Please Note: Due to the COVID-19 virus, I am offering Telehealth video sessions via SimplePractice. If interested, please provide your email address. Phone sessions are also available.
My Psychotherapy Practice – Your Future Happiness
My approach to psychotherapy is an insight-oriented, highly empathic, humanistic approach.
I am mindful of the current life situation of my clients, the life history of each person, and the role our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs have in how we respond to, and create, our life experiences.
I also incorporate holistic psychotherapy techniques I’ve learned from working closely with numerous practitioners and experts in the field into the work I do with clients.
These include the work of Dr. Stanley Krippner, an internationally known humanist scholar, one of the leading authorities on dream psychology, and a man invested in understanding how our world is affected by the way different cultures communicate and interact.
Dr. Krippner’s studies have helped me work successfully with a wide variety of clients from different cultural backgrounds by understanding the human psyche from many different perspectives while comprehending, utilizing, and respecting scientific, empirically-based knowledge.
I also use the body-oriented Focusing techniques taught by Dr. Ann Wieser Cornell, and the somatic work techniques of Dr. Bret Lyon, both of which have proven instrumental in my work helping clients overcome depression, anxiety, and trauma.
I’m also an EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) practitioner. EMDR is a method of psychotherapy that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma (PTSD) and those looking to replace negative self-belief systems with positive ones.
Using the skills I’ve studied and practiced for the last two decades, I work with each client in a way that is unique and specific to that person, their goals, and our work together in order for them to create the positive, lasting change they seek.
Logistics
Initial Consultation – When you call for a first appointment, I’ll happily answer your questions and will likely recommend meeting for a preliminary evaluation.
I use the initial evaluation to ask questions about what brings you to counseling and gather a brief history, while forming an opinion of whether or not my training and experience may be able to help you.
You can use this time to ask questions about counseling, my practice, and any concerns you may have, while assessing your experience of interacting with me. At the end of this first session, I will share some of my thoughts and recommendations with you and we can decide together whether or not you should proceed with treatment and if we’d be comfortable working together.
Beginning Counseling – Once you begin psychotherapy, the primary goal of our initial work together will focus on relieving your current symptoms. This is a time for specific solution-oriented work. The outset of therapy is rarely the time to begin solving historical and long-standing issues, such as conflict in your family of origin or childhood trauma.
I meet with clients once per week, and aspects of this early work include becoming aware of current changes and issues in your life and on developing necessary coping skills and support. Initial focus will be on current problems and developing healthy lifestyle changes.
In-Depth Psychotherapy – There is not a set delineation between beginning counseling with solution-focused work and moving towards more in-depth psychotherapy.
While in-depth therapy is not necessary or suitable for all clients, as you begin to work through the present circumstances that brought you to counseling, we may decide to begin focusing on the underlying assumptions and behaviors that have lead to the issues you’re currently facing. When change is difficult, it may be an indication that deeper work would be helpful.
In in-depth psychotherapy, clients are asked to detail as completely as possible the thoughts, feelings, and sensations they become aware of while we work together. Over time, as trust and respect develop, this allows a deeper understanding of your thoughts and feelings to occur, which throws light on the difficulties that brought you to treatment. I share my understanding of my client’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as we go along. Together, we work to put into words the deepest understanding of your personality that we can achieve.
Confidentiality – Because the trusting relationship established between a therapist and a client is so critical to therapy’s success, all information shared during treatment is strictly confidential except in circumstances governed by law.
If you would ever like me to confer with anyone regarding your treatment, you will need to sign a “Release of Information” form. And, even once signed, this permission may be revoked by you at any time.
Closure – Deciding to seek professional help and beginning therapy are serious commitments to yourself and your future well-being. Your perseverance in the healing process, your patience with yourself, and your willingness to practice the knowledge and skills you learn are all critical to successful therapy. And they all take time. The length of time successful therapy requires is unique to each individual and their therapeutic goals.
While previous clients who’ve successfully terminated treatment may return from time to time to work on specific issues, when you’re beginning therapy, success requires focus on the healing process and not on the length of treatment. Your therapist should communicate with you when they believe you are ready to conclude psychotherapy.
I am always willing to discuss termination of therapy with my clients, and my relationships with my clients are “at will.” That having been said, regardless of who initiates termination, ending therapy is something that should be discussed by both therapist and client and decided on jointly.
Effective psychotherapy can help you overcome unhelpful patterns of perception and behavior, improve the way you interact with the world, and bring about the positive, lasting change you seek!
This kind of change continues to unfold long after the last therapy session has ended – the type of progress that occurs when you are able to face new problems and deal with them in more effective and satisfying ways for years to come.
When you’re ready to create change – be it finding the right work/life balance, improving communication skills, resolving marital conflict, effectively dealing with depression, overcoming mood or anxiety issues, or enhancing your relationships – I am here to help.
Healing our minds is one of the most important things that we can do to ensure a happy and rewarding life. What we believe, we create, and the good news is that because our beliefs are instilled in us after birth, they are mutable. Changing your beliefs about how the world and relationships work can result in a life that is truly worth celebrating!
Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you have or to schedule an appointment. I can be reached at 650-348-0755 or at drpaul@humanisttherapy.com. I look forward to speaking with you.