Individual Counseling

People in Washington DC seek counseling for many reasons. Whatever your reason, counseling provides a supportive environment to work on your goals, heal emotional pain, or make the changes you desire in your life. Maybe you feel like you just need someone to listen, or maybe you feel that you need someone to challenge you to think or act in new ways.

I embrace a client-centered and eclectic approach to counseling, meaning that I would work with you in psychotherapy to approach your issues from a perspective that I hope will best match your needs, values, beliefs, and goals. We'll examine your life holistically by considering how the psychological, intellectual, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual aspects of your life may be affecting the issues that you're working on in counseling.

It will be important to identify your strengths, so that you can use them as a resource to help you be healthy. The ultimate goal is for you to be healthy enough that you don't need counseling anymore. Throughout treatment, we'll consider what you'll need to do to stay healthy when that day arrives.

I've done a lot of training in an approach to therapy called motivational interviewing, which is an effective, evidence-based method for working with individual clients who seek change in their lives. Using motivational interviewing, I help my clients enhance their internal motivation to change by exploring and resolving the ambivalence that often gets in the way of changing thoughts and behaviors.

Topics that are commonly worked on in therapy:

Anxiety   We all experience anxiety occasionally. For some people, anxiety becomes excessive and exaggerated. This is characterized by continually worrying about everyday life events and often expecting that the worst thing will happen. Anxiety can be a problem when it gets in the way of things like relationships, work, hobbies, school, etc. To treat anxiety, I help my clients recognize and change the thought patters and behaviors that lead to excessive worry... click for more. 

Bereavement   Loss of a loved one is indescribably painful. No two people grieve in the same way, so grief counseling is a process that's guided by where you are and how you're grieving. Some of the normal reactions to a loss include denial, alarm, anger, guilt, and depression. In grief counseling, I help my clients have a place to express their grief, realize the loss, identify and understand their feelings, and eventually, when the time is right, develop a new identity.  

Career & Job Concerns  We spend more time at work than we spend most other places. That means that it's typical to experience frustration about our jobs or career. Many people wish they had a completely different job or career. In working with career issues, I help my clients understand what they're not happy about in their current position and develop steps that can be taken to explore new possibilities. In choosing a new career, I help my clients explore their values and skills to find a position that is a better fit. It really is possible for your job to bring you joy and a sense of purpose!... click for more.  

Dating  Dating is supposed to be enjoyable. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it is. Perhaps you feel like you keep dating the same type of person and that's just not working out. Maybe you feel lonely and haven't had much experience dating at all. Perhaps you just need a little help navigating the dating scene or putting together an online profile. In counseling single clients, I help them recognize unhealthy patters and understand why they exist. I also help people work on the issues that may be getting in the way of a healthy dating life: issues such as self-esteem, anxiety, and confidence.    

Depression  People struggling with depression experience feelings of irritability, fatigue, hopelessness, worthlessness, or guilt. They may experience weight loss or gain, trouble sleeping normally, or thoughts about death or suicide. There are many shades of depression. Sometimes it can be severe and require immediate professional attention. But even mild depression can get in the way of living the life you want to be living. Counseling can be very effective in the treatment of depression. I help my clients explore the nature of their depression, develop coping mechanisms for their feelings, and begin increasing their level of activity, which is a crucial part of treating depression. I can also help my clients decide if pharmacological treatment from a specialist is necessary... click for more.   

Illness  Chronic and/or debilitating illness can suddenly alter life and challenge us in new and sometimes daunting ways. Seeking counseling to help deal with these changes can be a helpful part of your recovery. 

Neglect / Abuse   It's a terribly sad fact of life that some people are neglectful and/or abusive. You may be living in a relationship like that now, or maybe you were years ago. Neglect and abuse can be emotional, physical, or both. It leads to feelings of confusion, shame, anger, anxiety, or depression, to name a few. Counseling can be helpful in exploring these feelings. It can also help you identify steps you can take to change your life.  

Relationships Relationships can lead to feelings of frustration, anger, concern, or hurt. They can also lead to feelings of love, attraction, and joy. Sometimes we need help dealing with all these types of feelings in relationships! I encourage people who are experiencing relationship issues to consider attending counseling with the other person(s) in the relationship. However, that isn't always practical or possible. I help my clients explore their emotions, their own part in creating what's working or not working, and the goals they may have for the relationship... click for more.  

Self-esteem We really all do deserve to feel good about what's good about us! For some people that's a lot easier said than done. It's hard to feel good about ourselves when we don't think things are good about us. In counseling clients who want to improve their self-esteem, I help them focus on their strengths. From there, I help them begin to experience themselves in a new light, often by beginning to act differently. When we begin to experience and think of ourselves as worthy, lovable, and good, we begin to feel that way, too.  

Sexuality / Sexual Identity Human sexuality is a complex and emotion-provoking topic. Some people feel very confidently about their sexuality and sexual identity. Many other people do not. That's partly because there aren't many good places in our culture to explore these areas. Counseling provides a safe and supportive place to ask deep questions about this core part of the self and begin to find answers to what's troubling.   

Spiritual / Religious Issues For many people, spirituality and religion are an important part of life. Each person defines these terms in their own unique way. Counseling is a good place to explore your relationship with the Transcendent, to consider how you want to grow your spiritual life. You may also want to explore your relationship with your faith community. For others, counseling is a safe and supportive place to explore ways that they have been hurt by religious/spiritual people and institutions.