Perhaps you are considering psychotherapy (also called counseling), either for yourself or for a friend or relative. Maybe this is a first time exploration or an interest in resuming work done in the past. Perhaps you are eager to start this process, or a bit uncertain as to what this therapy stuff is all about. Whatever the case, my aim within these pages is to provide a sense of who I am and how I approach therapy.
I hope it will help you form a basic impression of me and help you assess whether or not I might be a good match for you in this endeavor. I work with adults, either individually or as couples, and have been doing so since 1981. One way I often describe therapy is as a non-solitary means of self-exploration.
I believe that it is a process that benefits almost everyone who engages in it; that increased attention to and awareness of oneself and one's relationships almost always leads to positive changes (even if the exact shape of those changes cannot be imagined at the start).
I hope it will help you form a basic impression of me and help you assess whether or not I might be a good match for you in this endeavor. I work with adults, either individually or as couples, and have been doing so since 1981. One way I often describe therapy is as a non-solitary means of self-exploration.
I believe that it is a process that benefits almost everyone who engages in it; that increased attention to and awareness of oneself and one's relationships almost always leads to positive changes (even if the exact shape of those changes cannot be imagined at the start).
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I have been reading about, thinking about and discussing therapy pretty much every day for the past 30 years and have sat with 1,000 or so clients in this process.
Still, I find it almost impossible to generalize about the practice of psychotherapy.
If you were to take one hour each week to sit and contemplate your life, you would likely notice some beneficial results.
If you were to write about your life during that hour, the process would be altered and provide an additional set of benefits.
Similarly, speaking aloud to a person, any person, transforms contemplation even further.
Still, I find it almost impossible to generalize about the practice of psychotherapy.
If you were to take one hour each week to sit and contemplate your life, you would likely notice some beneficial results.
If you were to write about your life during that hour, the process would be altered and provide an additional set of benefits.
Similarly, speaking aloud to a person, any person, transforms contemplation even further.
We all develop habits that are neither the best for our own psychological well-being nor for the well-being of those around us.
There's no shame in that, it's unavoidable.
Couples naturally develop habitual ways of communicating/not communicating.
By and large, the most problematic of the habits are private, rarely seen by others, and so they develop without the benefit of external feedback.
No one wants to "air their dirty laundry in public."
Well, I'm inviting you to air your dirty laundry with me, uncomfortable though it might be.
There's no shame in that, it's unavoidable.
Couples naturally develop habitual ways of communicating/not communicating.
By and large, the most problematic of the habits are private, rarely seen by others, and so they develop without the benefit of external feedback.
No one wants to "air their dirty laundry in public."
Well, I'm inviting you to air your dirty laundry with me, uncomfortable though it might be.
The terms are used more or less interchangeably and both can have unfortunate and misleading implications.
The root "therapy", for instance, is often associated with medical processes, conjuring up images of disease or injury.
Counseling (to me, at any rate) implies at least some advice-giving from an expert.
The process we are attempting to name addresses the normal challenges of the essential human condition and generally does not involve curing a disease or the giving/taking of advice.
Since psychotherapy has a richer tradition in the literature and most of the writers I admire identify themselves as psychotherapists, I usually use that term.
The root "therapy", for instance, is often associated with medical processes, conjuring up images of disease or injury.
Counseling (to me, at any rate) implies at least some advice-giving from an expert.
The process we are attempting to name addresses the normal challenges of the essential human condition and generally does not involve curing a disease or the giving/taking of advice.
Since psychotherapy has a richer tradition in the literature and most of the writers I admire identify themselves as psychotherapists, I usually use that term.
Though my office address is 1829 E. Franklin St. Suite 1200-D, Chapel Hill NC 27514, the office is not actually on Franklin Street and Google Maps will definitely lead you slightly astray.
From Chapel Hill: Take 15-501 North toward Durham.
After the merge of 15-501 and Franklin St. get in the second to left lane and make the U-turn toward Erwin Road.
Take a right on Erwin and then a quick left onto Dobbins Dr. Pass Summerfield Crossing and Midtown-501 and take the first right into Franklin Square.
From Chapel Hill: Take 15-501 North toward Durham.
After the merge of 15-501 and Franklin St. get in the second to left lane and make the U-turn toward Erwin Road.
Take a right on Erwin and then a quick left onto Dobbins Dr. Pass Summerfield Crossing and Midtown-501 and take the first right into Franklin Square.
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