Individual Counseling

 Individual counseling is a process through which clients work one-on-one with a trained therapist—in a safe, caring, and confidential environment—to explore their feelings, beliefs, behaviors, work through challenging or influential memories, identify aspects of their lives that they would like to change, better understand themselves and others, set personal goals, and work toward desired change. 

People seek therapy for a wide variety of reasons, from coping with major life challenges or childhood trauma, to dealing with depression, relationships, or anxiety, to simply desiring personal growth and greater self-awareness. A client and therapist may work together for as few as five or six sessions or as long as several years, depending on the client’s unique needs and personal goals for therapy.

How do I get started?

 Your first step is to call us at Revisions Counseling to schedule your initial appointment. You will be asked to provide some initial information over the telephone to help us evaluate if our clinic is your best treatment option. You may then be scheduled for an initial one and a half-hour evaluation session which provides an opportunity for you to build rapport with the therapist and provide him/her with some background about yourself and the reasons you are seeking counseling. In addition, the intake therapist will be able to answer your questions regarding services, fees, confidentiality and what to expect in therapy.

 We are interested in developing a collaborative relationship with you in which we try to decide together what kind of treatment would be best for you. However, not everyone will be referred for continuing therapy at the clinic. We make decisions on what we believe will be best for the client.

          We all know romantic relationships are hard work. Like a garden, the relationship needs repeated attention, watering, weeding, and fertilizing to keep it healthy. It is always better to invest in problem prevention by addressing it early than to invest much more later when there is a major breakdown. Regular maintenance and tune ups are the key to a great marriage to eliminate or minimize greater conflicts later.Many times, a couple can address the basic maintenance and repairs on their own. 

  Other times, however, even with sincere effort, professional outside assessment and treatment may be necessary to help the couple. Many people take more routine care of their houses and cars than they do of their own marriage. Unfortunately, many couples wait until much damage has been done and negative relational patterns have become established. This weakens the prior strong emotional, verbal, and behavioral bonds, which contributes to layering of unresolved differences and resentment. Some researchers suggest that couples wait as much as six years before pursuing couples counseling. 

 Some couples have misunderstandings about what couple’s therapy is and how it works. This may inhibit many from obtaining counseling earlier because they may believe it is only for serious problems, such as addiction or affairs. This often leads to a final effort before a divorce. Other couples believe that they can drag their marriage partner to counseling so that the counselor can prove how right they are and how wrong their partner is. Two major items to occur in couples counseling.

• Each person must be willing to look in the mirror and face his or her own contribution to the problem and be willing to identify ways to fix it instead of blaming the other.
• Each person has made the decision to stay in the relationship, not just evaluate whether they should still be in the relationship. If you are undecided seek individual counseling first to determine your willingness to work in couples counseling.

So, what Exactly Is Couples Therapy?

Couples therapy is a type of psychotherapy or treatment in which a therapist with educational training and clinical experience working with couples, such as a Licensed Professional Counselor, helps each person in the couple obtain more insight into their relationship, resolve conflict more productively, and improve relationship satisfaction utilizing a variety of therapeutic interventions. Although the practice of couples counseling may vary depending on the therapist’s theoretical orientation, all couples therapy tends to involve the following common elements:

• Identification of a specific problem (an affair, control, sexual misunderstandings, etc.)
• Active counselor participation in treating the whole relationship, not just the individual.
• Solution-focused, short term change-oriented interventions employed at treatment inception.
• Boundaries
• Clear formation of treatment goals.

          Family counseling is a type of counseling therapy hat is designed to assist you and your family members with improving communication and resolving conflicts. It may be provided by different kinds of properly credentialed, educated, trained, and experienced clinicians such as Licensed Professional Counselors.Family counseling is often short-term and may include all or some of your family members that are willing to participate. The specific goals will depend on your family’s situation. Family counseling sessions can educate family members with abilities to strengthen family relationships and help you through a tough time with ongoing skills to manage future events.
Why it’s doneFamily counseling can help you improve problematic relationships with your partner, children or other family members. You may address several issues such as marital or financial problems, conflict between parents and children, or the impact of substance abuse or a mental illness on the family.
How you prepareBefore scheduling sessions with a counselor, decide if the counselor would be a good fit for your family. Here are some factors to consider and questions to ask:Education and experience. What is your educational and training background? Are you licensed by the state? Are you certified by a national board? Do you have specialty training in family counseling? What is your experience with my family’s type of problem?Location and availability. Where is your office? What are your office hours? Are you available in case of emergency?Length and number of sessions. How long is each session? How often are sessions scheduled? How many sessions should I expect to have?Fees and insurance. How much do you charge for each session? Are your services covered by my health insurance plan? Will I need to pay the full fee upfront?What is your policy on canceled sessions?
What you can expect          Family counseling typically brings several family members together for counseling sessions. However, a family member may also see a family counselor individually. Sessions typically take about 45 minutes. However, double sessions are often needed, at least in the beginning, to address the concerns of each member. Family counseling is often short term — generally about 8 – 12 sessions. However, how often you meet and the number of sessions you’ll need will depend on your family’s situation and the counselor’s recommendation.In each appointment, you should be able to address the following items:Evaluate your family’s ability to resolve problems and express thoughts, behaviors, and emotions in a constructive manner.
Explore family roles, rules, and behavior patterns to identify concerns that add to the conflict and develop ways to work through these matters.Identify your family’s strengths, such as caring for one another, and weaknesses, such as difficulty trusting one another. As an example, if your adult daughter has depression or anxiety and your family doesn’t understand her condition or how best to offer support, family counseling may provide methods to express concerns over her well-being, have conversations with her about each person’s perspective, and help each person manage concern, frustration, or anger about the situation. Without these techniques, communication diminishes, crucial decisions are not made, family members avoid each other, and the schism grows larger. In this example, family counseling may assist you with the following steps:

• Pinpoint your specific challenges and how your family is handling them.  
• Learn new ways to interact and overcome unhealthy patterns of relating.  
• Set individual and family goals and work on ways to achieve them.

         While there are no guarantees that family counseling will solve family conflicts, it can often help you and your family members understand one another more and provide helps to manage challenging situations more effectively. This may also help the family achieve a sense of closeness.

         Specialized therapy for complicated grief, trauma and life ,transitions. All of our staff are clinically trained mental health therapists, which allows us to competently work with a variety of concerns for which individuals and families seek mental health care. Our staff is particularly passionate about and experienced in helping individuals and families experiencing healing and growth from grief and trauma.

Most people will experience loss at some point in their lives.  Grief s a reaction to any form of loss. Bereavement is a type of grief involving the death of a loved one.
Bereavement and grief encompass a range of feelings, from deep sadness to anger. The process of adapting to a significant loss can vary dramatically from one person to another. It often depends on a person’s background, beliefs, and relationship to what was lost.

Grief is not limited to, feelings of sadness. It can also involve guilt, yearning, anger, and regret. Emotions are often surprising in their strength or mildness. They can also be confusing. One person may find themselves grieving a painful relationship. Another may mourn a loved one who died from cancer and yet feels relief that the person is no longer suffering.


People in grief can bounce between different thoughts as they make sense of their loss. Thoughts can range from soothing (“She had a good life.”) to troubling (“It wasn’t her time.”). People may assign themselves varying levels of responsibility from “There was nothing I could have done,” to “It’s all my fault.”


Grieving behaviors also have a wide range. Some people find comfort in sharing their feelings among the company. Other people may prefer to be alone with their feelings, engaging in silent activities like exercising or writing.


Also, there is Disenfranchised grief, which can interfere with the bereavement process. If society does not recognize a loss, the person may have trouble accepting it themselves. They may try to repress or deny their emotions. Shame and secrecy can make symptoms of grief more severe.


Social support is often vital to recovery. A community can provide emotional and financial aid when people are vulnerable. Mourning rituals can offer closure. If a person is forced to grieve alone, they may have delayed recovery.  
If you have lost someone or something precious, our agency can help with any sort of loss, whether society validates the grief or not. Therapy is an opportunity to explore your feelings and memories without judgment. No loss is too big or too small to warrant support. You do not have to endure your grief alone.

If your adolescent or teen needs counseling, here are some concepts to keep in mind. Many adolescents and teens can benefit from sorting out his or her thoughts, feelings, actions, and reactions. A desire or need for counseling does not mean someone is “crazy,” but that someone's objective to speak with may be helpful to clarify concerns. Keep in mind that about 1 in 5 teens have mental health symptoms. These symptoms are often treated like any medical problem. For example, if you break your arm, you go to an orthopedic doctor. If you have a sore throat, you see an ENT specialist. If you are feeling depressed, anxious, or just need to sort out your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, you go to a mental health counselor.  Mental health involves how you think, act, and feel in a variety of life situations. Teens have mental health difficulties when their thoughts, actions, and feelings repeatedly create barriers or unhealthy responses in their lives. While every teen has things, he or she does and does not like in life, repeated unwanted thoughts, feelings, or actions may create ongoing patterns that become increasingly self-defeating. Identifying this early may indicate an underlying treatable issue that can be resolved if caught at the beginning. Some reasons for teen mental health issues may include medical conditions, which can be treated by an MD. A medical condition is usually the first item to consider and rule out before moving on to assess mental health issues. The following are just some events that may trigger mental health issues:

• When a teen witnesses some threatening event.
• There are two kinds of stress. Eustress can be beneficial stress, such as motivating a teen to study harder for a test. Distress happens when a teen does not manage stress well, leading to other complications such as excessive paralyzing worry or anxiety.
• If a teen loses an important person in his or her life (e.g., death, moving, breakup), sadness and loneliness is normal and should improve over time. However, sometimes the teen gets locked into long periods of grief and sadness that does not improve. This sadness may become more ingrained and become part of the thought and behavior patterns of the teen that negatively affect his or her relationship with self, friends, parents, siblings, etc.

Some of the key types of therapy for teens are individual, group, and family counseling. Sometimes, it is helpful to do two or three of these therapies to facilitate a faster resolution of the problem.

• Individual counseling involves just the teen and his or her counselor. It provides a safe, confidential forum to identify thoughts, actions, and feelings and express them for further clarification and problem-solving. Homework may also be very helpful for the teen such as journaling. Individual counseling typically lasts about 45 minutes.
• Group counseling gives the counselor a venue in which to evaluate how a teen handles his or her thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as well as provide role modeling to the teen about handling, for example, anxious thoughts, or depressed feelings, or relationship conflicts. Additionally, group counseling introduces and demonstrates possible new strategies for the teen to practice in this safe environment. While beginning a new group can initially be daunting for some teens, after two or three meetings, he or she usually begins to feel more comfortable in sharing thoughts and feelings about the topic. The group leaders will address topics and ask questions designed to draw out teen thoughts and encourage new healthy ways of thinking, talking, and behaving. Group counseling usually lasts about 90 minutes.
• Family counseling includes the teen with one or more family members. Because multiple parties are present, there is a chance to work on problems that affect the family. The counselor will discourage interrupting, encourage respectful communication, and make sure everyone gets to voice their concerns. These appointments usually range from 45 – 90 minutes.

While most counseling does not have a set length, solution-focused counseling is designed to address the core problems quickly and devise a workable course of action to employ right away and may only take 4 – 8 sessions, generally once per week. Other issues, however, may be more ingrained and need longer time periods to resolve.

          Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) strategies to help people across the nation and the world to find better ways of managing their depression, anxiety, and marriage issues.

 Some Counselors have earned the distinguished badge and am Board Certified with the National Board of Certified Counselors (USA), which stringently governs the qualifications of its members.

 The following indicates some of what it takes to earn this badge:

Master’s degree with a major study in counseling from a regionally accredited or CACREP-accredited counseling program, including at least 48 semester hours or 72 quarter hours of graduate-level academic credit in counseling.

  Documentation of 200 hours of counseling supervision and 3,000 hours of counseling work experience. This requirement is waived in certain circumstances: for graduates of CACREP-accredited counseling programs; for fully state-licensed professional counselors; for those who have had a degree conferred from a regionally accredited doctoral program in counseling.

 Applicants are required to earn passing score on the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE). Both are proctored exams on counseling competencies complete with identity verification at an NBCC-approved testing site.

  Ethics – Must adhere to the standards identified in the NBCC Code of Ethics.

Recertification – NCCs re-certify every five years and are required to earn a specific number of continuing education clock hours.

Additionally, We coach individuals and couples across the world via online video and audio meetings.  Our Agency can assist people in accurately assessing their current situation, setting viable goals to achieve their outcomes, and identify ways to self-improve throughout life.

DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY (DBT)

Providing you with cognitive and behavioral tools and skills to help you change problematic behaviors and thoughts to improve your life and relationships

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) gives you cognitive and behavioral tools to change problematic behaviors and thoughts, and teaches you skills for improving your life and relationships. The research-based skills taught in DBT are especially useful if you are experiencing serious challenges, including: 

• Anxiety
• Chronic thoughts of suicide
• Depression
• Eating disorders 
• Self-harming behaviors 
• Substance abuse
• Violence

DBT has considerable research supporting its effectiveness with chronic suicidality, self-harm and other behaviors related to intense and painful emotion. Therapists offer a combination of work with an individual DBT therapist, weekly skills training groups and as-needed between session phone contact for additional assistance. This combination of services helps people who struggle with major life problems learn new behaviors to help them feel better and ultimately do better in life.

We currently offer specialized DBT programming for adults. Also offer modifications of our DBT program for family members who want help coping with loved ones who have difficulties with intense emotionality.

Helping couples, individuals and families welcome their new addition and transition into parenthood successfully

Nobody said becoming a parent was easy, but we can help you navigate this hard transition to being parents successfully. Our team of psychotherapists specialize in supporting the entire family as your new addition leads to shifting relationships. 

As you make room for your new addition, we understand the joy, stresses and general sense of feeling overwhelmed that go along with becoming parents. Whether you are looking for guidance on your own, or as a couple or family, we are here to help you to a loving, fulfilling start.

 Our individual therapy for pregnant and postpartum women helps women with mood and anxiety disorders. We also work with women experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which may be the result of a past trauma re-triggered by pregnancy, giving birth or breastfeeding.

Our team believes in holistic care for pregnant and postpartum women, and we ]collaborate and network with other providers within the community, such as lactation consultants, birth and postpartum doulas, physical therapists and reproductive psychiatrists.

Additionally, we provide individual therapy for men with mood and anxiety disorders or PTSD during the pregnancy and postpartum period. We recognize that the mental health of new fathers is also vulnerable during this transition, and that men have a unique set of stressors in the journey to parenthood. 

 Men commonly face increased financial pressures in the family, new or re-triggered feelings of helplessness (especially if your partner struggles with a postpartum mood or anxiety disorder) and feelings of jealousy or being left out of the mother-infant relationship.

We believe in the importance of both parents to their children, and see that the transition to parenthood can trigger strong emotions. Learn to embrace this time as an opportunity to re-work past experiences, explore and clarify values and integrate your new identity as a mother or father into a fuller sense of self.

We provide couples therapy at all points along the journey to becoming parents, regardless of your path – pregnancy, surrogacy or adoption. 

We have specialized training in therapy for the couple's relationship, and in supporting couples with the challenges they face in the transition to parenthood, including: unexpected disagreements or problems communicating, grief and loss issues related to pregnancy loss, and sadness and frustration around infertility.

The couple's relationship sets the foundation for the new family and deserves to be a priority for care and nurturing. New research supports that the more safe and connected a couple feels in their relationship, the more resilient each partner will be in coping with life challenges including parenthood.

          Our family therapy supports all family relationships: the parent-infant bond, new sibling relationships, relationships with in-laws and grandparents. We understand that the most stressful times in a family are when members are being added or lost. At the same time, our relationships with each other serve as the most important source of resilience and healing.

   We have specialized training in parent-infant attachment and helping parents learn to understand their baby's non-

verbal messages. Of course, some babies are tougher to understand than others. In these cases, we support parents to learn and practice mindfulness skills to find their inner wisdom about how best to attune to their baby. 

We also know and understand common family dynamics that arise during the transition to parenthood, including sibling rivalry with one or more older children, changing needs and boundaries with one's own parents, and negotiating the needs and expectations of new grandparents. Though these dynamics can be stressful, they present a wonderful opportunity to understand yourself and family members more deeply, and to find the courage and confidence to have authentic conversations that lead to greater intimacy and connection.

          We offer various group therapies that provide parents with emotional skills to support parent-infant attunement and bonding. Our treatment philosophy empowers parents to trust themselves and to know their baby so they can make decisions about what is best for their family. Additionally, our team specializes in providing a warm, safe atmosphere where parents can come together and learn, explore and clarify parenting values and identity.   Transitions to Parenthood touches on the postpartum life stages and much more.. (Soon to come)