Restore and Refresh

Your Best Self

Research shows that psychotherapy is helpful, cost-effective, and has long-term benefits (The American Psychologist Journal (vol. 50: No. 12, 1995)). Psychotherapy can focus on the past, the present, and/or the future, though generally, the hoped-for outcome is greater well-being now and in the future. You can't change the past, but you can change your relation to it and its effects on you and your life. Psychotherapy can help you think better, feel better, and do better in your life and relationships.

The process often involves:

• Goal setting (What do you want to do differently?),

• Developing a plan or approach for pursuing the goal ,

• Developing and implementing specific strategies or practices ,

• Skill-bulding when needed,

• Homework or fieldwork assignments (work between sessions to move you in the direction of your goal),

• Periodic review of our work together, modifying if/when needed.

• Psychotherapy usually ends when one of the following has occured:

• Goal achievement, or

• You feel that you are well situated to continue your efforts on your own without ongoing therapy.

Some territories where psychotherapy might be helpful:

• Want a better relationship with your partner?

• Questions or concerns about parenting?

• Teens - are you looking to feel better in life, at home or at school?

• Troubled at work or troubled by work?

• Adjusting to changes in a new phase in your life?

• Recovering from abuse?

• Alcohol or drug use becoming a problem?

• Feeling down, tired or depressed?

• Disconnected from your creative muse?

• Transgender, gender nonconforming, queer, questioning - navigating, knowing yourself better, feeling more comfortable with yourself, and dealing with a complicated, sometimes not understanding, misunderstanding, or even hostile world?

• Homeschooling/Unschooling and any alternative schooling methods - trying to both school and raise your kids in a way that is too often not understood or is misunderstood by the dominant/mainstream culture that can include friends and family and those in the helping professions (doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, etc.)?

You may notice that psychotherapy can help you with many of the same interests or needs as life coaching. Sometimes, the approach is different, but the destination is the same: greater well-being for you. Here is a Comparison of Coaching & Psychotherapy. If you are unsure which you might want to pursue, contact me.

There are different styles and approaches for therapy and life coaching. I am heavily influenced by Mindfulness Research and Practices and Postmodern Therapies. In addition to these influences, I teach Mindfulness classes to the public and therapists and have taught Postmodern Therapy ideas and practices to therapists.