Thanks for your interest in my practice. My style is interactive, easy going, and informed by my genuine interest in counseling and by the latest research in the field.  I work with both individuals and couples and specialize in three main areas:  Personal growth, relationship issues, and working through difficult transitions.

To the left I've posted articles related to some common reasons my clients seek therapy.  Feel free to explore these as you consider your options for counseling.

Who Uses Counseling?

These days, almost everybody. Everyone faces adversity at times, and many recognize that they could benefit from some professional support and an objective opinion. In general, people who want to feel better in their lives, work to change unhelpful patterns, improve their relationships with others, build self-esteem, and become more active and self-actualized all use counseling. Life stress, relationship issues, grief, personal growth goals, career issues, sadness, worry, difficulties connecting socially, and heartbreak are all common specific reasons people choose to work with a counselor. Counseling is more than just support. I will certainly work to understand your experience and help you investigate your feelings related to what you are going through. I will also help you to build a wider perspective of your situation and explore how it may fit with larger patterns in your life. I will work with you to help deal with your current discomfort and come up with a plan so you can keep moving in your life.

Here are just a few general reasons people decide to come in for counseling:

• They recognize that they are beyond their ability to cope well with their experience and could use some immediate support and perspective. “I’m feeling overwhelmed.”
• They have begun to exhaust their friends or family with their need to process what they are dealing with. “I’m always thinking about this, and I always want to talk about it.”
• They have been working away at the same issue for longer than they expected to, and want some objective help with it. “Why do I still feel like this?”
• They want to understand and change long-lasting patterns in their lives. “I know this is related to something in my past and I want to understand it better so I can make new choices.”
• They recognize that they are at risk to slip back into an unwanted pattern or past experience such as hopelessness, isolation, worries, or an unhealthy relationship. “I know I don’t want to end up back there again.”

There are many reasons people decide to use counseling, and approaches other than counseling that work well for some issues. Email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or give me a call at (503) 757-6259 for a free consultation.