Frequently Asked Questions

Many people often are nervous at the thought of talking to a counselor or therapist. This is a very normal experience and below are some (hopefully helpful) ideas for you to consider.

Q:How do I know if counseling would help?
A: If you feel that things are becoming a struggle for you and your family. If you are having difficulties with any part of your life then counseling may be an option that might help. Counseling isn't about being sick or crazy. Counseling is about helping you find strategies and ways to deal with what ever is going on in your life more effectively. Families benefit from this process and become more resilient and able to grow.

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Q: What is counseling?
A: We will be doing what is primarily talk therapy in our sessions. These conversations are intended to help identify the issues you are struggling with and how they may be impacting your life. Many issues can come up including issues of depression, anxiety, loss, or trauma. You may be going through a major change in your life and you are unsure what is the best approach. Together we can discuss these situations, explore your options, and find solutions that help improve your life.

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Q: How long will I be in counseling?
A: This really depends on you and what we work on together. Most studies show that people show improvement in 6 to 10 sessions. Our goal together is to work on the issues and help you find strategies to deal with them. My orientation is more focused on shorter term models. This is a more focused process and is successful for many clients. You may decide that you want to engage for a longer period, that is up to you. You can decide to stop counseling at any time.

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Q: How do I start?
A: The first step is to make an appointment with me and we can discuss what may be helpful. You decide from there. Give me a call, we can figure out where to go from there

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Q: I'm in recovery, why do we need family therapy?
A: Families in recovery often have a need to work through the issues that remain in the family. Often there are a lot of issues that need to be healed. Healing a family in recovery takes time and getting outside help is a great way to improve the healing process. Support groups are sometimes effective and sometimes more is needed. This is part of what we would work on in family therapy for a recovering family.