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My background
WORKING TOGETHER
See the Farmington office
For PHONE clients
Online secure CHAT sessions
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Working Together:
The process of counseling works best when you
are
actively involved, honest, and willing to work on your growth both in
sessions and between them. No one can "change" you, but counseling can
provide
a time and a place for you to mobilize your own inner resources to
change. My
job is to understand your perspective and experience and to hold before
you a clearer and more useful "mirror" than the one you might be
viewing yourself and your existence in. My purpose is to help you move
toward living with compassion, humor, resilience, and a deeper sense of
meaning.
Playwright Edward Albee once wrote: "Sometimes you have to shake things
up to get them to fall into place." Sometimes counseling shakes things
up,
stirs up painful memories, losses, regrets. However, I hold a
fundamental assumption that the risks involved in working through one's
barriers to growth are balanced by the benefits of furthering that
growth and embracing greater well-being. I believe we are
hard-wired to grow, and that growth will occur naturally if we remove
the barriers to that growth.
I value the opportunity to work with clients of varied ethnic, racial,
and religious backgrounds. I honor loving relationships and families
among people of any sexual orientation.
Working with Couples:
My work with couples can best be described as relationship coaching, as in my
practice I work only with couples where both people are ready
and willing to fully participate in the process of change and of
deepening their connection. Relationship
coaching can be invaluable for committed couples who want to strengthen their communication, deepen
their trust, and learn how to
better nurture and enjoy their partnership. I coach couples
in the processes of dialogue and
repair*, and deeply believe in the importance of turning towards* each other in
daily
interactions, and in practicing full
respect living• at all times. I treat with great care the
special privilege of being
invited
into the
conversation of two people who share a desire to thrive within a
relationship and who have the courage to choose actively loving each other over
wanting to be right. When both people approach the process with hearts
open, couples find this work challenging, strengthening, and ultimately
joyful.
* thank you to John Gottman for these terms and
•Terrence Real for this term
Length of Sessions:
Except for our initial meeting, sessions are generally scheduled for 50
minutes.
I
meet with adolescent clients for 45-minute sessions. The initial
session is 60 minutes, allowing you to
complete some paperwork before we begin.
Please be on time for sessions; given your schedule and mine, we need
to end on time even if we haven't started on time. If you need to
cancel or reschedule an appointment, I am happy to accommodate this as
long as you give me 24 hours' notice. I charge a full fee for
cancellations without notice. In the case of an emergency that prevents
you from coming to the office, we can, if you wish, hold our session
over the phone.
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