Therapy is the work and art of helping an individual return, maintain or perhaps gain for the first time a state of well being. It is a collaborative effort that demands a strong commitment from both client and therapist to move towards this goal. It is important to remember that therapy is not a one sided relationship where the “all knowing” therapist proceeds to solve problems for the client. It is often a process of mutual growth and well being. Like a dance, it is best done in partnership. This idea is rooted in the earliest forms of analytical psychology. The idea is that a therapist can only facilitate change in an individual to the extent that she or he is open to change themselves.

I am currently in Jungian Analysis continuously for more than ten years. Prior to this I worked with two cognitive therapists on separate occasions totaling some seven years. I am well acquainted with all of the concerns and dynamics of being “On the other side of things”. The main purpose for all of this work was to facilitate and enhance the process of my personal growth. Another critical dynamic to address is that it often is only possible to help a client go somewhere if in a manner you as a therapist have been there yourself. In addition, engaging in personal therapy is beneficial in assisting a therapist to identify and prevent negative personal dynamics from influencing the work with a client. For a therapist it is most beneficial and rewarding to “Walk the talk”.

I generally speak of my task as accompanying my clients on their own unique and individual journey. We do this as a partnership. I generally welcome prospective clients to feel free to ask questions they may want to know about the work or my experiences and credentials. It is important to ask each client what their hopes and vision is of therapeutic work. There are clients who may have had prior therapeutic experience and some who do not and want to know what to expect. I work to stay attuned to what the individual client is seeking either consciously or unconsciously. It is not unusual for a prospective client to seek treatment for a specific issue only to discover that there is another issue that is seeking recognition. The process of staging attuned to a client is always an ongoing process.

It is my philosophy to stay well aware of  the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship. Each situation can be quite different. There is a therapeutic adage that states the time for a client to leave therapy is when they have reached a point of being their own therapist, at least on some level. Generally the client is the one who takes the lead on when to end work. A therapist must be cognizant of their own feelings thinking a client is ready to “graduate” from therapy. Is this a reflection on the limited capacity or unawareness of the therapist or is it really time to go? A decision or a desire to end therapy, if possible, should always entail some processing time on both the therapists and clients’ part.  My experience is that when a good therapeutic relationship is established both client and therapist “know” when it is time to end the work. My position is nearly always to leave “the door open” to continue working together at a future time if so desired.