FAQs About Therapy
Q. How do I know if my child or I need therapy?
A. When anxiety, conflict, or unhappiness within the home or at school is interfering with self-esteem, relationships, or the ability to work and play as fully as you’d like then it’s time to seek professional support.
Q. What will happen during my first visit?
A. Feeling safe and free to honestly express yourself is paramount to a successful therapeutic relationship. During your first therapy session I will listen to your thoughts about why you’ve decided to come to therapy and I will ask you to fill out some paperwork, or you can download the forms on my website (go to "Useful Links and Forms" page). After a few sessions we will decide if we feel we are a good fit to work together.
Q. How often will I come in?
A. Usually I will require you to come in for weekly visits. Sometimes, it is helpful to come in more than once a week. If I am working with a young child our sessions will last 45 minutes each. Otherwise, sessions last 50 minutes.
Q. Do you work differently with young children?
A. Yes. When working with younger children and sometimes teens, I find it’s most useful to use more expressive therapies to help these clients express themselves. I may ask your child to draw and play games to put them at ease and help explore their thoughts and feelings. Together, we will try to figure out what is driving their behaviors.
Q. How does therapy help?
A. In therapy we will work together to figure out why you or your child isn't happy, why you are feeling badly about yourself, and why relationships have become conflictual. Therapy is a unique opportunity to explore and understand the unconscious thoughts and feelings that guide our lives.
How? Well, in therapy the thoughts and feelings you have with others will enter into our relationship. When they do, we can have a close look at them in the safety of a professional office. Our main goal is to understand and make sense of your feelings and experiences. It is hard to solve a problem without understanding it.
Q. How long will therapy take?
A. That depends on the issues we’re working on and how hard you are willing to work. However, therapy is not a quick fix. It is not like going to the doctor’s office for an antibiotic. Lasting change takes time and work. The hopeful news is that change and a different way of being is possible.