Individual Counseling

Therapy is not what the media has portrayed it to be. Therapy is not about someone else swooping in and fixing your problems or reading your mind. Equally, it is not having someone tell you what you are doing wrong. Instead, the purpose of the counseling experience is healing and empowerment. You know yourself better than anyone else. Sometimes, you just need help sorting out your thoughts, making sense of your experiences, and learning new skills. A counselor acts as a guide to assist you in identifying and achieving your goals.

We all receive messages from our environment- our families, society, the media. Childhood experiences have a significant impact on our development, in more ways that we consciously realize. While some of them are positive, the negative messages seem to linger within us. We have a tendency to over-identify with these messages to the point that they become learned limitations of our personalities and capabilities. These thoughts and feelings can develop into negative core beliefs which shape our self-esteem and self-worth. Counseling can help you explore these thought processes and beliefs and create a different narrative.

Some people stay busy to distract themselves from self-defeating thoughts. Others become paralyzed by them and are unable to maintain their obligations and responsibilities. Often, we internalize our emotional reactions because it isn’t acceptable to express them in all settings. What you believe to be physical ailments such as an upset stomach and migraines may actually be your body’s manifestation of emotional distress into somatic symptoms. The other extreme is externalizing and projecting your thoughts and feelings onto others, masked as anger. A therapy session is a time where you can explore your emotional responses and behaviors in a non-judgmental environment.

Some people come to session with an agenda of what they want to work on or change in their life. Others might be able to tell that something feels off but are having difficulty narrowing in on the problem. If you are looking for a solution-focused approach to elicit change, we can help you with that. If you want to find the source of your pain and reprocess the experience, we can facilitate that as well. Some people find that they need long-term support to work through their problems. Others may have been to therapy in the past and want to come in for a tune up. The length of time needed in counseling varies, depending on your needs. Together, we can decide the best fit for you.