Psychotherapy Services
What Is Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a fundamental mental health service that involves in-depth discussions with a skilled clinician to address the issues prompting treatment. Collaboratively setting goals and crafting a personalized treatment plan, each session aims to propel individuals towards their objectives, fostering tangible progress in their mental health journey.
Conditions addressed through psychotherapy include managing stress, handling divorce, navigating medical issues, parenting challenges, relationship dynamics, grief, depression, and anxiety. Our psychotherapy approach is diverse, drawing from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness, and Attachment-based therapies. The key focus initially is assessing the connection between you and your clinician.
Our primary aim is for you to feel understood, valued, and secure from your first session onwards. Each session is geared towards tangible progress aligned with your therapy objectives. If substantial progress isn't evident within six sessions, reevaluation for alternative therapies or therapists is recommended due to the investment of time and resources involved in therapy sessions.
We are committed to delivering effective and tailored treatment to help you achieve your personal goals and enhance your well-being.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Research shows that anxiety is best treated using three different types of psychotherapy. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most widely researched and accepted version of treatment and involves correcting ingrained negative thought patterns and behaviors. For more information on the research and methods behind CBT, click here. Exposure therapy involves gradually and increasingly exposing clients to the object of their anxiety. With the guidance of a psychotherapist, you first imagine, then confront your fears. Research shows that with fewer than 10 sessions, 60-80% of individuals experience relief from anxiety that is sustained over years. For more information on exposure therapy and how it works, click here. Finally, insight-oriented therapy, or “talk therapy” examines how one’s life story, including events, perceptions, desires and relationships affect feelings and can contribute to anxiety. For information on insight oriented therapy, click here.
At The Smith Counseling Group, we offer all three types of treatment for anxiety. We tailor our treatments to your specific needs and recognize that one type of treatment does not fit all individuals and we will work tirelessly to help each client find relief from anxiety.
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YES! Decades of research has concluded that psychotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of depression and can contribute considerably to a reduction of symptoms and suffering. While cognitive behavioral therapy has been studied the most extensively, all therapies show significant improvement in the symptoms of depression, including insight-oriented therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), mindfulness based therapies and internal family systems (IFS). A skilled psychotherapist will be trained in multiple modalities and thus have many tools in their toolbox to help treat depression and relieve suffering.
The Smith Counseling Group’s team of experts have experience in a variety of psychotherapy disciplines, so they can tailor your treatment to include techniques, strategies and skills that will work best for you.
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Weekly sessions are always recommended to establish a strong relationship with your therapist. Regardless of what type of therapy you are receiving, the single most important variable in psychotherapy treatment is the relationship with your therapist. The relationship should be warm and connected, secure and non-judgmental. As the treatment and relationship progresses, frequency can be adjusted as needed.
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Most people will benefit from psychotherapy at some point in their life. Psychotherapy can be effective for treating anxiety and depression, but also working through short-term issues like family conflict, divorce or bereavement and other life struggles. It’s important not to wait to seek out treatment the minute you are aware you are suffering, as it can take a few weeks to establish a therapeutic relationship and begin to feel relief.
Signs that you may benefit from psychotherapy include:
Prolonged feelings of hopelessness and sadness
Persistent feelings of worry
Inability to focus on everyday tasks
Conflicts with loved ones
Reliance on negative coping mechanisms like alcohol, marijuana or bingeing or restricting food to get through the day
If you feel you would benefit from psychotherapy, reach out to schedule an appointment.