You may be thinking something like, "Me? In therapy? C'mon, you're kidding, right?" Well, you are here reading this, so lets just see what this therapy stuff is all about...

Lets start with what it is not: therapy is not demeaning, embarrassing, shameful, or in any way intended to harm you, your relationships, or anyone you love. Therapy is not a bad thing. Seeing a therapist does not mean you are broken or that there is something wrong with you.

• Going to therapy means you are acknowledging to yourself that you need help with something

If you feel sick, you go to a doctor. If you want to learn how to play piano, you take piano lessons. Therapy is analogous to a mixture of both applied to mental health. The goal is to understand the nature of the issue, figure out what is and isn’t working for you, and then learn how to do things differently so you can get different results and achieve your goals.

• If you feel sad, unhappy, frustrated, anxious, afraid, hurt, angry, or anything other than the way you would prefer to feel, you can work with your therapist to figure out how to stop feeling that way and create the life you want.

Therapy is a confidential, collaborative process between you and your therapist. Together you can find understanding, solutions, and the strength and resources needed to deal with challenges. A skilled therapist will listen to you, understand your wants and needs, and work collaboratively with you to help you figure out what and how to change. The same process applies to working with individuals and with families.

Many people come to therapy to find support, understanding, coping skills, peace, compassion, empathy, and to discover their own unique path to happiness. Your therapist's job is to help you find those things within yourself, and help you identify internal and external resources needed to achieve your therapeutic goals. They are in there somewhere!

Feeling, adapting, growing, and changing are unique, personal experiences that belong only to you. A skilled therapist helps you define, create, and navigate your own unique personal growth process, offering guidance, knowledge, tools, suggestions, support, and encouragement along the way. I believe half of your therapist's job is to help you figure stuff out. The other half is helping you help yourself. You know what I mean--the whole "teach someone to fish..." thing.

If this sounds like a collaboration you might benefit from, let’s talk about it. I hope this answers some of your questions. More answers may be found in the FAQ, in other areas of this site, or by calling or emailing me.

-Matt