FAQ

What is a gestalt therapist?

Gestalt means "the whole as more than the sum of its parts". As a gestalt therapist, I will help you become more aware of the whole you and how you relate to other people. I am not the expert of you: We are collaborators, seeing what comes up in you as we go along.

I chose gestalt therapy for a couple of reasons: One is that I am surprised by how affected I feel, as a gestalt therapy client myself. Gestalt therapy is a powerful way to experience the root of your emotions. The other reason is that gestalt therapy is especially effective for the problems we are facing in this day and age. Smart devices and modern living can leave us feeling disconnected from ourselves. Gestalt therapy helps you get in touch with the pleasure you can feel with all your five senses.

How does counseling work?

Counseling helps you become unstuck. Stuckness may feel like stress, hopelessness, lack of pleasure, or emotions that feel like too much. You might feel shame or guilt because you believe you there is something unlovable, unworthy, or fundamentally wrong with you.

Stuckness comes from thinking you cannot or should not feel or behave in certain ways. I will help you become aware of what’s happening in you and how you’re suppressing your authentic self.

Even if you don’t express these feelings or behaviors, they still sit in your body and can take a toll on your health. Counseling is a space where we can experiment—I invite you to express things that you might normally keep inside or hold back from other people.

You also hold back experiences from yourself. You hold back pain, but that doesn’t erase it or heal it. You also keep yourself from feeling pleasure, and I will help you get in touch with this.

At what point will we stop meeting each other?

I believe that you can manage your life without needing my help. My goal is not to keep you here. Instead, I want us to reach a place where you’re in tune with yourself—where you’re able to do this on your own or with other people. By the end of our relationship, you will be more aware of the the pleasure available to you at any time, no matter your life circumstances.

How long does this normally take?

It's hard to put a number on that. Setting a number of sessions to aim for can create problems in our process, like expecting linear improvement rather than the natural ups and downs. However, we all have financial realities to work with, as does insurance. I would say it takes around 12 sessions on average to see significant change and skill-building.

From the beginning session to whenever we decide to end, you will get benefits. However, as you change, you might become aware of parts of yourself that cause you discomfort or distress—you might find that in some ways you feel worse before you feel better. These "growing pains" are normal, but I still encourage you to check in with me if you have concerns about how you're doing.

You are already enough as a person. It's just a matter of really, truly feeling it.