First of all, welcome to the NC+W website! I hope that the website provides you with a good idea of who I am as a counselor and what your journey might look like with me. This brings me to wonder why you are looking at this page right now. Maybe it’s just because you are curious of what therapy options you have in the area or maybe you have been searching the internet up and down for a therapist in Grand Rapids that looks like they would fit with who you are (I’ve been there too!).
In exploring with you if we might be a fit for a counselor-client relationship, let’s visit some reasons why folks choose counseling:
Something recently happened in your life that feels really hard to deal with. It could be unexpected, or maybe you expected it for awhile but now that it’s reality you’re not sure how to manage things. From a death, to losing your job, or the loss of a relationship - these can be very difficult to wade through on your own. Sometimes these events also bring up old stuff that you thought you were done with, but now not so much.
You feel like you are at a turning point. Like there is this point of transition where things are changing or things could change based off of a decision that you need to make. Starting college, a job or career change (desired or undesired), transition points in a marriage or divorce, becoming a parent - counseling can help you identify your choices and your values so that you can make decisions that best align with who you fundamentally are.
You are very stressed, anxious, or depressed - or all of the above. Things that were fun no longer interest you. The idea of interacting with others is scary. Counseling helps work with you to develop real, healthy coping and self-care strategies so you can better manage your anxiety or depression, hopefully to the point where life starts to feel easier.
Lately you’ve wanted to discover who you are and improve your overall well being. Nothing feels horribly wrong, but it does feel like life could be better. It seems like it would be nice to talk to someone who isn’t involved in your situation. Getting to being well could include processing past life events, finding meaning, and identifying your core values.
Of course there are many other reasons why someone might go to counseling, which is part of the beauty of it. As the client, you choose why you are going, what you do to help yourself, and when you are ready to move on (how many times in life do you have this much power?!). As a counselor, I work with you to share some of my training and ideas of what could help in your situation. Together we figure out what is the best fit for you. To get started, feel free to call or email me and start the conversation.