Mental Health Counseling and Personal Coaching

Our Philosophy

Therapy has changed over the years. The "old school" psychotherapists like Freud, Jung, Rogers, Adler, and others had some unusual yet groundbreaking ideas. Overall, though, they were more focused on the happiness and the thriving of their patients than providing medical treatment for mental health disorders.

In recent decades, psychotherapy has shifted in the direction of brief, manualized approaches that treat mental health disorders in a way that is easily reimbursed by insurance companies. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, because it helps a lot of people. However, it has gradually caused many people to view psychotherapy as a medical treatment for a diagnosis, rather than a process that supports their health and growth.

While we are licensed and trained to treat mental health disorders, we prefer to root our practice in a more holistic model that is centered on each person's thriving. We view each individual as a unique, complex, interconnected landscape. With our clients, we survey that landscape to understand, in context, the goals they want to achieve and the barriers they typically encounter in the course of pursuing those goals. Each session draws on the therapeutic effect of an authentic relationship in which the therapist utilizes a broad array of models and techniques to meet the needs of the client^[1].

In short, whether you come to us for coaching or therapy, we don't just want you to recover from a mental health problem. We want to help you become more fully yourself.

What is the difference between counseling and personal coaching?

Counseling and coaching are similar. The main difference is where we begin.

In mental health counseling, we usually start with an identifiable problem or diagnosis. For example:

• "I cannot get out of bed in the morning."
• "I have had thoughts of hurting myself or dying."
• "I have been experiencing panic attacks."
• "I lose control of my thoughts and emotions when I'm reminded of a traumatic event."
• "I want to get into a good university, but my anxiety is affecting my test scores."
• "I keep hurting and being hurt by the people in my life."
• "I have looked up my symptoms online, and I think I might have ADHD."

In personal coaching, we usually start with goals or needs. For example:

• "I don't know how to decide whether or not to move."
• "I know I can do my job, but my boss is unhappy with my performance."
• "I'm so focused on meeting others' needs that I don't know who I am."
• "Everything's going well in life, but I have this gnawing feeling that there should be something more."
• "I am afraid I will never please my father."
• "I just made a huge transition and need to process it."

Whether they are looking for counseling or coaching, most of our clients come to us having already tried and exhausted many approaches to navigating the barriers they face. Sometimes this includes working with other counselors or psychologists. When this happens, we seek to honor the resourceful ingenuity of our clients, adopting a nuanced perspective that builds on the work they have already done rather than repeating it.