Counseling
"Just when the Caterpillar thought the World was over, it became a Butterfly"
Anonymous
The Counseling Process
Your counseling sessions will be catered to fit your particular needs and goals. The therapeutic process typically begins with 2-3 sessions focusing on assessment of your unique situation. Your therapist will help you establish realistic goals that you can commit to working towards through counseling which will keep the sessions focused for your benefit. To help you feel more comfortable, an explanation is included of some of the approaches Monarch Therapy, LLC specializes in and may be introduced during your pathway to healing. While traditional "talk therapy" may be useful, other expressive modalities may be introduced. We value evidenced based practices that have been proven effective by research and also believe that different approaches will suit different individuals and experiences. Please feel free to call with any questions about what to expect from counseling.
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Therapy Time Frame
Your therapist will help you determine the expected time needed for the healing process. The treatment plan you develop together by the end of the assessment process will include specific target dates to estimate how many sessions are needed. We are solution focused in our approach and believe in the benefit of short term therapy, since the purpose is to resolve issues and help build coping skills so that individuals can function independently rather than stay in therapy indefinitely. Sometimes only a few sessions beyond the assessment are necessary, more commonly a few months are beneficial, whereas someone with a complex trauma history will most likely require more long-term therapy.
Sessions are usually scheduled once a week (more often if needed for crisis situations) and can then be tapered off to every other week as progress continues and monthly if needed for follow up. Weekly consistency is typically most beneficial initially to allow for the therapeutic bond to form and then allowing for more time in between sessions as progress is demonstrated allows for new skills to be practiced and evaluated.
Parent Involvement
If you are a parent or guardian seeking counseling for your child (under the age of 18), you will be a key resource involved in the healing process. A meeting will be scheduled with you initially in order for the therapist to gain an understanding of your concerns for your child and to gather background history. The counseling policies and procedures will also be reviewed, including confidentiality and the therapist's requirement as a mandated reporter to report any suspicion of abuse/neglect. To avoid any legal issues or other complications, our policy is to obtain both parents' consent and involvement if possible. Since the child is the client, respect of the therapeutic relationship will also be requested. It will be difficult for your child to build trust in the counseling process if he/she believes the therapist will share everything with the parent. However, parents/legal guardians will be informed of any self-harm/safety concerns (as appropriate), and if any issues related to the parent/guardian
arise during sessions, the therapist will suggest family sessions to address the issues together. Typically, sessions consist of the therapist meeting with the child for 30-40 minutes, and speaking with the parents before or after the session if needed. Monarch Therapy is strongly family oriented...family sessions are highly beneficial and will be scheduled as needed and appropriate.
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
~Maya Angelou
Photo courtesy of the Monarch Butterfly website:
