Psychotherapy
How do I know if I need therapy?
…Does this sound familiar?
You are smart, competent, and resourceful. And you’re the one everybody counts on. You may be the go-to at work. Or your family counts on you to be the fixer, peacemaker or therapist. …Everybody and everything is getting a piece of you …except you!
But when you think about speaking up for yourself, you feel guilty, or overwhelmed, or immediately start doubting that things really are as bad as you sometimes think they are. But it really does feel awful and you’re dissolving away. Lost.
While toughing it out can be tempting, when issues aren’t addressed, things often get worse. More complicated. Pile up.
You’re here. It’s time to consider things.
• You think about an issue a lot of the day.
• You’ve started to avoid others.
• You’ve stopped doing things you used to enjoy.
• Your quality of life has taken a nosedive.
• Your relationships, work, or parenting need work.
• You’re going out of your way to cope.
• Uh, oh, your use of substances has increased.
• You feel stressed-out most of the time.
• Your energy for getting into the day is gone.
• Anger or resentment is on a slow burn …all the time.
• You feel hopeless or helpless.
Therapy is all about you. Unique to you. There are no cookie cutters,
no workbooks, no recipe-book therapy.
Therapy at Artwell & Clarity is always trauma-informed, respectful of your experiences and culture – and your right to make choices and change in your life.
What is Therapy?
Therapy is like a good solid chat. You talk, your therapist listens and comments. Always, you’re the guide and your therapist is just the one holding the flashlight to help you see more clearly what’s up. You’ll talk about your days, work, and family. Together, we’ll find patterns and explore the why of things.
Using a client-centered lens, therapy focuses on supporting you to gain insights about how you came to be who you are and what you want to do about you and your circumstances in the present. You and your therapist will work together to identify the source, or sources, of challenges and find ways to tackle them.
How Does Therapy Create Change?
1. You will gain insight. When we understand where our feelings and behaviors come from, we become more deliberate and mindful in our actions.
2. Change happens in the context of the “Therapeutic Relationship,” a deliberate alliance between you and your therapist intended to work on problems. It’s more objective, consistent, boundaried, and goal-focused than a friendship.
3. Your therapist may provide perspectives, feedback, information, and ideas you might not have considered previously.
4. You are free to talk about things and express emotions freely. You can consider things that might otherwise have been too scary or novel alone.
5. Your therapist may validate experiences and skills you’ve doubted in yourself. You’ll be challenged and supported.
What Should I Generally Expect?
1. Psychotherapy is confidential. There are a few exceptions required by law, but, generally, everything you say is confidential.
2. While your past is important, its how it impacts you now is most important. Expect the focus to be on current problems with insights informed by the past.
3. Sessions are conversational. Its not all just your therapist asking questions and probing. Your opinion will matter and expertise will be respected.
4. You might tear up now and then, but in there will also be laughter.
5. Expect to be in the driver’s seat about your choices and life. Therapists don’t give advice, but can provide information and ideas. You can agree or disagree. You can chose to do somthing or not.
6. You’ll be supported to learn skills to build better relationships and more personal resilience: coping, boundaries, insight, trust, communication.
7. You might experience improvements in your sleep, energy, and health.
The Therapeutic Relationship
Therapeutic Relationships help by providing:
• A safe person to explore and discover with
• The realization that you are not alone
• Perspective: you are not crazy, weird, weak, or bad
• Validation
• Truthful and caring conversation
• Respect
• Unconditional & positive regard
• Boundaries and feedback
• More consistent, you-focused, honest, and objective than friendship
What Will My First Session Be Like?
Most of us want things to feel better NOW! At Artwell & Clarity, we understand the urge to jump right in. However, your therapist needs to understand you and the challenges you’re facing before being able to support you effectively.
During your initial session, we will dedicate time to reviewing your background, symptoms and coping skills. We’ll look at your life lessons thus far, including where things have gone well, not so well, or even completely sideways. Then, we’ll establish goals uniquely crafted to fit you.
The real therapy typically starts with the second session. We’ll discuss your treatment plan, explore the mechanics of therapy, and then roll up our sleeves to tackle the issues that matter to you.
What Happens in a Therapy Session?
It’s important to remember that every client is different – your therapy may not look like your friend’s therapy or that of another client.
Also, your circumstances and moods vary day to day. So, it’s not unusual for the focus of sessions or their format to vary from time to time. This keeps things nimble, so that emerging challenges can be addressed with right-sized support.
But generally, the conversation might go like this…
• Why is that a challenge or concern?
• Is it your responsibility to fix this? Why, why not?
• Last time this happened, what did you do?
• How did it work out?
• How did you feel afterward?
• Why do you think it turned out like that?
• How did you want it to turn out?
• If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently?
• Let’s find ways to practice doing things differently.
Specialties
• Anxiety • Depression • Trauma • Grief & Loss • Boundaries • Stress • Self-Esteem • ADHD • Addiction (Maintenance Phase Support) • Communication • Work-Life Balance • Relationships • Caregiver Burn-Out • Issues of Aging • Parenting • Defining Values and Life Mission • Leadership Coaching & Management Training • Life Transitions