New to Therapy
What’s in the way of your happiness? Maybe there’s an emptiness that you fill with mindless shopping, overworking, empty sex, drugs and alcohol. Maybe you feel stuck, angry, panicked or zapped of energy. It may sound counterintuitive but going inside is the only way out. You don’t have to do this alone. Let me help you bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
“Therapy is for the weak or people in serious crisis…I got this.”
True, some people are catapulted into therapy because they just can’t take it anymore. Others seek relief from anxiety, depression or substance abuse. But many people start therapy as a way to make better decisions and live more fully. The truth is that everyone can benefit from therapy. It takes courage to reach out and get the help you need.
What is psychodynamic psychotherapy?
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a form of talk therapy that sets in motion a lifelong process of transformation. You will discover how to use your gifts and energies in ways that make you feel more alive. You will find deeper meaning in connections with others and the larger community. The joy you take in your accomplishments will flourish.
“I’m afraid of becoming dependent.”
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is the royal road to independence. Research shows that people in psychodynamic psychotherapy – unlike other types of therapy – actually continue to improve after therapy ends. In other words, even after you leave therapy, your life will continue to get better. In psychodynamic therapy, you will start to understand self-defeating patterns in your life. Transforming those patterns transforms your world – not just your symptoms.
“I just need someone to tell me what to do.”
Of course you want to be free from suffering. But finding a therapist who wants you to conform to his or her way of thinking may make you feel worse. Your best hope is finding a therapist who wants to understand you, so together you can explore your deepest feelings and find your own way.
“All that talking – it’s so self indulgent.”
Therapy helps people feel better. Talking actually changes the neural pathways in your brain so that the ones supporting depression and anxiety are less preferred.
“How is this different from CBT?”
A CBT practitioner might respond to your distress with homework, or try to persuade you that irrational thinking has skewed your thinking. A psychodynamic therapist will encourage you to get to know all the parts of yourself – even the ones you don’t like. Extending compassion to those parts leads to ground-shifting change.
“Ach! Am I going to have to dredge up my childhood and blame my mother?”
No. You get to talk about whatever you want to talk about. There are no set topics. If you find yourself talking about childhood, it’s because those themes “live on” in the present. Your past may color your present-day perceptions in ways you don’t yet see. Together we can identify those themes and heal the wounds of the past so they don’t control your future.