Services

A PERSONAL CHOICE

Deciding to see a counselor is the first step. Finding the right counselor to help you takes some research.

COUNSELING Q&A

What is professional counseling?
Counseling is a collaborative effort between the counselor and client. Professional counselors help clients identify goals and potential solutions to problems which cause emotional turmoil; seek to improve communication and coping skills; strengthen self-esteem; and promote behavior change and optimal mental health.

How long does counseling take?
Ideally, counseling is terminated when the problem that you pursued counseling for becomes more manageable or is resolved. However, some insurance companies and managed care plans may limit the number of sessions for which they pay. Check with your health plan to find out more about any limitations in your coverage.

Basic Questions to Ask a Prospective Therapist
A vast majority of the therapy process relies upon the client therapist relationship. If you are unsure as to one of our therapists are a good fit, we encourage everyone to try to get to know us. We will be happy to openly discuss pricing, insurance, and other practical matters. After all, if you’re stressed about making payments, you’re only adding to your troubles.

Some questions to consider asking include:
• How long have you been practicing?
• What licenses and certifications do you have, and which professional organizations do you belong to?
• How much do you charge? What are you sliding-scale options?
• How many clients have you had with similar circumstances to my own? When was the last time you worked with someone like me?
• Describe your ideal patient.

TYPES OF COUNSELING OFFERED AT COUNSELING ASSOCIATES, LLC

INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING
Individual counseling is a personal opportunity to receive support and experience growth during challenging times in life. Individual counseling can help one deal with many personal topics in life such as anger, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, marriage, and relationship challenges, parenting problems, school difficulties, career changes etc. All counselors at Counseling Associates, LLC specialize in treating a wide variety of issues with individual counseling including but not limited too:

• Depression
• Low self-esteem
• Work and School Performance
• Anxiety
• Bipolar
• Personality Disorders
• Domestic Violence
• Physical/Emotional/Sexual Abuse
• Stress related symptoms
• Drug and alcohol treatment
• Trauma related issues
• Grief and loss
• Relationship Issues
• Family conflict
• Child physical and sexual abuse
• Family/Life Transitions (divorce, stepfamilies, children leaving home, moving, etc.)
• Parenting issues
• Sexually Offending Behaviors
• Sexually Compulsive Behaviors

COUPLES COUNSELING
Every couple experience ups and downs in their levels of closeness and harmony over time. This can range from basic concerns of stagnation to serious expressions of aggressive behavior. Marriage counseling or couples counseling can help resolve conflicts and heal wounds. Overall, couples counseling can help couples slow down their spiral and reestablish realistic expectations and goals. Our therapist’s ability to do couples counseling will be based upon on a case by case basis.

FAMILY COUNSELING
Family counseling is often sought due to a life change or stress negatively affecting one or all areas of family closeness, family structure (rules and roles) or communication style. This mode of counseling can take a variety of forms. Sometimes it is best to see an entire family together for several sessions. Common issues addressed in family counseling are concerns around parenting, sibling conflict, loss of family members, new members entering the family, dealing with a major move or a general change affecting the family system. Our therapist’s ability to do couples counseling will be based upon on a case-by-case basis.

SPECIAL THERAPIES OFFERED

EMDR Description:
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal. EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.

Chemical Dependency Treatment:
Substance Abuse Counseling is a type of mental health counseling that specializes in treating patients who have a chemical dependency issue with drugs, alcohol, or behavioral addictions. Whether counseling addicts or those who fear they will become addicts, a substance abuse counselor works with their client to help them overcome their dependency and become self-sufficient. The substance abuse counselor may also work closely with the family of the client as substance abuse inevitably affects the loved ones of the chemically dependent person.