FAQs

Although it is possible that some people will be judgemental about it, most people will not. In my opinion, a person who is experiencing hardship and seeks help is smart and mature.

Just like physical illness, mental disorders need care and can get worse if not treated. The more each one of us uses therapy as prevention, the fewer complications and pain we will have; not only as individuals but also as a society.

Besides, there are many people who do not suffer from a formal mental illness but who seek therapy as a stress management tool and/or an opportunity to seek personal growth.

The quality of the help you get is very different. Friends or family members are involved in your life, they know the people you relate to. They will be tainted by their own views of your situation.

A therapist is neutral. It is like the therapist has a “bird’s view” of the situation while the friends and family see things on the same level that you do.

A therapist also has special training to identify your needs, difficulties, and goals. He/she will be able to think out of the box, enhancing your ability to see problems from different angles which gives you multiple possibilities of resolution.

A therapist will teach you new skills, listen to you without judgment or expectations, and help you listen to yourself. Furthermore, therapy is completely confidential. You won’t have to worry about others “knowing my business.”

Lastly, with a therapist, your involvement is temporary and completely focused on you.

A friend might feel compelled to push you to act in a certain way whereas a therapist will maintain a respectful positioning regarding your right to choose your own destiny. A therapist will not feel hurt if you disagree with the recommendation offered.

People who are friends and family are way too close to you to be able to help you without bringing their own feelings to the picture.

Having a therapist does not mean isolating from helpful friends and family. They are complementary, both will be helpful, in different ways.

Medication alone will not help you. The medication will treat the chemical imbalance you might have which causes certain symptoms. 

An interesting fact is that in some cases, a person might greatly benefit from therapy and never have to take medication.

The therapy will help you to develop personal strength to face the challenges the mental illness brings you.

Through therapy, you will learn tools to improve your ability to handle stress, to communicate better, to deal with conflicts, to increase productivity and to feel better about yourself.

The therapeutic process will help you to empower yourself to face daily challenges in order to be able to conquer the life you want to have.

Unless you have a serious chemical imbalance, therapy might be all you need to feel good.

Individual sessions are designed to focus on your individual needs. Your treatment will be tailored to offer you the tools you need to change and grow accordingly with your needs and desires.

In a group setting the focus is on the commonalities between the members and although you won’t be focusing only on your needs, the benefits of participation include maximization of resources as we will have many minds and experiences put together working on the tools.

You will also have a comforting feeling of realizing that you are not alone and other people are going through very similar issues.

In a group setting, you may feel more hopeful as you will see people at different levels of progress and you will understand that there are solutions for this issue that felt so overwhelming before.

Another benefit is the warm encounter you will find in there. In the beginning, you will need a lot of support. As you progress you start offering help to others and it makes you feel very empowered.

An additional advantage is that group therapy is more affordable for you than individual therapy.

I recommend you to read the tab about group therapy where I further describe this treatment modality, so that you can make an informed decision about the treatment modality you feel is the best fit for you.

There are many ways I will be working with you. Most people prefer talk-therapy however we might decide to use arts, role-playing, writing assignments and activities.

It is important to know that I work with you. I offer tools and ideas and you choose which ones you feel will be helpful for you.

Our work will be in collaboration; I like to give you control over your process.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to give you a generic answer about it.

Everyone’s circumstances are unique to them and the length of time therapy can take to allow you to accomplish your goals depends on your desire for personal development, your commitment, and the issues that are driving you to seek therapy. 

Generally saying, cases more complicated such as chronic mental illness, complex or multiple trauma, will take longer than therapy for a focal situation such as adapting to being a new parent or determining a change in your career.

Once more, my approach is working with you.

We will keep an open line of communication so that you will have a voice on evaluating your progress and deciding if you are ready to terminate or you want to extend your therapy.

I will make recommendations according to my expertise but the final decision will be in your hands.

I feel very happy that you are dedicated to getting the most of your sessions; your active participation and dedication are crucial to your success!

There are many factors that are important to get the fastest and best results in therapy.

The first one is openness. You need to be honest and remind yourself that you are safe in therapy; you are protected by the confidentiality laws. You need to let go of concerns such as “what she will think of me?” or “I do not want to disappoint her.”

In order to help you, I need to see the real you with all your strengths, but also all your weaknesses.

I also like to teach tools and how to apply these tools that you will practice in between appointments in order to maximize the gains of therapy.

If both of you are open to work together, this would be my recommendation.

There are situations, however, when only one partner is open to work. In that case, the partner who is open might benefit from individual sessions which might help him/her to deal with the relationship problems.

When the couple works together the therapy tends to be more effective than working only with one partner, but therapy will certainly help you to work on your relationship better than if you would not see a therapist at all.