Counseling is provided for a variety of types of issues and problems, including anxiety, depression, relationship problems, phase-of-life issues (e.g., mid-life changes), and adjustment-related issues (e.g., separation, divorce, medical illness, change of job, children leaving the home, or death of a parent of loved one).
Sometimes people come in with a very specific issue that is troubling them, but in other situations it may be a case of someone just “not feeling happy” or realizing that something in their life needs to change. At a deeper level, a client may come into counseling because his or her life no longer seems to have meaning or purpose.
Regardless of the issue or problem that you bring in, we treat each client as a unique individual who needs to be understood within the context of a specific family-of-origin, developmental history, life narrative (i.e., the story we tell about ourselves), and belief system. Although sometimes there can be benefits to simply being able to talk to someone about a problem—and having a sense of being truly heard by a caring, empathetic individual—often it is necessary to examine that problem in a deeper way, so that the client can gain a better understanding of long-term dysfunctional patterns.
By gaining this type of new awareness, clients are able to live more productive and fulfilling lives. Among the outcomes of successful therapy are:
- Greater insight and self-knowledge
- Improved communications in intimate relationships
- New, more rational ways of thinking
- New, more functional behaviors
- Enhanced awareness of—and ability to express—emotions
- Improved ability to soothe feelings of anxiety or anger
- Increased ability to problem-solve and make decisions
