CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
IN KEMPTON PARK

Individual Counseling

In many ways being human is our biggest challenge. We have complex thought processes, feelings and ways of reacting to the world we live in. Therefore our personal experiences are often difficult to understand. These complexities become even more difficult to understand when one is faced with hardship, trauma and change.

Individual therapy is the opportunity to come with all that you know about yourself, join forces with a psychotherapist  and together unpack the issue at hand in order to gain perspective, skills, solutions and/or relief.

Individual therapy…

• Is meeting regularly with a therapist one-on-one (typically once a week for between 45 and 60 minutes)
• Is meeting within a safe setting where you get the undivided attention of a psychotherapist
• Is focused on achieving mutually agreed upon therapy goals e.g. to gain perspective, skills, solutions or relief for the issue at hand, to help you establish or reestablish your life as a thriving, nurturing process, to empower you to move forward with freedom in your life, etc.
• Can be a long or short journey, depending on the yourself and the problem at hand
• can sometimes be challenging and uncomfortable because you will have to explore how you deal with emotions and challenging situations, self-care, stress management, time management, as well as the impact of earlier life experiences on your current attitudes, thoughts, and behavior.

Individual Psychotherapy can help you …

• Find new ways to cope with stress, anger, depression, anxiety and other emotional pressures;
• Heal old psychological wounds related to alcoholism, incest, and other traumas
• Get “unstuck” from the effect of past experiences by breaking old patterns and developing new ways of dealing with old issues
• Deal with grief, loss, loneliness
• Resolve sexual difficulties
• Handle addictions and compulsive behaviour
• Discover creative ways to address current life challenges
• Improve your self-esteem and boost your self-confidence
• Overcome codependency
• Clarify commitments
• Explore purpose, meaning, spiritual growth
• Develop healthy boundaries
• or any other challenge that results in overload in your life or create the feeling that you do not have the necessary resources to cope with it alone.

 In the end individual psychotherapy is about joining resources with a professional therapist in order to get your life under control and to steer it towards a better future.

If you have never been in counseling or therapy before it will probably be a little uncomfortable (even scary) to go for the first time. Mostly because you do not know what to expect. This uncertainty is usually heightened by conceptions that you might have as a result of the myths perpetuated by movies and television. Therefore you need to know that you will not have to

• lay down on a coach while we work (except if you prefer it);
• talk to a passive person who only now and then says “uh-huh”;
• worry that I will tinker with your head; or
• be afraid to hear that you are a bad person.

In my way of thinking psychotherapy is the process of guiding you on a journey of self discovery, self mastery and mastering the skills needed to live life to it’s fullest – in any aspect of your life. If that means that you have to deal with obstacles (problems or stuck states) I will be both a guide, a co-traveler and a coach to you.

And that is exactly what you can expect from me as a therapist: a real person, a coach and a helper on your journey of healing and/or excellence.

As far as the first session is concerned, you can expect the following

• The standard office procedure that ask for information about you and require you to sign your consent to engage in the therapeutic relationship. Fees and office policies will also be laid out.
• If you’re in my office for individual therapy – there’s likely something you’re in distress about. I’ll want to hear about how you define the problem. What are you looking for help with? If there are uncomfortable symptoms associated with it. I’ll want to assess the level of severity as well as know about your support system, your coping skills, etc. This information will help me to get a clearer picture of the problem… in order that we can focus the helping process and get the best possible outcomes.
• A part of this session might be that I’ll ask you to tell me your story (or at least a part of it) as how you think it might relate to your current problem. I’ll ask about your family of origin, important relationships, childhood and other questions as I look for potential sources of the problem as well as potential sources of strength. My job is to put the pieces of your life puzzle together to begin to look for possible avenues we could explore together to help you overcome the problem.
• At some point I might talk a little more about how I work as it applies to your issue, give you a chance to ask me questions, etc.
• In the last few minutes of the therapy session, I will wrap things up by summarizing what information has been revealed. I’ll probably ask how you’re feeling after the session and offer you an opportunity to ask questions.

The first session is really about information gathering, defining the need (problem) and exploring possibilities for the road ahead. It is also the very beginning of establishing the relationship between me and you.

And if it feels like there is a good therapist-client fit then we’ll move on together.