My Approach
Where well-being grows, dysfunction withers.
I practice a growth-oriented approach to creating well-being in your life. This is a positive, down-to-earth approach that focuses more on the nature of well-being (and how to reach it) than the nature of dysfunction (and how to dissect it). It builds on the "impulse to wellness" inborn to every person, a kind of inner blueprint for human well-being. Seeking help in unaccustomed or overwhelming life circumstances is a sign of this healthy impulse. I help you change your life for the better by building on your existing strengths, insights, and skills while cultivating new ones.
Growth-oriented counseling recognizes that many distressful circumstances are natural and common life situations in which it is healthy to seek more support, perspective, and guidance than social resources provide. Changes in employment, strains in home or workplace relationships, self-doubt, loneliness, grief, anxiety, depression, stress, a desire for more fulfillment — these are natural life phases experienced at one time or another by most people. Often the person who seeks counseling in these or similar circumstances is no more distressed or less healthy than others but is simply more motivated to find a constructive, effective response.
Of course there can be times when unhealthy thoughts and feelings crowd out the impulse to wellness like weeds choking a garden. Sometimes the weeds must be uprooted before the trees, shrubs, and flowers can grow to full vigor. I administer traditional psychotherapy when appropriate and maintain relationships with prescribing psychiatrists who can evaluate the need for medication and prescribe it if appropriate.
Many clients meet their initial goals (or resolve their initial concerns) with a handful of counseling sessions. Others find the support and self-development to be a valuable ongoing influence in their lives and choose to continue longer-term. Whether short-term or ongoing, growth-oriented counseling is a powerful positive force.