Our counselors offer counseling for teens in Media, PA

My general approaches to addressing a client's needs in therapy are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). CBT provides a more traditional approach to exploring the impact of thoughts on feelings and behaviors and working to process and manage those thoughts to reduce the impact on our decision-making. ACT utilizes these skills and implements more mindfulness-based strategies to reduce experiential avoidance of uncomfortable emotions and focuses on increasing values-based actions.

I assist clients in building the following skills to meet their treatment goals:

• Emotional regulation techniques: To better manage physical symptoms of emotions to promote values-based action as opposed to emotional reaction. Examples include preventative strategies, physical coping skills, and grounding techniques.
• Cognitive coping skills: To assist with managing automatic thoughts that impact our emotions and to process core beliefs that impact our perception of the world we interact with. Examples included diffusion and the use of a thought record.
• Acceptance: Working with clients to identify what is outside of their control in the moment and working to shift focus to action on things that they can control.
• Mindfulness: Supports a client to be better grounded in the present moment, build observation skills of their internal and external experience, and move past their judgments to see things and situations as they are.
• Communication skill: Promotes appropriate verbalization and reception of needs before they become larger issues.

I know clients are making progress in therapy when they are less often moving away from uncomfortable situations and emotions and are more often moving toward their values and goals through actions. Clients are typically utilizing the skills learned in therapy outside of the therapy office to increase the likelihood of these values-based actions. Clients also tend to demonstrate a greater level of insight into their emotions and report a decreased impact of these emotions on their decision-making.

To supplement therapy, clients can practice and implement the skills learned in therapy in their day-to-day lives. It is also important to engage in preventative strategies, such as a regular sleep schedule, healthy diet, appropriate work-life balance, engagement with positive social support, and hobbies, as they can improve our overall emotional well-being throughout the day. While these are not possible all the time, the more we engage with them, the more benefits we receive from that action.

To prepare for their first therapy session, all an individual needs to bring with them is an attitude that is honest and open to alternative perspectives and a willingness to try the interventions suggested in the session. It also can be helpful to have a general idea of what the client’s goals for therapy may be. The client should be prepared to answer some general questions about themselves to give the therapist a clearer picture of who they are.