Values counseling allows you to know the heart of your counselor. By knowing this in advance, you will have a greater understanding of your counselor's focus, goals, and counselling path. You gain a deeper, more objective insight into where you have been and the new direction that will bring you healing, restoration, and joy. Simply put, having a therapist who shares your values means better and more effective therapy. Values promote healthy living and relationships, helping us to get our lives on the right track. They not only protect us, but also guide us.

Our Values Statement

These values are not "ours", they are instead a reflection of values common to most people throughout North America. Therapists listed at Theravive are committed to upholding these values for any client they receive through our site. These values are shared by our therapists, if you are looking for counseling, you need not have any of these values. This information is shared to you so that you can be empowered to make the right decision regarding therapy for your life and well being. Clients are welcomed by us regardless of their values.

Value: We believe in saving marriages, and in the restoration of relationships.
Statement of Understanding:
Theravive is pro-marriage. While not all therapists on Theravive practice marriage counseling, for those that do, this means our first hope is to save your relationship, if possible. Marriages to us are far greater than merely a "contract" or "piece of paper." They are the foundation for a healthy family. In 'saving a marriage' we do not mean simply keeping two people physically together where one or both spouses are unhappy. Our goal is that both spouses have renewed purpose, connection, value, and joy together. For couples who are not yet married, we are still strongly committed to finding the best path for your relationship. We believe in restoring broken relationships to a healthy place. Yet we also understand that not all relationships can be saved (such as a spouse who is adamant in divorce, or when someone's safety is at risk, etc.). In the case where a relationship cannot be saved, our goal is to resolve the issues that have left the relationship broken and restore the individual.

VALUE: We believe in the sanctity and dignity of human life, that all people have meaning and purpose, and that no individual is without true value regardless of age, sex, race, choices made in life, or religion.
We believe that each individual has purpose, meaning, and objective value. People are not born as merely empty vessels upon which a society or government grants rights and value to. Instead, simply by virtue of being a human being, you have inherent value, purpose, and meaning. The worth and unique value of a human being is objective. At Theravive, this means your counselor will treat you with dignity, respect, and with genuine concern for your well-being.

VALUE: We believe in families and in raising children by their loving and married mothers and fathers (this isn't always possible, it is simply the best possible).
Statement of Understanding:
We believe the best (ideal) place to raise children are by their mothers and fathers in a loving marriage. We do not consider expendable, a mother or a father. If a society teaches, for example, that a father is expendable and optional in raising a child, what does that teach our young boys about fatherhood? Is it any wonder then, that they may grow up and be uninvolved fathers? Mothers and fathers offer unique attributes in the development of a child that no one else can fully substitute. A fatherless or motherless child, or a child in a single parent home, may still have a wonderful loving home (please do not read this value to mean that homes without two parents are bad). What we mean is that these are not things we would plan for, or wish upon our children when they become parents. Most single parents, for example, never planned on being single parents and wouldn't wish it upon their children. We believe that no matter what path we may have taken in life as a parent, it is always healthy to teach our children the value of marriage and family, and the irreplaceable value of fatherhood and motherhood. This gives them a solid direction in life, and a strong system of values that will guide their future, helping them to become loving, involved, and active parents. We want our children to model the best parts of us, and not our regrets.

In therapy, this means that we strive for healthy relationships between parents and their children. For children growing up in homes where there is no possibility of a healthy relationship with one or both parents, or where there is a deep rift in the extended family, we can work with clients to to help fill the gap by finding healthy and strong role models, such as those in the boy scouts or big sister groups. We also give parents powerful tools that will help strengthen their children's self identity and value system, something especially vital for children who are living in struggling homes or where their parent(s) are in a life crisis.

If you have read this value and feel that you are not even close, be encouraged; no matter where you are in life, therapy can bring a new direction for you and your children. We accept all people where they are in life, just as you are, and it is never too late to start a new path. Every journey begins with a single step.

VALUE: We affirm individual responsibility and the need and power of forgiveness, acknowledging that right and wrong exist.
Statement of Understanding:
We believe that fundamental right and wrong are not relative, but something that is commonly understood. For example, whether its "small" acts like cutting in line, or larger ones such as acts of harm, stealing, or deception, the same universal principles are known, regardless of culture. These are the basis for our conscience, shared by all humans of all races.

Forgiveness implies that someone was wronged. Whether you are giving forgiveness to someone who wronged you, or you need forgiveness for someone you have wronged, there is a recognition that something happened that should not have, or did not happen that should have. In order for forgiveness to occur there needs to be an acknowledgement of responsibility and of right and wrong, meaning that sometimes guilt is a healthy response to wrongdoing. Too often in society we look to pin responsibility on everyone else, with the notion that there is no such thing as "wrong".  In the world of psychology, too often counselors just assume guilt is an unhealthy emotion that should be let-go. Therapy should never be about convincing someone to have no guilt, instead it should be about addressing what is broken, dealing with mistakes in a healthy way, and empowering clients to make healthier choices in life. Yes this means that therapy can sometimes be difficult, but it is also very real, and the changes are very real. While we agree that there are certainly times when guilt can be oppressive and hurtful to growth (i.e. a battered wife who blames herself, or a victim of sexual abuse struggling with shame), we also acknowledge that guilt can sometimes be healthy, a sign that an individual has a conscience, and a call to action. It is much more tragic when someone can hurt others and feel no guilt.

When we hurt someone else or when someone hurts us, we need to forgive, not just those who hurt us, but ourselves as well. Forgiveness allows us to let go of the hurt, and be free from guilt. Forgiveness is very powerful and essential in any committed relationship, and important for our own selves. Sometimes forgiving our self is harder than forgiving anyone else. 

PRINCIPLE: Naturopathic Philosophy
We believe in resolving the underlying problems that lead to depression, anxiety, and other emotional and physiological issues. While medication may be a necessary part of an individual’s process to wellness, where possible, we work to free the client from the problems that medication has been prescribed to address. This results in the client requiring less or no medication and not becoming dependent on counselling. To put simply, drugs are a last resort, not a first resort (especially with children). Far too many times, drugs are rapidly prescribed as a quick way to treat a client when they are not always necessary. We do not want to resort to drugs as an easy way out of dealing with a problem, yet at the same time we acknowledge that drugs are an important component of mental health. At all times, we work with, not against, the professional medical care given to our clients. 

PRINCIPLE: Guide Not a Judge
While our counselors share common values, our clients need not. A client may live a life of different values, and is still wholeheartedly welcomed. Clients are accepted by us, exactly as they are. Even though we believe in a set of common values, it is not our place to be judgmental, dictate, or impose on a client. Our values steer therapy. They do not condemn, but instead they guide. No matter what the values of a client are, a good counselor will accept that client, and be a listener first. A counselor can never "fix" a problem or change someone, only the client can do that. A counselor that spends more time talking in sessions than his or her clients is probably missing out on important opportunities to understand and lead the client into a path of discovery. While there are certainly times that it may be appropriate to spend a lot of time advising a client, a good counselor is first a listener before being a speaker. A good counselor establishes a safe, collaborative relationship with the client and it is within the safety of this container that effective therapy takes place. A good counselor will guide, rather than judge. A good counselor will listen, rather than lecture. It is always the client, not the therapist, who must make the decisions regarding their life. The grounded counselor shows the way and provides the tools; the client must then make the choice and walk the path.

Have feedback about our values? Please Let Us Know Here - We are very interested in what clients and counselors both think of our values and mission.

To learn more about our approach to counseling, read about the road of therapy-discovery-results-life

For those who want to learn more, here is and in-depth discussion of our values, including a real world example.

On Values and Ethics: The field of counseling and psychology is regulated by official bodies, including the regulation of ethics in practice. Values counseling is not a replacement of professional ethics and is something different entirely. Learn more about ethics and values here.