What to expect during counseling
I work a little differently from most counselors. Whether you’ve seen counselors in the past, or this is your first time to counseling, you might want to learn more about the way I work.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a tool for noticing what’s happening in the present moment. During therapy, I will help you use mindfulness to slow down, notice what’s happening, and pay attention to your present-moment experience— thoughts, feelings, sensations, and anything else. The point of mindfulness is not to get rid of thoughts, but rather to bring full attention to the contents of experience. Hakomi is a therapy approach that uses assisted mindfulness during sessions. I am also a mindfulness instructor, and I can teach you mindfulness meditation techniques to use in your life outside of therapy.
Touch and the body in therapy
Hakomi is a body-centered therapy approach that incorporates touch into therapy. I will only use touch with your consent and when I believe it will benefit you therapeutically. Touch is used to create present-moment experiments to explore in mindfulness. Touch is never sexual, and we create an environment of safety and trust before using touch. You can withdraw your consent for touch in therapy at any time. It is also possible to do this kind of therapy without touch.
Feedback-Informed Treatment
I use a brief evidence-based measure called the ORS/SRS at the beginning and end of each session. In our first therapy session, it will take about 5 minutes to explain the measure. After that, it will only take a couple of minutes each time. This tool helps me to know if what we are doing in therapy is effective for you, and how I need to change what I’m doing in order to meet your needs.
Getting to know each other
It may take a few sessions for us to get to know each other. Just as some friendships take awhile to get started, the therapy relationship often takes a little while to jell. I will keep an open mind and try to meet you in your needs; if you keep an open mind and communicate your needs and preferences directly, it will be easier for us to build a good relationship together.
Making change in your life
In order for therapy to be as effective as possible, you will need to practice the skills and experiences of our sessions in your daily life between sessions. This could take the form of homework that we agree upon, your own creative ways of practicing, or even resting and not giving yourself a hard time. I am happy to guide you and recommend different activities and practices, but it is ultimately what you do in sessions and outside of sessions that will bring about the change you are seeking in your life.
If this-all sounds good to you, please get in touch! I look forward to meeting you and working together.
Photo Credits:
Abbot of Watkungtaphao in Phu Soidao Waterfall CC BY 2009 by Tevaprapas. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Abbot_of_Watkungtaphao_in_Phu_Soidao_Waterfall.jpg
Holding hands public domain image from Pexels.
FIT Snapshot CC BY SA 2017 by Sasha Strong.
Metal Handshake CC BY 2014 by Grey Geezer. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Metal_Handshake.jpg
Change CC BY SA 3.0 2016 by Nick Youngson. Retrieved from http://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/wooden-tile/c/change.html ; also see photographer site at http://nyphotographic.com/ .