Individual Therapy
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.” Carl Jung
I meet with clients for individual therapy on a weekly basis for 50 minute sessions. In our first few sessions, we will discuss what to expect from therapy, questions you have about the process, and create a road map for your treatment. During individual therapy sessions we will delve into important aspects of your history to gain context for your current situation. We will explore your weekly concerns and how to cope with them. This way you will experience immediate feedback and begin new skill development right away. We can discuss a potential timeline for your treatment including which order to tackle different problems and when to end therapy. It will also be critical to discuss the quality of our therapeutic relationship and whether you are feeling heard and respected. We will identify the ways in which you are thinking about your life that can be getting in the way from becoming who you dream you can be.
Potential Individual Therapy Concerns:
Clients who meet with me for individual therapy typically want to explore:
- learning to manage strong emotions,
- taking control of negative thoughts,
- changing problematic behaviors,
- developing deeper relationships,
- adjusting to difficult life events,
- grieving the loss of loved ones,
- dealing with caregiving for family members,
- managing career and work stressors,
- learning new parenting skills,
- managing multiple roles in life,
- discussing identity development challenges,
- coping with the effects of media and current events on one’s functioning, and
- exploring existential issues of the meaning of life and death.
Therapy Consistency and Continuity
It is ideal for clients to meet on the same day at the same time each week so that there is consistency and continuity between sessions. Attending therapy consistently helps with remembering appointments, makes self-reflection into a new routine, reinforces learning, and helps you to consolidate the gains from treatment. The continuity between sessions allows you to identify patterns in your behavior, helps you to identify themes across different areas of your life. Continuity also deepens the therapy relationship, which facilitates the vulnerability needed to change your behaviors. Taken together, weekly session appointments can reduce the length of the treatment so that you can graduate from your therapy.
Another strategy that can encourage consistency and continuity is to complete homework assignments that can be tailored to your concerns. Some examples include writing assignments, topics to reflect on during the week, behavioral experiments (e.g., trying new behaviors), monitoring specific behaviors you desire to change, and practicing new coping skills. Completing homework assignments will foster more rapid change and help you generalize lessons that you learn in therapy to your outside life.
Evaluating Therapy’s Effectiveness
Your growth and change are best supported by doing consistent evaluations of your progress towards your treatment goals. We will do this 3 different ways:
- By discussing your impressions of how therapy is helping you make changes,
- By completing psychological assessments (questionnaires) of your current symptoms and their change over time,
- And by using feedback informed therapy in which we explore your feelings about therapy activities and progress of the therapy relationship.
Individual therapy sessions are most beneficial when you are an active participant in the process.We will jointly set your session agenda each week because your beliefs about the underlying causes of your difficulties are incredibly important. I will encourage you to reflect on what feels right for you and to share your thoughts with me so that we can make the most out of your therapy experience. It is my hope that we can shift your mindset so that you can choose what you want to become.