Psychotherapy begins with a period of evaluation during which we talk about your reasons for seeking treatment and what do you expect to achieve in therapy. We also discuss the frequency and length of sessions and the policy for payment. The initial sessions provides an opportunity to learn about you, to develop an understanding of your troubles, and to formulate ideas about how your treatment should proceed. At some point within the first few sessions, we will come to a mutual understanding of the goals for treatment. After this point, the sessions will become less like an interview; you will be free to say whatever is on your mind. My job is to listen and help you identify patterns of thinking, feeling and interacting that may be contributing to your current struggles.

You can determine whether psychotherapy is effective if you begin to get insights about your own thoughts and behaviors that didn't occur to you before. Over time, you should be able to recognize patterns in the way you act, track their sources and identify barriers to your happiness that you may have unintentionally created. The end result is personal growth that empowers you to control your life and enjoy positive, life-affirming relationships with others.

Please keep in mind that effective psychotherapy takes a cooperative effort and commitment to make sometimes difficult changes in behavior or thinking patterns.