Paul M Rakoczy, LCSW

In this whirlwind of an existence that is life at the beginning of the twenty-first century, many of us are looking for a level of contentment and functional self esteem.
A therapist friend of mine has exclaimed to me more than once, "I sometimes wonder if any of us possess meaningfully high self-esteem."
I'm not sure in actuality how wide spread this concern is statistically but please consider the following life scheduling change as a possible remedy for low self-esteem and the feeling that "contentment" exists only somewhere in our elusive future.

I am of the Humanistic/Existential perspective of PsychoTherapy.
My facilitation of therapy and all the aspects of my life are guided by my sincere belief in the basic "goodness" of human beings.
Guided by the work of master clinicians such as Carl Rogers, "Individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behavior; these resources can be tapped if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided."

I have over ten thousand hours of face to face client therapy facilitation time during my career and additional time in other care provider capacities.
During my time as an undergraduate, I worked and volunteered as a case manager in support of homeless families at the Homeless Empowerment Relational Organization of Southeastern Michigan and as a childcare worker with SafeHouse, a Domestic Violence Shelter.
I also worked for many years as a support worker (home visits) for families who have lost their primary breadwinner.

My initial consultation session is usually free and it is a 30 minute session.
We can decide together about if a relationship will work for us and the direction and length of your therapy.
I usually do long term therapy.
My fee is $125 per 50 minute session.
I offer a sliding scale to those for whom therapy might be otherwise unaffordable.
We will decide together during our intial consultation session on a fee/session.
Payment is made by cash or check at each appointment.
Other than illness or accident, if you do not show up for an appointment, or if you cancel with less than 24 hours notice, I ask that you honor the payment obligation for the session.

My supervision style is person-centered.
In the words of Carl Rogers, "My major goal is to help the therapist to grow in self-confidence and to grow in understanding of him or herself, and to grow in understanding the therapeutic process."
The entire process is supervisee driven but includes at least these aspects; ethics and legal considerations, teaching, role plays, conceptualization, review of supervisee's work (video or audio tapes), evaluation, client self-determination, supervisee self-evaluation, and a summary/review of the licensure supervision course of action.