Solace Family Counseling

The first session is a chance for us to get to know you and for you to get to know us. We are mostly determining if it feels like we can work together and that we will be able to  effectively help you to meet your goals. We will be gathering a lot of background information that helps inform your care. Sometimes this feels like an interview, but it is important in helping us to determine  goals that will mark progress in your therapy. We always want to connect with you at the end of the first session to ensure a good fit and that you feel comfortable moving forward.

Therapy can be helpful to you or your child in a variety of ways. Therapy can help you manage emotions that often seem overwhelming or consistently dictate your choices. Therapy can help children and teens improve their behavior at home or school. Therapy can be helpful in processing traumatic experiences and resolving symptoms associated with those experiences. Therapy can build tools and strategies for calming you in the midst of highly stressful situations. Therapy can improve the quality of your relationships and help you find meaningful connection.

Therapy helps you to become aware of the thoughts, emotions and sensations that drive choices in your life, sometimes without you even knowing. In that awareness, therapy can help you to make better choices that allow you to experience life fully. In light of that, sometimes it can get harder before it gets better. However, the pain is part of the process and the path to healing.

We do not prescribe medication, as we are not medical doctors. But, if medication is a tool that we decide could be helpful in achieving your goals, we would love the opportunity to collaborate with your doctor and ensure a coordinated level of care. We will only reach out to your doctor with your written permission.

This depends largely on your goals and the nature of concerns that you are bringing with you to therapy. Often we recommend participating in therapy for 6 months and then evaluating the progress that has been made on the goals that you have identified. It is never our goal for you to participate in therapy for therapy's sake. We want you to feel confident that your work is paying off and that you are getting closer to where you want to be.

There exists two general thoughts can be helpful in determining if you or your child/teen would benefit from seeking therapy. First, how distressing is the problem? Within that, you should consider how much time you invest in addressing the problem and to what extent you work to hide the problem from others. Additionally, how much has the problem contributed to a decrease in your quality of life?

Secondly, how much is the problem interfering with my daily activities? Does the problem take up more than 1 hour of your day? Have you adjusted your expectations to accommodate the problem? Are you avoiding opportunities or making different lifestyle choices to address the problem?