Clients have different experiences of counseling, but I think common to everyone is a sense that the counseling process evokes curiosity, hope, challenge, clarity, confidence, purpose, and healing.

Early on in the process, we establish your goals for therapy.   Then we check in periodically to see how we are doing with meeting those goals.  We assess progress, and we look to see if the goals have shifted.  Therapy sometimes leads in unexpected directions, so we check for that possibility as well.

Counseling should provide a safe setting to share yourself in as much depth as you need.  It should feel safe enough for you to examine parts of your life that may be difficult to bring to light.  It can also feel challenging when you need to make changes or experience feelings that are uncomfortable.  One of the greatest benefits that people experience in counseling is to feel listened to, accompanied, and respected.  In all cases, it is paramount that you feel comfortable saying if the therapy is failing you in some way, so that we can do what’s possible to rectify things.