Starting Therapy

Therapy is an investment of time and money and it's important that you make an informed decision before engaging in this process. After you make the initial call and we discuss your particular needs in therapy, I will ask if you feel comfortable in proceeding with therapy. If not, I will do my best to connect you with a different therapist or explore other alternative to best fit your needs.

If we have determined that therapy should proceed, I will ask you a specific time that we can meet regularly to explore your circumstances in more detail.

In the initial stages of therapy we will form a mutual understanding of what is needing to change. Researchers call this a therapeutic alliance and it is vital to achieving a good outcome in therapy. A therapeutic alliance usually involves three elements.

• There is a connection.
• There is mutual agreement about the purpose of therapy.
• There is mutual agreement about the methods you will use to achieve this purpose.

When you see a therapist you may have a connection, but no compass or direction in which you are headed. It may take time to establish all three of these criteria, but it is essential. It is my job to help or assist in this process of forming an alliance. You are my employer and I am your employee you could say. As your employee I aim to create a therapeutic relationship in which we can explore your psychological difficulties and find a pathway forward that honors your identity, humanity, and dignity.

I have covered two of the three essential ingredients of the therapy process. The last one being the mutual agreement about the methods being used. I practice from a Psychodynamic perspective. I fully plan on adding another post to simply define and inform potential patients what methods are used in Psychodynamic therapy.

I do think it would be necessary to inform you about the benefits of Psychodynamic Therapy. Most therapies that are often propagated today emphasize symptom reduction as the outcome. Of course people come into treatment to improve symptoms and alleviate their distress. Most therapies when done appropriately do this well, psychodynamic being one of them. However, current research shows that the benefits derived in Psychodynamic therapy are long lasting and go well beyond when treatment ends. This is meaningful change and the kind of change I would want all my patients to achieve.