This is a great question!  You’re right.  They’re a host of counselors, social workers, ministers and therapist in the area. Many of them are REALLY good at what they do. I’m the best choice if you want someone who is diverse.  Not just in gender and race (although, yes, I’m diverse there, too), but also academically, occupationally and socially. I utilize assessments, dynamic dialogue, your strengths/gifts to create a unique therapeutic challenge created exclusively for you. If you want a therapeutic experience that involves active engagement from both you and your therapist, I am the therapist for you.

Prior to your 1st session, you will have received intake paperwork. This will include a series of forms that grant your therapist to engage in therapy with you and various policies (i.e. social media, payment, no show/cancellation, etc.) At your 1st session, you turn in the forms. Your therapist will explore the challenges that you are currently experiencing and how you feel about those challenges. The 2nd and 3rd sessions serve as getting to know you sessions.  I will learn more about you in the form of genograms, personality tests, love language and attachment inventories. The rest of your time will be spent on completing the items on your service plan so that you can have the life that you would both desire and deserve.

If you are concerned about your relationship, and you would both like to work with me, I would initially work with both of you together. After this work, if one of you would like to continue in individual sessions, I could work with only one of you. It is not helpful to move from individual into couple’s work with the same therapist because of potential trust issues.

The goal is to complete the bulk of your service item plans within 8-12 sessions. The truth of the matter is that therapy takes as long as it takes. You are the greatest determining factor as to how long the process takes. Are you working your treatment plan? Are you taking your treatment seriously? Are you coming to all of your scheduled appointments? Are you completing homework assignments? Are you finding that as you resolve one thing you now want to work on something else? Everything depends on YOU.