Psychotherapy describes a professional relationship between a trained clinician and an individual patient, a family, a couple, or a group. Its function is to relieve mental and emotional distress and expand individuals' capacity to live well with themselves and with others. This aim is achieved through an increased understanding of oneself which includes a greater awareness of one's thoughts, feelings, perceptions, way of organizing experiences, ways of coping with life, and so on.
People decide to go to psychotherapy for myriads of different reasons: feeling stuck or unable to find the way out of a difficult or painful situation, trouble in relationships, self destructive patterns, loss, fear and anxiety, wanting to figure out what direction to take in life, old and new emotional issues, the list goes on.
Most people deal with a combination of all of the above. It is simply what being human brings to the table and each person in their unique way tries to find ways to develop and move forward. When things do not go well no matter how hard one tries seeking help is the appropriate move. The determination to get better shown in seeking out the help of a psychotherapist is in itself the first step toward progress and toward taking charge.
Being actively involved in making yourself feel better is the first sign of progress. Your psychotherapist will be there to assist you, not through advice giving or by preaching (most people have friends and family from whom they can get advice), but first of all by listening and by working with you in an effort to help you find your own voice and your own way. Patience is required, but people tend to experience relief almost immediately after starting, because therapy is a unique place to think, feel, process all aspects of your experience in a safe environment, free of judgement and criticism.
In the safety of the consulting room, you can explore wants, concerns, frustrations, hopes and disappointments. There are no right and wrong ways to feel or to be. Your subjective experience is what counts, it is respected and taken seriously. From that basis you can be self reflective and explore your own mind without any external pressure to fulfill expectations.
During this process you will talk about the things that are on your mind. Your therapist will ask you questions at times, make comments at others, bring your attention to one thing or another and through the common goal of understanding you better, progress will be made and change will happen. Our common goal is to reduce mental pain and improve your capacity to live your life unburdened by it. It has been proven by over a century in the practice of psychotherapy that the better we understand ourselves, the more accepting we become of ourselves and of others. Flexibility can replace rigidity, openness can replace fear of change, and greater choices can replace impasses.
People decide to go to psychotherapy for myriads of different reasons: feeling stuck or unable to find the way out of a difficult or painful situation, trouble in relationships, self destructive patterns, loss, fear and anxiety, wanting to figure out what direction to take in life, old and new emotional issues, the list goes on.
Most people deal with a combination of all of the above. It is simply what being human brings to the table and each person in their unique way tries to find ways to develop and move forward. When things do not go well no matter how hard one tries seeking help is the appropriate move. The determination to get better shown in seeking out the help of a psychotherapist is in itself the first step toward progress and toward taking charge.
Being actively involved in making yourself feel better is the first sign of progress. Your psychotherapist will be there to assist you, not through advice giving or by preaching (most people have friends and family from whom they can get advice), but first of all by listening and by working with you in an effort to help you find your own voice and your own way. Patience is required, but people tend to experience relief almost immediately after starting, because therapy is a unique place to think, feel, process all aspects of your experience in a safe environment, free of judgement and criticism.
In the safety of the consulting room, you can explore wants, concerns, frustrations, hopes and disappointments. There are no right and wrong ways to feel or to be. Your subjective experience is what counts, it is respected and taken seriously. From that basis you can be self reflective and explore your own mind without any external pressure to fulfill expectations.
During this process you will talk about the things that are on your mind. Your therapist will ask you questions at times, make comments at others, bring your attention to one thing or another and through the common goal of understanding you better, progress will be made and change will happen. Our common goal is to reduce mental pain and improve your capacity to live your life unburdened by it. It has been proven by over a century in the practice of psychotherapy that the better we understand ourselves, the more accepting we become of ourselves and of others. Flexibility can replace rigidity, openness can replace fear of change, and greater choices can replace impasses.
