Psychotherapy
What psychological difficulties would you like help resolving?
Good psychotherapy should help you see and make sense of the way your mind is working so you can change how you see and treat yourself, your feelings, and the people in your life who matter to you. We are often a slave to our automatic ways of thinking and behaving. A skilled, experienced psychotherapist should possess the ability to help you see yourself through a different, more accurate lens, and help you make changes in your thoughts and actions so you can improve your quality of life.
Popular culture has mischaracterized psychotherapy as a passive process where the patient talks or vents, and the psychotherapist listens, nods or even nods off. Venting to your psychotherapist, although sometimes temporarily relieving, generally does not lead to lasting change. Passive listening on the part of a psychotherapist is not enough to heal your trauma or remodel your mind. As in any successful relationship, to be effective, psychotherapy requires attunement, engagement, honest communication, courage, and collaboration.
If you decide you'd like to make an appointment for psychotherapy, you should feel comfortable with the doctor you choose to help you and her treatment methods.
For more information on my approach to treatment, take a look at How I Work & What to Expect. If you are interested in pursuing psychotherapy to help you resolve your difficulties, you should ask the doctor many questions so that...
1) you have a secure understanding of what you can expect,
2) you can assess whether her particular way of working appeals to you.
As a psychotherapy or coaching client, you are a consumer.
It is your right to ask questions, to have expectations, and to become informed about what you are signing up for.
Remember, all psychotherapy is NOT created equal; psychotherapists and methods can differ greatly in their effectiveness.
Dr. Robin L. Kay shows us a video describing how psychotherapy can change the brain and help people modify destructive behaviors to create positive mood and behavior changes that can last a lifetime.
The implications of brain neuroplasticity are astounding. Neuroplasticity research shows that psychotherapy leads to positive brain changes. Our brains can adapt and become more resilient no matter how old we are.
Learning is central to promoting neuroplastic brain growth. Psychotherapy will equip you with newly learned skills and techniques to handle your feelings, reality, and behavior in ways that promote your success.
As your brain changes in your favor, maladaptive habits will die off and will be replaced with more adaptive habits, behaviors and feeling management strategies.