a more useful way to manage the things that were troubling him at the start. He is grateful he made the choice to come to therapy.

Therapy can be a truly profound, life-changing experience.

I see this in my office every week, and I have experienced it in my own life. Before I started my own therapy, I was out of touch with my emotions, a perfectionist, and didn’t know how to assert myself. Changing those things changed my life.

I can help you change your life, too.