Services - and which to use
In a nutshell…
Therapy can be helpful when you experience difficulties in multiple areas of your life, and when it’s hard to feel good about your life. Therapy can be helpful even when one particular issue (such as a job loss or a divorce) seems to take you past your tipping point. Many of your concerns are long-standing and have significant emotional impacts on your daily life and you want a professional to bring you new insights and strategies.
By contrast, Coaching assumes you have a specific issue you want to address. You have a good base level of functionality, but want more than that. You are willing to put in the work to stretch yourself and achieve more success. You are ready for someone to give you structure and assist your self-discipline to solve problems and get noticeable results in a relatively short amount of time. Perhaps you want the occasional motivating “kick in the butt” to move faster.
For more details, please keep reading.
Coaching
How many of the following statements ring true to you?
Are you feeling “stuck” in your career?
Are you generally doing okay in many areas of your life, but get the sense that things could be going better?
Do you think that a notable change in your life might be in order, especially in your professional life?Do you want to work through your options with a trusted confidante before discussing them with other people?
Are you trying to to decide if you want to change your present job responsibilities, change jobs within your organization, get a new job at a new organization…or maybe completely change everything, by changing careers or retiring?
Have you taken time off from work and are wondering how to restart your career? Are you questioning if you even want to go back to the same line of work?
If you’re feeling anxious or blue, is it a temporary annoyance, and it doesn’t greatly interfere with your daily living?
Do you need help finding the next direction of your life, and need assistance getting unblocked?
If two or more of these statements are true, coaching might accelerate the process of moving forward in your life.
What we’ll talk about: what is happening in the present, to see if things can be untangled. It may mean changing a few things; it may mean changing many things. It’s all about figuring out how you can be the person you want to be - or the closest that is possible, based on constraints like time or money. It could take weeks; it could take months. The amount of time is largely based on your motivation to put in the work, including some research. Homework will likely be assigned every one or two weeks, and, generally will need to be completed by the next session.
What we aren’t going to talk about:
Your childhood, except for figuring out what activities you loved and disliked the most and how they turned up in your adult life
Your traumatic experiences, your dreams, or your sexual fantasies.
Theoretical orientation in psychology, because coaching uses more straightforward problem solving. (Think of coaching as a design review of your life.)
If you are interested in coaching, you can be located anywhere in the world. All coaching sessions will be performed using teletherapy in spoken English.
Therapy
How many of the following statements ring true to you?
Are you having difficulty believing any part of your life is going well?
Do you feel chronically anxious or depressed?
Do you feel all alone sometimes, and wonder why it is hard to keep friends and loved ones involved in your life?
Do you have a diagnosis that has been present for most of your life, like ADHD or autism, that caused problems in multiple parts of your life?
Are you, like Hamlet, wondering whether to be or not to be, even though you would never actually do something to harm yourself or others?
If two or more of these statements ring true to you, therapy may make more sense for you than coaching.
This is the sort of work that most people think of when they work with a psychologist. We’ll be discussing every aspect of your life, because it all links together. This will include what life was like for you while growing up, because your childhood and early adulthood can impact why you may not be acting in your own best self-interests now. We’ll also look at if there are any biological issues that may need to be examined and addressed.
This is typically not a fast process. Most people in therapy didn’t get into the difficulties they are in overnight, so they are unlikely to resolve those difficulties overnight. Therapy is as effective as your willingness to work on tough issues. The expectation is that examining one’s own life gives insights and ultimately enables change and growth.
Please note: for therapy with this service, you must be a resident of Washington State, due to licensing laws. Washington State residence is a requirement for therapy, but not for coaching.
All therapy sessions will be performed using teletherapy in spoken English.
