What I Believe Counseling is All About

Counseling is about feeling better...

Many people feel worried that coming to counseling will feel awkward or embarrassing. They're afraid they'll be judged and found to be sick, bad, broken, wrong or lacking—in some important way. Some of them even had a prior experience with counseling that felt like that— like they'd been put under a microscope and examined, with all their flaws labeled by a detatched critical expert, with clinical distaste. Yikes! That is scary stuff. It's not what I do, though.

 In all my years of getting to know my clients, I've met so many strong, amazing, unique people. For almost every single one of them, the main "problem" they had was not trusting that they were good enough or worthy enough to create the life they want. They thought they needed "fixing." They thought I'd have a look, tell them what was wrong with them, and whip them into shape. They were afraid that somehow they didn’t have what it takes to move in the direction of their dreams, and take ownership of their lives.

We all worry that there might be something wrong with us. Life is messy. We all pick-up some baggage. That's normal. We all have habits and beliefs that get in our way. We've all made mistakes that we feel ashamed about. Sometimes, we're so ashamed that we’re afraid of having another person see us. I commit to look with kind eyes. You'll feel visible in the best possible way.

I see counseling as a sacred relationship of trust. My commitment to you is that I will help you discover the best within yourself, and realize that you have a lot of good stuff going for you: including much more power, right and ability to be satisfied and experience joy, than you realized. I can see the chain of pain and confusion that contributed to those mistakes you've made, and I can help you forgive yourself and move past them.

We will be using the tools you’ve already picked-up, that you didn’t realize you had, and I’ll be showing you a few new tools you might have missed out on.

If you're worried you're sick or broken, and you want to learn to believe in yourself and see that you're so much more than that, please, come in and give my approach to counseling a try. You have everything you need. You are good enough. There’s no-one else on this planet quite like you, with the unique perspective, history, knowledge and gifts you have to offer. The world will be better, when you learn to let yourself shine.

That baggage you're carrying isn’t you. You are amazing! Let yourself start living from that belief. I’d be honored to be a part of your journey to discover it. Come grow with me and learn to feel better!