What To Expect
If you have never been to therapy, it can be difficult to know what to expect. It may even be a little scary or you might feel like you are being judged somehow. If you have been to therapy previously, you might have a good idea of what to expect, but perhaps are not sure about us or what we can do for you.
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STYLE
Our therapeutic styles are based out of a humanistic and experiential perspective and we believe the therapeutic relationship is a very important part of the entire process. Our aim is to create a safe, supportive environment and always strive to understand where you are coming from.
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FITTING YOUR NEEDS
We enjoy working with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families in a therapeutic setting. We often use different techniques depending on the need in the moment, therefore, therapy is not one-size-fits all. We tailor your sessions to your specific needs and check in with you about your goals for what you want out of our time together.
WORKING WITH KIDS
When it comes to working with younger clients, we especially enjoy using Play Therapy and integrating these techniques into our work with children and adolescents. We believe children do not yet have the vocabulary to benefit from traditional talk therapy practices. Therefore, through playing games, creating art, and sometimes even just being silly, children and adolescents receive the healing they need. We love involving the parents or caregivers in the therapy process so the adults are on the same page and are able to implement some techniques and tools learned in therapy at home. You can expect that we will work with the child individually for about 4 or 5 sessions, then we will have a "parent consult" session to debrief and work on things from your perspective. The more involved a parent or caregiver is in the therapy process, the more change usually occurs.
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COUPLES
We realize how hard it can be to ask for help with something so sensitive as your relationship. When we start working with a couple, we typically use the first session for some paperwork and policy review (to make sure to cover the legal and ethical stuff), get into a little bit about each of your goals and expectations for therapy, and your commitment to the process and what that looks like for your situation. Please understand that you will get out of this process what you put into it and that we are by no means magicians. We only help to facilitate your wants and desires for your relationship's future and guide you in how to effectively make those changes. It will take some work on both of your ends and we will give you the tools you need and the instructions to help you and guide you along the way. Sometimes the work can be painful because we uncover past hurts that haven't healed and speak the unspoken truths that have yet to be said. Couples counseling is not all doom and gloom, however. We often witness moments of laughter and connection that are recaptured, plans for the future that the couple gets excited about, and love that re-sparks between them.
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OUR EXPERIENCE
Christie has experience working with a wide variety of personal and relationship issues including depression, anxiety, grief and loss, anger, sexual concerns, trauma, aging, self-esteem, communication, infidelity, as well as spiritual development. She believes the process of therapy is a shared experience between the therapist and client(s) and both parties work together to promote healing and positive growth in all areas of the client's life. She feels that therapy should incorporate not only the mind, but the body and spirit as well to unlock a person’s full potential for healing and change.
FREQUENCY, DURATION, LENGTH, AND COST OF SESSIONS
We are often asked about frequency of sessions, duration, and length. This makes sense because you need to know how to prepare for this commitment.
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The frequency of sessions is once a week for the first month and then we can reassess in month two. We rarely need to see clients more than once a week, and usually weekly or every other week fits best with most clients' needs after the first month. Again, it depends on how much progress you are making in our time together and outside of therapy in between sessions for the frequency, but this is the average.
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The length of one regular session is 60 minutes, but there are options to do 90-minute or even 2-hour sessions. Most people opt for the 60-minute session to start and see if we need to go deeper by taking more time.
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As for cost, the current rates can be found on the fees page. Payments can be made by cash, check, or card. Some people may even have the ability to use an FSA or HSA card from their employer to pay for these services since they are health-related. Payment is due upon each session and not billed after the fact.
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If you ever have any questions or concerns about the therapy process or what else to expect that wasn't covered here, please feel free to contact us and we'll be happy to answer your inquiries.
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