What Happens During Individual Therapy?
Treatment Areas and Specialties:
Anxiety Disorders
Depressive Disorders
OCD and Specific Phobias
Sexual Dysfunctions/Intimacy Issues
Trauma-related Disorders
For the first session, and sometimes second, you and I will meet for an intake appointment where after we review initial paperwork, I will ask questions and gather information regarding your history with symptoms, stressors, and interpersonal relationships to get an overall snapshot of what brings you to therapy.
From there, and assuming that we are a good fit to begin a therapeutic relationship, we will further identify goals and expectations for treatment. I often recommend starting weekly sessions in the beginning to give us time to build rapport and explore stressors or concerns that you want to be able to resolve from therapy. When you become more comfortable with the process and are consistently applying learned skills and new insights, we can gradually reduce sessions to biweekly, monthly, and bimonthly until you complete your identified treatment goals and are ready to terminate sessions.
Yes, I know what you’re probably thinking: “I’m never going to be ready to terminate.”
However, you might be surprised how often clients say that and yet at some point, whether it’s after a few weeks, months, or years, they say they’re ready to end sessions.
It’s bittersweet (and yes, we will cry happy tears) but being able to get to that point in treatment is always the ultimate goal and clients who put in the work tend to feel more empowered by the changes they’ve made and the confidence to address issues that previously left them frozen or avoidant!