What Can I Expect in Therapy?

What is the process of therapy?

Entering therapy with a licensed counselor is not to be taken lightly.

Over the course of therapy, you can expect to get to the root of how you honestly feel and what changes you want to make. Are you angry? Express it! Are you sad? Cry!

I will help you to do whatever it takes to process the reason for coming to counseling and start to build the pieces of a plan to get to your desired outcome. What can you expect from therapy? To be in a safe place and have an ally walking along with you. What can you expect in therapy? Good things. Come on in!

My counseling style involves two forms of therapy.

Although I could use the word “eclectic” to describe my counseling style, I want to narrow that word down to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Reality Therapy.

These two styles of counseling resonate with me, because they align with how I make decisions and approach change.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on patterns of thinking.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy concentrates on a person’s thinking, whether healthy or unhealthy, and how that can be modified.

Many issues, such as depression and anxiety, come from learned behaviors that you may have had since childhood and took for granted.

These behaviors could result in your being overly critical of yourself, because a parent was like that toward you. It may be realizing that you greatly value other people’s approval, and you have made some unhealthy choices because of this.

CBT examines thinking patterns unknown to you.

When a decision is made, do you find that your mind goes to the worst-case scenario?

Maybe you are in an unsatisfying relationship. You have been scared to do something, so you will not make your significant other angry.

With CBT you can start to learn better ways of coping with your present reality, which in turn will relieve your symptoms. You will start to become more effective and proactive with your actions.

Reality Therapy focuses on your desires for change.

Reality Therapy looks at “what has worked,” “what has not worked,” “what your desires are,” and making the change to put together the pieces to make that happen.

Reality Therapy stays away from a diagnosis of mental illness, such as Major Depressive Disorder or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Rather it looks at your circumstance from the lens of wants and needs in your life that have not been met.

Reality Therapy assesses your current reality.

I like Reality Therapy because it stares the situation right in the eye. It does not look at unrealistic outcomes or something you wish would happen that most likely will not.

Reality Therapy also requires some work on your part. It requires you to take an honest look at your thoughts and desires and to determine what a realistic outcome would look like.

Reality Therapy looks at your current reality and toward a realistic conclusion.

You want to drive a Mercedes making $30,000 a year? That could very well be an example of an unrealistic goal, whereas a Toyota Corolla from CarMax is a more feasible option.

Let’s get started! Why wait?

I want to help you find your way forward to a better life… fill out the form below. Now – don’t put it off.

Follow Clearer Thoughts on Facebook. Click here.

Clearer Thoughts is on Instagram. Click here.

You can set up an appointment for your free 20-minute consultation by clicking here.