Our counselors provide therapy in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Victoria Baca: I use several tools from the CBT and DBT therapeutic models to help clients with different challenges.

Willow: My go-to approach for helping people in individual therapy is progressive, eclectic, person-centered, and always trauma-informed. I prefer this conglomerate of approaches because I believe that my clients are able to best express themselves and find answers from within their own hearts/minds. I believe that it's my job to help them find language to express what is happening or has happened to them and help them plot their own unique way forward.

Jaclyn: My go-to approach for helping people in individual therapy is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). I find the best benefit in CBT because it is an easy and clinically proven way to change negative thoughts and replace them with new thoughts to encourage positive thinking.

Victoria Baca: If we are practicing CBT, overall I teach clients the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and they learn to identify and challenge maladaptive thinking patterns. If we are practicing DBT, overall I teach clients different tools for emotional regulation.

Willow: In therapy sessions with me, you can expect to learn the skills to: modify self-talk, de-escalate conflict, set/enforce boundaries, build self-esteem, engage in self-compassion, manage emotional responses, and resolve trauma.

Jaclyn: I teach the following tools in individual therapy:

• Reframing thoughts - Taking a look at the negative thoughts and looking at them from a different perspective.
• Developing and utilizing coping skills - What are some things we can do to manage symptoms?
• Challenging core beliefs - Looking into what you have been trained to believe and challenging it by replacing a new positive thought.

Victoria Baca: I know a client is making progress when we see a decrease of frequency and intensity on the initial symptoms.

Willow: I know a client is making meaningful progress in individual therapy when the health/happiness of their relationships improves and when they are able to speak kindly to/about themselves.

Jaclyn: I know a client is making meaningful progress in individual therapy when they report a decrease in symptoms, better quality of life, and have a happier, more carefree demeanor overall while reflecting on past issues and how far they have come.

Victoria Baca: Every client is different; some people might need to supplement therapy with medication, other people might need a self-help group, and other people might need to do lifestyle changes.

Willow: Clients can supplement their time in individual therapy by taking the agency to make the changes discussed in sessions, journaling with prompts from sessions, and engaging in activities that make them move their bodies daily.

Jaclyn: Clients can supplement their time in individual therapy with self-care techniques! Do something you enjoy at least once a day. This is completely up to the individual on what makes them feel best/what they may have time for in the day. Journaling, meditation, and exercise are all really helpful too!

Victoria Baca: If individual therapy involves CBT and DBT, clients need to be ready with pen and paper because these approaches are skills-based. This means that clients must practice the tools learned outside of treatment.

Willow: To prepare for your first individual therapy session, you can write down a list or group of things that you'd like your therapist to know, organize your family history so it's easier to talk about in an intake, and ask trusted friends/family what things they see that you'd benefit from working on. You can also ask for support preemptively while you go through changes in your therapeutic work.

Jaclyn: To prepare for your first individual therapy session, you can write down topics you want to discuss with the therapist and write down your goals so you and your provider can formulate the best plan to focus on moving forward.