Why Consider Psychotherapy?

"It is not that I'm so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer."

- Albert Einstein

When clients first come in for a consultation, I try to understand how I might be useful to them. What is the nature of the problem? Why are they seeking help for it at this moment? Often a person is facing something unexpected. More often, however, problems have been brewing for some time. I will explore all the background details with you.

Some issues are more easily resolved than others and people come with different motivations and internal resources to bring to bear on resolving difficulties. Some difficulties have been developing lifelong but reach a breaking point when an individual is faced with a particularly stressful situation.

It is difficult to say, for all these reasons, how long psychotherapy will take. However, after the first few sessions, I should be able to recommend how we might best approach the issue that brought you in. If you decide to engage in psychotherapy we will discuss how often we will meet, for what length of time, at what fee, and establish a time for these meetings. We will discuss the format of psychotherapy as well. During this time we will be experiencing our comfort level with one another and if you decide you are not comfortable enough to work with me after our first session, we will close up shop, so to speak, and I won’t charge you for the session.

Now I’d like to say a bit more about when psychotherapy may be a good choice. Psychotherapy is wise a option when you are experiencing a challenge or major change in your life. Change, whether good or bad, is always stressful. It often presents itself as a turning point, sometimes a crisis and it is always an opportunity for growth. How insightful and authentic we are about understanding ourselves and our needs determines how successfully we resolve the crisis and achieve personal development.

There is profound healing in having your feelings and thoughts witnessed and having your most authentic self affirmed by a psychotherapist who is not judging or criticizing you but trying to help you attain a “deeper” understanding of yourself and your desires. For some people the first time they ever have such an experience is with a therapist with whom they feel safe to share their most private thoughts and aspirations in a confidential relationship.

Talking and thinking things through with a therapist can be transformative over time. Such talk in psychotherapy develops a more conscious and honest recognition of how you feel about significant relationships and issues in your life. This will entail not evading painful feelings but rather acknowledging them, leaning into them, working through them and learning how they impact your life and how to best deal with them. This process of embracing a fuller understanding of your conscious and unconscious feelings and thoughts is the basis for identifying your needs and getting to where you truly want to go.

It is then, in psychotherapy, that you can learn new ways to view an issue and behave differently -- more flexibly and adaptively. It is here where personal growth is achieved which often leads to professional development, as well.

I find listening to my clients’ hearts and minds, looking together at their fears, talents and strengths, enables me to help them find a creative path though life. It is work I delight in and work that I believe my clients find transformative, as well.

I am happy to try to help you sort things out. You can contact me at tybe@tybediamond.com or 202.966.1381 with your questions or to make an appointment for a consultation. I look forward to hearing from you.