common questions

I hope you’ll find this page helpful in answering the questions you might have about therapy. Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions.

what is therapy? why is it helpful?
Therapy (or counseling) is a unique relationship separate from other parts of your life. It’s an opportunity to be in supportive and  thoughtful conversations about topics important to you. It's an intentional way of talking and exploring together. It’s a partnership between a person’s knowledge and expertise about their own life and a therapist’s offering of meaningful questions and conversation.

In a world where life is busy and schedules are full, it can be challenging to find time to focus on ourselves. Therapy offers a way to come together with another person who brings respectful listening, meaningful questions, and thoughtful conversation. These ways of being together allow us to see ourselves and our lives with new perspectives freeing us to move toward more preferred experiences.


who comes to therapy?
For most of us, we reach a time in our lives when the dreams we have for ourselves don’t match the life we are living. We believe a better experience of ourselves is waiting to be discovered and let loose in the world. At a crossroad, people often begin therapy when they are feeling stuck and frustrated and wanting change.

Many people wonder if something has to be wrong to begin therapy. Beginning therapy doesn’t have to mean anything is wrong with you. It simply means you want something different or more for your life and want to talk about how to move in those directions.

Sometimes a young person comes to therapy because their parents have made that decision. If that’s true for you, it’s okay to not be thrilled about meeting together. Some people are excited to begin conversations, others are not. While I support the choice your parents’ have made, I also support your right to talk about the parts of your life you’re interested in speaking about. This means I will respect your privacy and honor the spaces in your life you might not want to talk about as we get to know each other.

is our time together confidential?
One of the most important aspects of therapy is the privacy of a therapy relationship. Your identity and our conversations together remain confidential unless you provide permission otherwise. Only with your permission can I speak about our relationship or our conversations. I believe every person deserves a sacred place to explore our lives and I take every effort to guard confidentiality with great integrity.

Because I’m a mandated reporter in our state, there are exceptions to confidentiality which I’m glad to discuss together. If I hear about the abuse of a child, an elderly person, or someone who is vulnerable through disability, I am required to report such abuse. I am also required to report concerns regarding safety should I hear information indicating intentions to harm yourself or someone else. At our first meeting together, I’ll be providing you with further information about confidentiality and I’m glad to answer any questions you might have in the meantime.

how is therapy different than talking to my friends?
Friends are irreplaceable. We need our friends, but even the best of friends can’t always be everything to each other. Sometimes friends get burdened by certain conversations and relationships can become strained. Friends often mean well and want to be supportive but they aren’t educated or trained in ways that can be most helpful. When a friend knows they can’t be helpful or they don’t know what to say, they can feel overwhelmed and might even pull away. Having a relationship with a therapist, who is a neutral person in your life, can free up friends to enjoy themselves while getting greater support outside of that friendship. And, since therapy is a confidential relationship, you never have to worry about conversations spreading to other friends.