People start to heal when they are heard.

Individual therapy is an important part of my practice. In the course of couples or family therapy, I often see clients in individual sessions. Those sessions are important aspects of the overall therapy project.

Individual therapy is somewhat different in terms of therapeutic goals. Whether focused on psychiatric symptoms or some other form of suffering, the process involves guiding a client in developing attitudes and practices that secure a sense of meaning and purpose through facing suffering and difficulty.

It is the nature of our species that our minds arise and take shape as we are seen by those around us, who give meaning and words to an internally developing sense of self. Other people’s opinions matter. We learn intuitively about trust as we go about the business of exploring the world. Some people we encounter are helpful, some are hurtful. Some care for us, and some exploit us.  When we come to a place of needing help with troubling questions about life and love, we need to feel safe in revealing our more troublesome experiences or desires if we are going to understand how to face our lives. Individual sessions create a special and deeply confidential environment for those processes.

What I find particularly interesting at this stage of my career, is how all of my years of practice have lent themselves to who I am in the room with a client. I know so many lives, so many outcomes, and I do believe that all of the people I have worked with are watching me, in helpful ways. That might sound crazy, but I believe that what we work toward in individual therapy is an unusual state of vulnerability and trust that helps us to see things more clearly. The specific techniques or practices that shape this work for me have their own rationales and purposes, but at the center of the shared experience is the client’s own unfolding of a sense of self that is grounded in a voice that does articulate essential needs and capacities. Many of us would think of it as “personal growth”  but when the work is successful, what happens is much more than that.

If you are interested in knowing more about my work as an individual therapist, I offer a free consultation appointment to help you decide.