Find a Therapist in Shelbyville, Tennessee.

"Psychotherapy" is a word that has lost much of it's meaning in our culture. I encourage my clients to start over with understanding what psychotherapy is. The word comes for two Greek words--psyche, meaning "soul or life", and "therapeuo", meaning "to heal or serve". I am here to serve the souls of those who allow me to journey with them for a season, and to help them on a healing path. We often look together at the past, not for endless navel gazing and self-absorbing analysis, but to dislodge places where the client may have become stuck in his/her journey toward healthy adulthood. We also look at the present, and how his/her spiritual and mental habits are affecting their well being.

There are many ways a counselor may work with you during session. The therapeutic relationship is an important aspect of your therapeutic journey. As you "join together" with your counselor during your sessions, you should feel that you are in a safe place with a safe person. It is important that you feel comfortable and that you can trust your counselor. Our first steps in your process will be to join in that therapeutic relationship, develop trust and safety so you can start on your journey towards feeling more whole and centered.

Psychotherapy is the use of psychological methods to help a person change behavior and overcome problems in a positive manner. Its aim is to help people understand the thoughts behind feeling anxious or depressed and addressing these thinking patterns. Psychotherapy will help you change behaviors and habits that are limiting you, to experiencing your fullest potential.

Psychotherapy sounds ominous, doesn't it? Conjures up images of lying on a couch, having your dreams analyzed or you explaining why the ink blot you're shown looks like a bat to you instead of a butterfly. Psychotherapy is really just a technical term for personal counseling. It means a counseling office is a safe place to talk with a qualified professional and caring counselor about what is bothering you. One of my clients expressed it well, "I want to understand why I struggle with some things; and I want to change those things. I know a better future is largely up to me." If that sounds like you, I can help.

The goal of psychotherapy is for you to be able to take back control of your life. Talking through the problems you are facing with someone else is often one of the best ways to find resolution to those problems. I use a variety of approaches that strive to best meet your needs and are compatible with your goals for counseling. I primarily utilize cognitive-behavior, rational-emotive, behavioral, and systems theories as I work with you to accomplish the goals you have for our time together. Each situation is different, and so I strive to use whatever will aid you in meeting your goals within the parameters of my training, experience, and competence.

My work with clients who bravely engage the process of psychotherapy is collaborative and relational. Research has shown that the most important determinant in effective therapy is a strong, trusting relational connection between client and therapist. Feeling seen, heard, and known creates the foundation to help you discover new things about yourself, identify and change patterns in your life that may no longer be working for you, and help you become more the person you were created to be.