People come to therapy primarily because they have a personal or emotional problem that they have tried to fix but find themselves stuck. It isn’t always easy to come to someone you have never met or only heard about and share your personal life. When someone comes to me I respect the fact that they are taking a risk, using their time and money to fix something that they want help with.
As a therapist I am very practical and I strive to help in a way that effects change quickly and profoundly. I give direct feedback. I want the people I am working with to know what I am thinking because I believe it can move the process along. I am not a therapist that sits and nods and says “uh-huh” a lot. I like working with people and helping them make changes and grow as individuals. And I like to use what people already do well to help them develop new ways of being. In therapy jargon it is called “utilization”.
While I believe being able to identify dysfunction and pathology is important, I find that individuals interrupt old patterns and change more deeply when personal strengths are identified and used to help people feel better, think more clearly, and develop problem solving skills.