• What is talk therapy?

Therapy is a process of discussing any issues you feel are important and impactful in your life. The goal being to help you discover insights and develop tools that can help you better cope with current and future situations. This is done within a supportive and safe environment, while having a non-biased individual present (therapist) to help you talk through these issues. A therapist is trained in working with human emotions and should help guide you through these discussions in a healthy and productive manner.

• How can therapy help me?

There are a number of ways therapy can help improve your life!  Everyone who comes to therapy is at a different level of readiness for change, so improvement in therapy varies from person to person. Some ways therapy can help is improving self-esteem,  understanding your self better, developing healthier coping skills for issues like depression, anxiety, and stress management, improving relationships, improving communication, learning more about your behavior patterns and how to improve upon them, and learning how to better manage intense emotions like anger or sadness. 

• How long do I need to be in therapy?

Therapy sessions are typically 45-50 minutes long. Depending on the client's needs, sessions are typically weekly or biweekly. Normally, clients are seen initially more often, and as they improve sessions are spaced out.  Length of time in therapy is different for every client. Some clients will require shorter term therapy where some clients will need a longer time in therapy to work through issues. This is something the client and therapist will discuss and decide upon together. 

• Why do people go to therapy and how do I know it is right for me?

People come to therapy for a variety of reasons.  Perhaps you're experiencing a major life transition like divorce, death of a loved one, or unemployment and need a supportive environment to process your feelings and develop healthier ways of coping with these situations.  Sometimes people come to therapy to process past trauma or childhood issues and learn more about how these issues are impacting their current day-to-day lives. Additionally, people may come to therapy to learn ways to better manage mental health issues like anxiety and depression. 

Therefore, individuals come to therapy because they feel a sense inside of them that some type of change is needed. They may not know what type or kind of change and that is ok. Only you know if you are ready for change.  Change does not have to happen overnight....therapy is a process of one step at a time, one foot in front of the other, at the pace that feels right for you. 

• What is a therapy session like?

Again, therapy sessions differ from person to person because every persons needs are different. In general, you can expect a relaxed environment where you can feel comfortable in sharing your thoughts and feelings. Initially, the therapist will listen as you share what is bringing you into therapy, what you are hoping to gain from therapy, and any concerns you have.  After listening, the therapist may ask some clarifying questions or ask for more information in some areas. Over the course of subsequent sessions, your therapist can help you develop insights into the problems you are having and then build upon that with learning new strategies to approach the problem. The intention being that the problem leaves less of an impact on your daily life.  A main goal of therapy is to also take what you learn and discover in therapy and incorporate that into your everyday life. Therefore, your therapist may suggest some things you can do outside of therapy to support your process – such as reading certain additional resources, journaling,  noting particular behaviors or coming up with action steps to take with your personal goals. 

• Is therapy confidential?

All information you share in therapy and even the fact that you are or were a client cannot be shared with anyone without a client's consent. Everything you talk about in therapy is confidential, however there are some exceptions where breaking confidentiality is required by law.  

These exceptions include: 

• Suspected child abuse, dependent adult or elder abuse. The therapist is required to report this to the appropriate authorities immediately. 

• If a client is threatening serious bodily harm to another person. The therapist is required to notify the police. 

• If a client is an imminent threat in hurting himself or herself. The therapist will need to coordinate appropriate care for the client to ensure their safety.

• If information is required by a court subpoena or court order.

• If you become gravely disabled.