Individual Therapy

Life is not what it used to be.

Once, you could spin all the plates – work demands, family responsibilities, coveted ’me-time,’ social calendar, even life’s unexpected curveballs – but you can’t seem to hold it together now.

Your poise and self-assurance have disintegrated amidst the fallen shards, causing you to wonder, “What is happening to me? Why can’t I do all the things anymore?”

Earlier, you brimmed with confidence in the face of opportunity and challenge, giving it your all and undaunted by the results. All you needed to do was show up and give it your best shot. But now, a critical voice in your head tells you that you’re broken, deficient, and unworthy, creating a sense of hopelessness, insignificance, sadness, shame, anger, and pity.

These thoughts keep you from doing what you love and leave you feeling like a prisoner in your own life. Where did all that confidence go?

Stress keeps you emotionally upset.

Something has changed, but you cannot pinpoint when and why you keep making mountains out of molehills. You rack your brain for a good explanation for your persistent stress.

Shouldn’t you be better by now? The pressure keeps simmering below the surface. Before you know it, your emotions keep coming out sideways and sliming the ones you love. Things that once were manageable now thrust you straight to overwhelm.

The harder you try to ignore genuine needs and stifle prickly emotions, the more overwhelmed you feel. You keep your head down, bury your feelings, and dig your heels in to avoid anything and anyone that may set you off, which seems like everything (and everyone) lately. There must be a better way.

Bottom line: you’ve lost your edge. It’s like Groundhog Day without your mojo, and you feel like a frequent flyer over the cuckoo’s nest.

You think, “Something must change, but I don’t know how to start.”

Individual therapy is an excellent place to start.

Think about all those times you showed up big time for others – whether doing the lion’s share of work for a project or clearing your calendar for a friend in need. Without hesitation, you effortlessly prioritize others before yourself.

Going to therapy is an investment in yourself – it is you bumping yourself to the top of your priority list. Individual therapy is your regular 50-minute reality timeout where we focus entirely on you.

In the beginning, I recommend weekly sessions to establish a solid relationship. Sigmund Freud (no therapy website is complete without referencing Freud) said it first. All subsequent research confirms that the relationship between therapist and client is the strongest predictor of successful therapy.

If you trust me, you are more likely to open up, be more vulnerable, and explore intimate thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. A better relationship equals better outcomes.

Goooooaaaaaalllls!

By the end of the first session, we will usually form goals for our work. We won’t get to everything in one session, but you will have the opportunity to share the circumstances which brought you to my office. I believe you already know what changes you want to see in your life, so we will collaborate to formulate your goals for therapy.

For example, you might say, “I want my actions to match my words. I want to take advantage of the opportunities that my anxiety currently keeps me from doing. I want to get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable and trust myself to care for myself.”

Using the goals you established, we have a roadmap to guide us through the process of ongoing therapy sessions. Using regular helpings of humor, creativity, and honesty, I will provide engaging activities and probing questions to prompt in-depth expression. At the same time, you share the details of your life story and the problems you are encountering today.

By making sense of your reactions to the things happening to you, we can make space for your feelings and help you start making choices for healthier responses aligned with the person you want to become. This is where you begin implementing that superpower to create the life you want.

Trust the process.

Therapy will not magically cure or bubble wrap you with only positive feelings.

Addressing areas of your life where you want to change takes a lot of tedious work. Sometimes, the result will seem intense and informative, and at other times effortless and enlightening.

Ultimately, the work in therapy is transformational and will empower you to handle uncomfortable situations, long days, and stormy seasons that life inevitably delivers. Amidst any external dramas that crop up, you will learn to stay grounded and feel peaceful even when it feels messy doing hard things.

True courage is being afraid but doing what you have to do anyway. Nothing changes if nothing changes.

Take heart if you want to change. Are you ready to start the process and invest in yourself? Call 530.208.9424 or email lisaolsonmft@gmail.com.