Let me focus in Part II on defining what quality psychotherapy and counseling means.
The therapist/counselor you choose to see must have all the necessary credentials. This means there have been years of education – book learning and clinical training. There is also licensure and continuing education to keep up-to-date and informed to most appropriately help you.
Please do even consider trusting your psychological health and life growth and development to anyone who is not well-credentialed.
You should expect that your therapist is prepared to really ‘be there’ for you at your appointment times as well as take the time needed to process your treatment before and after sessions. Your therapist will spend approximately 2 hours of time for each 45 to 50 minute appointment you schedule. Most therapists also offer 5 to 15 minute phone contact for no additional cost; the amount of phone contact allowed varies and will usually be discussed at your first visit.
Some really good news about quality psychotherapy/counseling is that it generally has a positive impact on your physical health! Several research studies have even concluded this. In fact, some data suggests that for every dollar spent on psychotherapy approximately four dollars is saved in medical expenses.
When you ‘heal your mental hurts’ you have better more satisfying relationships, you are more productive, and you are generally more successful in your daily life.

Most people can benefit from psychotherapy/counseling at some time in their lives. Some of us suffer from mental illnesses that may require long-term commitments to medication and on-going psychotherapy.
Many more of us have times in our lives when we simply are not coping or functioning optimally. Sometimes this ‘dysfunction’ might be due to the death of a loved family member or friend. When we grieve we may not be coping with daily life for sometimes lengthy periods of time. We feel overwhelmed, lonely, sad, depressed, angry, as well as many other feelings that prevent us from living life to its fullest. We might believe we will never again find that joy in life to which I’m always referring.
We may also have what might be called life-transition situations that cause us not to cope well with life. Relationship difficulties or divorce can cause ‘dysfunction’ that interrupts our ability to cope. The loss of a job, a catastrophic financial problem, home foreclosure, or a medical problem are some the many negative life-transitions that can bring on coping difficulties.
Even good and wanted life-transitions can negatively impact our emotional life. A promotion at work, getting married, buying new house, the birth of a child, children growing up (empty nest issues) or relocation to a new – maybe warm and sunny – location are some generally happily anticipated life-transitions that can cause us to need some help from a professional psychotherapist/counselor.

“Giving up blaming others for your unhappiness, your perceived failures, and your life may leave you silent for a while. But the silence is worth it. It leads to a clamoring awareness.”

–Anne Wilson Schaef

In an earlier entry I wrote about how successful people live balanced lives. They nurture body, mind, and spirit. They have a plan for success that is based on goals and objectives.
A goal is long-term and focuses on a specific category such as career/profession, education, spiritual, personal health & fitness, social, relationship, cultural and undoubtedly others that an individual identifies as important to living a balanced and successful life.
Objectives are short-term tasks that lead you to the achievement of your goal. Let’s use the category of education as an example of a goal – this goal might be earning a specific college degree or it may be becoming an accomplished pianist. Your initial short-term objectives might include:
1) investigation of what you need do to accomplish the goal;
2) contact some good places to get the required knowledge to accomplish your goal;
3) determine costs involved (time, money); and anything you think you need to begin.
You may want to consider getting some help in your plan for success. We offer individual consultation and group workshops specifically to help you.

What is success? There is no one answer to this question. Success is something different to all of us. Some of us may immediately plug into the ‘American Dream’ as our answer, though I wonder how true this is for any of us. Most of us probably want parts of the traditional American Dream – a house that fits our needs or our dreams, enough money to live to our desired standard. It’s likely that we define the greater picture of success from our own unique perspective.
One way to determine your definition of success was talked about in a past entry. There I wrote about finding a job you love, a job for which you have a passion. But a job, a career, is only part of success.
Successful people live balanced lives. They nurture body, mind, and spirit. They have a plan for success.
It has been proven time and time again that successful people, those who live a balanced life and find joy in living, have this plan for success grounded in specific goals. These goals include a long-term (three to ten years or more) goals with short-term (six to twelve month) objectives.
You’ll find more about developing your individual success plan in another entry.

“Look at the weaknesses of others with compassion, not accusation. It’s not what they’re doing or should be doing that’s the issue. The issue is your own response to the situation and what YOU should be doing.”

–Stephen R. Covey

“If you don’t love yourself, nobody else will. Not only that-you won’t be good at loving anyone else. Loving starts with the self.”

–Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

“Live in allignment with your values, vision, abilities, and potential.”

–Cherie Carter-Scott, Ph.D.

“A visit or a call from a friend can heal you. You can also heal a friend in the same way. Is there someone you’ve been wanting to contact but haven’t made time for? Today, make the time.”

–Caroline Myss & Peter Occhiogrosso

“What HAS happened is not nearly as important as what CAN happen. Look to the possibilities of your future for direction, forsaking the burdensome limitations of your past.”

–Keith D. Harrell