Purpose of Therapy

Why therapy when you have a good friend or trusted family member to talk to?

Maybe therapy isn’t your first, or only, choice. But, what do you do when your concerns:
• are related to the person(s) you might normally go to for support?
• go beyond their ability to help?
• are not something you want to talk to them about?

Therapy can be a great choice to find the support you desire to work through whatever issues are concerning you.

Therapy aims to help you realize that you are not alone, you’re not the only person who’s ever experienced your concern, you’re not undeserving of help or beyond help, how you feel isn’t wrong, and you do have the power to heal and change.

Everyone experiences periods of emotional distress. Sometimes, the problems are short term, and no treatment is needed.

And at other times, participating in talk therapy (psychotherapy) can make a significant difference in how you feel and possibly change your outlook on life.

Therapy can help you to identify the issues causing distress and work to develop strategies and solutions to help decrease their impact on you.

What if I don’t know exactly what’s wrong?

You don’t need to have everything figured out before starting therapy. Sometimes you know exactly what you want to change; other times, you just know that something isn’t working and you want life to feel different.

We can start there. Together, we’ll look at what’s happening in your life, what you’ve been experiencing, and the patterns that may be keeping you stuck. You don’t need to arrive with a diagnosis, a perfectly defined problem, or a list of therapy goals. Part of our work may be figuring out what the problem actually is and what you want to be different.

What if I understand my problems but keep repeating them?

That’s actually a pretty common reason people seek therapy. Understanding why you do something doesn’t automatically make it easier to do something differently.

You may know that you overthink, avoid difficult conversations, people-please, become overly rigid with food or exercise, repeat the same relationship patterns, or react in ways you later regret. You may even understand where those patterns came from. And yet, when you’re in the situation, you still find yourself doing the same thing.

Therapy can help you move beyond insight alone. We’ll look at what keeps the pattern going, what happens in the moments when you’re most likely to fall back into it, and what you can do differently when it matters. The goal isn’t simply to understand yourself better. It’s to create meaningful change in how you actually respond.

Is therapy with you structured?

Yes—but not rigidly.

I don’t believe therapy should follow a one-size-fits-all treatment plan, but I also strongly believe that every session shouldn’t feel like an unstructured conversation with no clear direction. We’ll establish clear goals for therapy (usually between your third and fourth session) and regularly look at whether what we’re doing is helping you move toward them.

Early in therapy, we will generally meet weekly while we establish our relationship and address some of the most pressing concerns. As you make progress, we may gradually space sessions farther apart so you have opportunities to practice what you’re learning between sessions.

The structure will also depend on what we’re working on. Some sessions may involve processing and exploring what’s happening; others may involve problem-solving, learning a skill, challenging an unhelpful pattern, or figuring out how to apply something you’ve already learned to your real life.

Where do you provide telehealth (online therapy)?

All of my therapy sessions are provided securely online. Where I can provide therapy depends on where you are physically located when your session takes place and the laws and regulations that apply to telehealth in that location.

I am licensed to practice independently in California, Ohio, Missouri, Utah, and Virginia, and I am authorized to provide telehealth services in Florida, South Carolina, and Vermont. There are also limited circumstances in which I can work with established clients who are temporarily located elsewhere.

Because these rules can vary depending on your circumstances, you don’t need to figure out the legal details yourself. If you’re interested in working together, we can determine during your Discovery Call whether I can provide therapy where you are located.

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