When requesting therapy, it’s hard for people to know whether they need individual, couples or family therapy. Here is a breakdown of important factors to consider when choosing a service.
Individual Therapy
Are you looking to understand yourself more? Perhaps that means you are contemplating important aspects of your own identity, and need the boundary and safety a therapeutic environment provides in order to process sexuality, religion, family and other contextual factors that have played an important role in contributing to anxiety, depression or other mental health symptoms. Maybe you have found yourself in transition, such as a recent break up, loss of job, or the unexpected loss of a loved one. Maybe you find yourself feeling more anxious or depressed, and just don’t know why. Or maybe you’ve experienced a traumatic event. Individual therapy is often a good option for people who want skills to manage or reduce mental health symptoms.
Couples & Marriage Therapy
Are you looking to understand your partner more? Tired of conflict that just continues to escalate, or worse, are you tired of living what feels like a separate life from your partner? When there has been an emotional or physical affair, and/or financial betrayal leaving you wondering how you can stay with your partner. When you have spent some time managing your physical and mental symptoms of anxiety, depression, trauma, etc… and realize you miss your partner, but that longing comes out as resentment and anger. When you are contemplating marriage, or deeper commitment, and need some help having conversations to know whether marriage, commitment, or your current relationship is right for you. When your children leave the nest, and you realize you are actually anxious about being alone with your partner, because the kids have been the focus for the last 18 years. When you are out of sync with your partner on parenting the kids. If you are terrified of being vulnerable, and want the emotional safety and security possible in intimate relationships, couples’ therapy might be right for you.
Family Therapy
Are you looking to create a more intentional, loving family? Are family dinners non-existent because when you have tried to sit down together there is arguing, or worse yet, deafening silence because you can cut the tension with your dinner knife? Or maybe you want to throw your dinner knife because no one follows that darn rule about no electronics at the dinner table. Maybe a family member has gone through recovery for addiction, and your family has no idea how to support them, or break family patterns that cause relentless drama. Maybe you are entering an existing family with a family of your own, and have no idea how to handle the challenges that come with blended families. If you need some help creating structure, and improving familial relationships, then family therapy services might be right for you.
The descriptions above are suggestions, and not written in stone. Every situation, just like every family, is different, and we will collaborate on the best option to reach your desired goal. Depending on the goal, this may result in collaboration with other therapists who might, for example, provide individual therapy for child behavioral issues, while I assist parents with parenting strategies, conflict resolution and repairing intimacy lost over fighting about the child.