What is Individual therapy? How do I know it is right for me?
Individual therapy—also known as psychotherapy, talk therapy, or counseling—is a collaborative process between therapist and client that aims to facilitate change and improve quality of life.
Life has a way of making you feel like you’re lost and that you will never be found again. You are having difficulty getting up in the morning, concentrating on everyday tasks; you can’t seem to get along with your parents, children, coworkers, or friends. You lash out in frustration and anger. You might be aware that something is wrong but you can’t quite put your finger on the source of the feeling. You feel you are hopeless and have nowhere to turn.
YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE STRUGGLING!
If you are one of the millions of people in this world who suffers from that something-seems-wrong feeling, you might benefit from individual therapy. The goal of individual therapy is for you to seek peace with your soul and begin healing. Individual therapy can help people confront barriers that interfere with emotional and mental wellbeing and can also increase positive feelings, such as compassion, self-esteem, love, courage, and peace. Many people find they enjoy the therapeutic journey of becoming more self-aware and often pursue ongoing individual therapy as a means of self-growth and self-actualization.
Individual therapy can also help you:
Identify coping strategies: These may be coping strategies that have helped you in the past. I will teach you to adapt these strategies to your current situation. If your coping strategies have been unsuccessful in the past, I will guide you toward the development of new ones.
Rearrange life priorities: Sometimes people have psychological problems because they have unreasonable expectations for themselves and others. This increases the pressure on everyone and can lead to stress, anxiety and depression. By rearranging your expectations and priorities you may be able to avoid unnecessary stress.
Identify personal strengths: Sometimes during times of psychological crisis it is easy to focus on your weaknesses and what you do not have, instead of on your strengths and the wonderful things you do have. I will draw your attention to positive aspects about yourself and help you rediscover and bring them out again. This will help you to believe in yourself.
I am not just struggling with myself. I am struggling with relationships, too.
I can help with this, too. Maintaining a relationship with others is often very hard – especially when getting along with yourself seems difficult. You might make plans with your friends or a significant other only to find that it is hard to get out of bed when the day comes. You reschedule in hopes they will understand what you are going through. However, your friends do not understand why you just cannot pull yourself together and meet them. Your date just assumes that you are not interested, so he or she moves on to someone else. You then become frustrated with the people around you for not understanding your situation and lash out in anger. You cannot understand why finding someone who understands what you are going through is so hard. You might even ask yourself, “is there anyone out there for me?”
I can help you get closer to that dream of finding a supportive, loving and nurturing partner. You can learn what makes a healthy relationship so you can start building one for yourself. I will work with you to gain healthy relationship skills. Individual therapy will help you to identify the barriers getting in your way of achieving the relationship you’re hoping for, whether that be a committed relationship, marriage, close friendship with someone you can trust or a loving parent/child relationship. I specialize in relationship therapy and can provide the insight, confidence and skills you’ll need to improve your relationships. You can learn what makes up a healthy relationship, like establishing boundaries, building communication skills, and nurturing your own identity. Please call or contact me so we can get started this week.
You can decide what do to next!
Despite feeling so out of control, you are in control! You have the power to decide what to do next. Individual therapy can help you get back the power to take charge of your life and get the support you need. You will be provided with a non-judgmental atmosphere in which you can explore what’s happening in your relationship, how it affects you and what you would like to be different. From there, your options will become clearer, allowing you to be more confident in whatever decision you come to. Remember that, although I will be directing the sessions, you are the one in control. My goal in individual therapy is to select the treatment that is tailored to each individual’s needs. If you feel the therapy treatment I have selected for you does not best suit your needs, please inform me. We can always adjust the treatment plan.
If I choose individual therapy, how long will I have to attend?
The overall length of individual therapy varies widely. Usually minimums of eight sessions are needed to make sure all aspects of the illness have been touched upon. However, I may recommend more or less sessions depending on your progress.
I think I am ready to receive help, now what?
Your first step is to call me to schedule your initial appointment. You will be asked to provide some initial information over the telephone that will help me evaluate whether my clinic is your best treatment option. You may then schedule an initial 50-minute evaluation session, which provides an opportunity to share some background information about yourself and the reasons you are seeking counseling. In addition, I will be able to answer your questions regarding services, fees, confidentiality and what to expect in individual therapy. I am interested in developing a collaborative relationship with you in which together we will decide what kind of treatment would be best for you. At the end of the first session, if I determine that it is in your best interest to move forward in working with me, you will decide on a time slot for your individual therapy session hour. At your second appointment, you will begin working with me to set goals for your therapy experience and we will then begin working together toward achieving them. I look forward to meeting with you very soon!