I can be of help to you if you are sincerely ready to make some changes in your life. You must have a willingness to confront your beliefs and habits. This is not as scary as it may sound.
You benefit when you are ready to invest in yourself by taking the time to look at the pieces and parts that make up who you are right now.
A Cognitive-Behavioral (CBT) approach is very rational and requires that you be honest with yourself and not be afraid to turn over some rocks to see what’s under there.
As you become more comfortable with yourself you will begin to see what beliefs you have picked up along the way that have been influencing your thoughts, your emotions, and your behaviors. This isn’t blaming, the source may not be important. What is important is to acknowledge what is there and decide if you want to keep or alter the beliefs.
Once you can rationally understand the basis for your thoughts you can re-pattern your thinking. Re-define yourself with healthier beliefs that will naturally influence healthier thoughts that lead to healthier behaviors.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy will not make you a perfect person but will help you re-form the basis of who you are. The improvement is ongoing. You will learn skills that you can carry with you and use from here on.
Adults
This type of rational approach works well with adults who want to develop insight into their situations and start re-tooling their lives. I can modify the approach for children by involving the adults in their lives so the adults can better understand their child and how to influence the child’s behaviors.
Fears, Phobias, Anxiety – What is the basis for your reaction? Maybe your reaction is valid, maybe not. We can look at the pattern of events to understand why you feel this way.
Drugs & Alcohol – Addictions often begin as remedy, a quick-fix for something. It’s hard to give up something that worked so well in the past. Let’s backtrack and see what the original need was and see if it is still needed today. If so, we’ll find a more suitable option for you.
Dead-end relationships – Do you keep finding yourself with the same type of person and the same unhappy ending? What is the pattern you keep following that repeatedly leads you back to the same place?
Stressful relationships – Things get more complicated as you add more people to the mix. Couples often find themselves in a tension-filled relationship with no idea how they got there. Each person should take a look at the relationship script they follow. Where did it come from? Does your partner know about your script. Do you know about theirs? Do the scripts conflict?
Adolescents
The Mystery of Adolescence – This is a rough time to try to define yourself. There are so many influences and not all are good. By sifting through the decisions to be made and the implied meaning of all the options, I can help you learn what you are hoping for and how you can go about defining yourself.
Conflict with others in the family – You are constantly changing as you inch toward adulthood. It’s tough to keep up with everyone’s shifting attitudes and expectations of you. Sometimes you need a little help to sort things out in your own head in order to make yourself clear to others.
How can I relax? This is the time to develop habits that will get you through your teenage years and on into the next part of your life. Make sure these habits are healthy and positive. Learn how to monitor your stress level. Learn relaxation techniques that will help you make it now and later.
Children
I work with children as young as three. The approach is different than when I work with older people. Children are products of their environments and their environments are how we can reshape and direct them. I work with the family and caregivers, teaching them behavioral skills to use in the homes. Re-directing children does not rely entirely on “teaching lessons” this early. We lay out expectations through modeling and praise. It makes it easier for children and adults.