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Therapy Information
Helping Individuals
-"Clients who are treated by marriage and family therapists are more productive at work and visit their doctors
less often
."1
Benefits of counseling...
· Resolve upsetting relationships
· Increase self-esteem and self-confidence
· Heal from painful childhood issues
· Live with a sense of purpose and passion
· Manage angry feelings
· Cope with grief and emotional pain
· Reduce feelings of depression and anxiety
· Learn stress reduction skills for inner peace |
Helpful for people with these issues
· Relationship problems or breakups
· Experiencing a lot of change
· Self-defeating habits
· Emotional stress
· Want to regain a sense of control and find inner peace |
Individual Therapy: depression,
anxiety, self-esteem, mind/body/spirit approaches,
men's issues.
Choices for services:
Intensive Therapy: Ideal for a client
in crisis who needs in-depth
 and immediate attention.
Two sessions per week.
Working Through: Make solid gains and attain your goals.
One session per week.
Moderate Support: Therapy to support clients maintaining healthy
functioning and build on strengths.
One session every other week. |
1 California Association of Marriage and Family
Therapists (CAMFT), Marriage and Family Therapy-A Unique Healing Art. (858) 292-2638
Counseling Couples
I help couples respect each other,
resolve conflicts, and grow together.
I teach couples skills that they easily use to improve their relationship.
Benefits of counseling...
· Increase respect and affection
· Support each other in satisfying his or her partner's life dreams
· Build friendship and intimacy
· Learn conflict resolution skills
· Find ways to talk and listen that lead to understanding |
Helpful for
· Couples considering marriage
· Married couples
· Same sex couples
· Couples with sexual difficulties
· Couples wondering if they should stay together
· Couples going through the separation process
· Couples who have experienced interpersonal violence
· Couples affected by a partner's substance abuse |
Brief Therapy using the PREPARE/ENRICH
Inventories
· 4-7 Sessions
· Couples take a relationship inventory that evaluates their
relationship strengths and growth areas
in 20 categories.
· Inventories available: Premarital couples with or without children;
Cohabiting couples with or without children;
Married couples;
Couples over the age of 50.
· Couples learn six exercises: building strength and growth areas;
couple communication skills; ten steps for
resolving conflict;
financial planning and budget; personal,
couple and family goals
· Couples receive a 25 page workbook
· Over one million couples have taken these inventories |
Championing Children
"Marriage and family therapists
use a combination of formal education, retraining and individual therapy in a safe, non-directive environment to
help children heal. By nature of their family focus, marriage and family therapists often include parents, families,
teachers and significant others in the therapeutic process."2
Benefits of counseling...
· Children have a neutral
party to talk with
· Children express feelings and handle painful feelings
· Manage angry feelings
· Cope with grief and loss
· Adjust to divorce |
Helpful for
· Disruptive behavior at home
or school
· Lack of motivation
· Drop in grades
· Alcohol or drug problems |
2 California Association of Marriage and Family
Therapists (CAMFT), Marriage and
Family Therapy-A Unique Healing Art. (858) 292-2638
Favoring Families
Therapists work with families to
develop healthy and productive relationships.
They promote positive behaviors in families.
Benefits of counseling...
· Respect differences and build on family strengths
· Improve communication
· Resolve conflicts
· Improve parenting skills |
Helpful for
· Families who have frequent
conflicts
· Step families struggling with how members can get along
· Single parents who may feel overwhelmed
· Divorced or separated parents adjusting to new roles
· Families affected by a member's substance abuse |
Overcoming Substance Abuse
Overcoming substance abuse-Dealing with problems with
alcohol and drugs is frustrating, confusing, and scary. Counseling helps clients take action and heal.
Benefits of counseling...
· Learn the difference between substance abuse and
dependence
· Learn about stages of change and ways to become motivated
· Handle emotions of anger, guilt, and shame
· Focus on your strengths in other areas |
Helpful for
· Substance abusers who wonder if they have a problem
· People at various stages of recovery
· People who have relationship or work problems due
to substance abuse
· Family members affected by a member's substance abuse |
Men's Issues
Men's Issues- Men often believe going to counseling is admitting weakness. Counseling helps men to learn about
themselves and better express their thoughts and feelings. Going for counseling shows that a man is willing to
learn and grow.
Benefits of counseling...
· Identify your feelings
· Manage feelings of anger and violent outbursts
· Reduce depression
· Learn healthy relationship skills
· Develop intimacy |
Helpful for men with these problems
· Feel lonely and isolated
from their partner and family members
· Overwork as a means to feel good about themselves
· Have substance abuse problems
· Involved in interpersonal violence |
Wellness / Personal Growth
Wellness/Personal Growth-Wellness counseling helps clients learn skills to achieve health, well-being, and optimism.
Benefits of counseling...
· Live with a sense of purpose and passion
· Practice stress reduction skills for inner peace
· Develop mind and body integration
· Explore your spirituality |
Helpful for people with...
· Mental and emotional stress and anxiety
· Chronic or life-threatening illness |
Tips on Counseling
Session Design
· Counseling session usually
last 50 minutes. Session length and how
often a client comes are flexible-designed
to meet the client's needs.
Choices for services
· Working through problems-Make
solid gains and reach your goals.
One session per week.
· Moderate support-Support you maintaining healthy functioning
and build on your strengths. One session
every other week.
· Brief therapy-Six to eight sessions on one specific issue
Fee
· Free initial phone consultation. |
Questions and Answers
· Who are marriage
and family therapists?
They are licensed mental health professionals
by the State of California. They have completed at least a two year masters degree program and 3,000 hours of supervised
experience. They are licensed to diagnose and treat clients with difficulties that arise from unresolved interpersonal
issues or current relationship problems.
· How do they
counsel clients?
Marriage and family therapists believe
a person's mental or emotional problems need to be treated within the framework of her or his current or past relationships.
Of all the reasons that individuals seek help, nearly half directly relate to interpersonal relationship problems,
including marital issues, child-rearing difficulties, family and work-related conflicts. 3
· How do Americans
choose a mental health provider?
Primarily through physicians and
friends, according to a July 1993 article in the American Psychologist Journal. And who do friends recommend? Marriage
and family therapists are their first choice. 4
3Murstein Bernard I. And P.A. Fontaine;
The Public's Knowledge About Psychologists and Other Mental Health Professionals, July 1993, American Psychologist.
4 Ibid.
About John
All of us experience times when we need
greater support and help. As a therapist with 20 years experience in the helping profession, I am guided by these
principles:
· Help you feel accepted and valued
· Draw on your strengths
· Work together to find solutions which respect your values & lifestyle
· Bring you a more genuine expression of yourself |
Training and education
John has a master's degree in counseling,
He holds a certificate of completion in alcohol and drug counseling. He has been an instructor in couple enrichment
and couple communication classes at adult community education. He is a certified PREPARE/ENRICH counselor. John
is a member of the local and state California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT).
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