Counseling

General Counseling Philosophy

• In a safe and collaborative environment a therapist helps clients understand and sometimes alter old patterns so that they can significantly reduce their feelings of distress, increase knowledge of self and others, bringing about a greater acceptance of and contentment with life.

• During the journey, the hope is that the child or adult feels supported and empowered with the strength to persevere and change those things that can be changed, while also being given tools to cope with what is, and what cannot be easily changed.

 

Common Issues for Which Adults Seek Help

• Relationship Problems
  Questioning why or whether you should be with your partner, feeling unfulfilled by your relationship, having difficulty communicating, lacking affection, or arguing frequently about money, in-laws, sex, parenting, values, or decision-making.
  

• Anxiety
  Excessive worrying, racing heartbeat, headaches or muscle tension, feeling nervous, anxious, tense, irritable or on edge, fear of losing control, avoiding situations, people or places.
  

• Depression
  Feelings of sadness, disinterest in previously enjoyed activities, hopelessness, crying, poor concentration, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness, thoughts of death and/or suicide.
  

• Anger Management
  A tendency to fly off the handle, others fear your temper, your anger or impulses create unnecessary challenges in your life, difficulty calming down once angry, feeling angrier than you think you should, regretting your actions after the fact and being bothered by the small stuff.

 

Philosophy of Counseling with Children and Families

• Some children have difficulty forming or maintaining friendships or can struggle academically. Children can also seem sad, excessively worried, or display low self-esteem. Families can go through a difficult separation, divorce or remarriage.
• And in addition to any of the above reasons, children and adolescents, like adults, can experience sadness, depression and anxiety. They may also struggle with other issues that we typically see in adults, but that increasingly affect children as well.
• Meeting with the family is often the best way to support a child, who lives in this family with parents who are best able to provide ongoing support inbetween counseling sessions and long after counseling has ended.

 

Common Issues Affecting Children

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
  Difficulty paying attention, planning multi-step activities, following directions, remaining seated, waiting his/her turn, quickly shifting from doing one activity to another and poor motivation.

• Parent-Child Conflict
  Difficult to get along with, fruitless attempts to steer your child towards doing the right thing and making good choices, defensive, moody, secretive, violates house rules, frequently lies, misrepresents the truth and no longer confides in parents.

• Learning Issues
  Struggling academically, performance below that of peers, difficulty reading or comprehending written material, and/or difficulty grasping math concepts or solving math problems.

 

Psychoeducational Testing

Psychoeducational testing provides a profile of the individual’s specific intellectual strengths, weaknesses and learning style. In addition, testing is a tool that can be used to diagnose learning issues. Beyond diagnosing specific learning disorders, testing can also inform parents, the student being assessed, and teachers as to how each might best maximize the student’s strengths and what strategies might compensate for relative weaknesses.

 

Common Reasons for Psychoeducational Testing

Parental concern about a child’s academic progress in one or more areas, to better understand how a child learns, solves problems and processes information, or as part of a requirement for entrance into many private schools.