The therapy approach, process and content can be complex because each individual is utterly unique. Because the therapist/client relationship has been repeatedly shown to be, perhaps the most important element of positive outcome, I rely significantly on feed back in session to keep us on course.
Some of the general ways in which we will move toward your more engaged and rewarding life are:
- From the beginning, find and instill positive and constructive emotions, thinking and actions in each new day. We will use the findings of modern brain and behavior science to help you “be” the person you can “think” you want to be.
- Discover and build upon each person’s unique strengths.
- Increasingly, learn to be aware of, understand and express emotions of all kinds. Emotions are important because they are the source of our motivation to do everything else. “I feel like being happier; stronger; sad; like going swimming; loving you, etc.”
- Gain awareness of the ways in which yesterday’s solutions might be today’s problems. We often suffer because we had to develop ways of coping with difficult life experiences while growing up. Though we were doing the best we could do at the time, strategies for coping such as withdrawing from others to be safe may show up today as loneliness or as barriers to connection and intimacy.
- In addition to exploring and healing from “problems,” the therapeutic process can be seen as part of your ongoing life process of “growing up.” That is, increasingly facing life’s challenges in ways that leave you a more complete, competent and satisfied individual. Teenagers, young adults, men and women, couples and families all have different challenges in front of them to embrace all that their life has to offer.
- A somewhat unique aspect of my therapy approach is that when helpful and positive, I will offer “advice” when asked. Many therapists tend to withhold advice for fear of unwittingly leading people to deny their true self. While this is a reasonable concern in some situations, I am quite aware that in my own life, advice from a person I respected and trusted has often lifted me up and given me greater hope and increased passion to step into the person I deeply want to be.
- Support to become a great leader to those that count on you. There is absolutely nothing like helping someone else to be the best they can be!
- Reflecting every day on an abiding sense of gratitude.