When do people come to therapy?

People come to therapy for a variety or reasons, including unhappiness in their work, family life or intimate relationships, troubles with their children or problematic behavior patterns that interfere with personal happiness.  Therapy can be useful for people who are coping with many different types of problems, whether grieving a loss, going through a divorce or struggling with a difficult boss.

How do I work with clients?

Every individual is unique and faces unique challenges. My first and foremost goal with clients is to listen and learn to understand them.  Together, we may explore emotions and behaviors and the factors that drive them.  We may learn about what creates unhappiness or low self-esteem, why personal relationships aren’t more satisfying, or what causes difficulties with work, relationships or family.

After several meetings we will discuss your current situation, talk about what we can accomplish together and think about what therapeutic approach would be best for you.

 How do psychotherapy and psychoanalysis work?

 Psychotherapy and psychoanalysis can help you gain a deeper understanding of yourself, your relationships and the things that matter most to you.  It starts from learning to listen to your thoughts in new ways.  Over time, therapy helps you to understand patterns of behavior that may interfere with reaching your goals, examine how these patterns may have developed, and develop ways of making effective choices – the ones that feel right for you and that lead to greater satisfaction and fulfillment.

In therapy, we can often begin to notice patterns of behavior that repeat themselves and get in the way of personal progress.  Often, relationships we’ve had in the past can have a profound and enduring influence on our current perceptions, feelings, and behavior.  Sometimes it can be very helpful to examine and begin to understand the root causes for certain behaviors — what are the factors that contribute to how we currently think and feel about ourselves and others? Similarly, it is equally important to focus on learning new coping mechanisms and developing effective strategies for meeting current-day challenges.