Frequently Asked Questions

People enter therapy for a variety of reasons, including anxiety, depression, stress, relationship problems, job issues, difficult transitions (such as relationship break-ups/divorce, career change, empty nest, etc.), addictions, and low self-esteem, to name just a few. The common thread usually is being unhappy with the way your life is going, wanting to improve the quality of your life, not knowing exactly how to get to where you want to be, and having the courage to reach out and ask for help.

Reaching out and calling a therapist doesn’t seem easy or natural for most people, especially if they’ve never been to therapy before. Unfortunately, there still can be a stigma attached to addressing one’s Mental Health. People don’t want to feel “crazy” or have a spouse, friend, or relative think of them as weak or as “the crazy one”.

Actually, some of the healthiest people I’ve known are those who came to therapy with curiosity and interest in getting to know themselves on a deeper level. Self-reflection always leads to clearer thinking and better, more informed decision-making.

First and foremost, you get to meet the therapist and see if you’re a good fit. Do you feel comfortable talking to this person? Do you feel listened to, understood, and respected? If you have questions, are they being answered? In our initial session, we focus on your immediate issue and any questions or concerns you have about therapy. I will also take a brief history of your background to help me begin to get to know you.

Absolutely. Studies have shown that talk therapy helps people feel less isolated, less upset, less lonely, less anxious, and less depressed. Talking with a therapist can first help you identify and understand the cause(s) of your unhappiness and then help you develop new tools to avoid self-defeating patterns, non-productive thinking, and self-sabotaging behaviors.

Yes, you can. However, all the research on depression and anxiety has shown that the most effective and longest-lasting treatment is a combination of medication and psychotherapy. With your consent, I will work with your doctor to come up with the best medication plan. The medication treats the symptoms so you can get some relief as quickly as possible. However, symptom relief is like putting a band-aid on a blister – until you uncover the cause of the blister, it will keep returning. Therapy can be an interesting, even exciting, journey where you learn how to solve, accept, change, adjust, and move on to a better life.

Quite often, depressed people seem angry, argumentative, negative, and just plain irritable. Sometimes, people aren’t really aware of their mood until others around them point it out to them. An evaluation with a psychotherapist will determine if you have other symptoms of depression as well and what would be the best treatment.

Go by yourself. One or both of two things will happen: (1) as you begin to change, the relationship will change too; (2) as your partner begins to notice you changing, they may become more curious about therapy, and this may be an opening to have them join in on your sessions or go on their own.

There is life after affairs if both partners honestly want to work on the relationship. Affairs don’t just happen. They happen when there’s a crack in the relationship that allows another person in. People who step outside their relationship are looking for connection, not commitment. If both partners are willing to commit to the relationship, it is possible to not only repair the crack, but to build a stronger connection with one another.