I want to understand the immediate problem that brings a person to consider
getting help. Then, I want to fill in the background that relates to that problem. I
listen a lot, and ask a lot of questions. While I am eager to share back what I am
learning, I also double-check to make sure I am hearing accurately. I care about helping,
and the more I know, the more I can help. Knowing the relationhip is confidential often
makes it easier to tell me what I need to know. I work with the immediate facts
and feelings a person is aware of. I do believe in the existence of the unconscious.
But I do not use hypnosis to reach it. I want to have a person awake, alert, and
consciously cooperative, knowing what is going on, and deciding, at each stop along the
way, whether this therapy relationship is the right one. I talk with people in an ordinary
way, hoping to earn the trust that makes help possible. Yet, therapy is different from a
personal friendship because of the therapist's training and experience. That helps give me
the objectivity and skill a friend might not have. I want to become an ally in observing a
person's day-to-day and moment-to-moment behavior, and then share what I learn. As I
see it, a good therapist becomes a partner with his patient in observing the patient's
behavior, understanding it, and helping the patient change.
I am experienced in
the short-term therapy that many patients and managed care companies want. But I am
also experienced in longer term intensive therapy meant to produce more significant
change. I try to be clear with individuals, families, and insurance companies about
what is possible within various treatment frameworks.
I work with the immediate facts
and feelings a person is aware of. I do believe in the existence of the unconscious.
But I do not use hypnosis to reach it. I want to have a person awake, alert, and
consciously cooperative, knowing what is going on, and deciding, at each stop along the
way, whether this therapy relationship is the right one. I talk with people in an ordinary
way, hoping to earn the trust that makes help possible. Yet, therapy is different from a
personal friendship because of the therapist's training and experience. That helps give me
the objectivity and skill a friend might not have. I want to become an ally in observing a
person's day-to-day and moment-to-moment behavior, and then share what I learn. As I
see it, a good therapist becomes a partner with his patient in observing the patient's
behavior, understanding it, and helping the patient change.