What Should I Expect from Integrative Counseling?

Making the decision to seek out counseling can be hard. Realizing you need an outside party to help you assess different areas in your life and asking for help can be scary and for some can create a feeling of inadequacy. While the stigma around mental health isn’t once what it used to be, it’s still a hard decision and one that many are afraid they’ll be judged for. I believe that seeking out help is something to be celebrated. The fact that you are acknowledging and aware that you need help speaks to your character, your fortitude, and your insight. The work done throughout therapy is not for the faint at heart, it truly takes strength and courage to share your life and seek help from someone you don’t know. The process of counseling can also bring to light things that are hard, things that are emotional, things that we may not want to address. My hope for you is that counseling brings about positive change, that you find your inner strength and realize all that you are capable of and hopefully you’ll learn new skills too.

Whether you are seeking counseling for support in a transition happening in your life, you want to work on improving your communication skills, you get so nervous about things that it keeps your from doing them, or maybe you feel overwhelmed and just need a safe place to sort through everything happening in your brain. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter why you’ve decided to seek out counseling, what matters is that you did.

So what should I expect from counseling and what is integrative counseling?

Every counselor is different, so I can only speak to what you can expect from a counseling session with me. Ahead of your first appointment you’ll have some paperwork to fill out. This gives me some background on you and whatever it is that brings you in to see me. Handling this ahead of time allows for us to utilize the full therapy session to discuss your goals, what brings you in, and how I think we can work together to reach your goal.

What some people may not expect is that therapy is a partnership. I’m agreeing to do my best to assist you and provide you with a safe space to explore your life. You are also agreeing to actively participate. Sometimes this means I may make recommendations of things you could try and most of the time it means you coming in to the sacred space of therapy to truly engage in striving to meet your goal. I cannot do the work for you, but I can help you through the process. I truly believe that counseling is a sacred space. You are allowing me to walk alongside of you in your life journey.

Integrative counseling means that I am pulling from a variety of resources and techniques to help you reach your goal. I look at your overall lifestyle, stress, work environment, relationships, nutrition, sleep, and utilize a variety of methods to help you succeed in reaching your goals.

I think the number one importance in therapy is finding the right person that you can connect with. If it’s not a good fit don’t give up, your therapist is out there. If you know someone who is curious about therapy please share this post with them. If you are in the state of Virginia and wondering if we’d be a good fit schedule your 15 minute complimentary consult with me or send me an email: amber@ambercarver.com. If you are outside the state of Virginia and looking for a therapist check out psychologytoday.com for a listing of therapists in your area.