Sometimes people ask themselves, “Why would I want therapy? I don’t need someone to tell me what to do.” Luckily, therapy is not about anyone telling you what to do. Instead, it’s about helping you identify ways you might want to do things differently to get different results.
Some people say, “I talk to my friends about things that bother me. How is talking to a therapist different from talking to my friends?” Your friends are interested in your well-being, but they might want to tell you what to do from their perspective. A therapist’s job is to help you figure out what you want to do that might be different in some ways from what your friends are choosing to do or from what your family wants you to do. Therapists exist to help you become the you that you always wanted to become when you weren’t sure what steps to take.
When you become the you that you want to be, you are likely to have more and less of things you don’t want, such as depression, anger, anxiety, and ability to focus on what you want to focus on.
Therapy isn’t about rehashing all the things that are wrong with you, but about noticing your strengths. Surprisingly, sometimes the you that you discover in therapy is different from what you walked in the door seeking, but it’s better than what you originally imagined. You never know what you might find when you no longer fall into the ruts that you used to fall into.
When you begin therapy, we hope to share with you a core belief. We believe our past (ground), the scary things that happened to you or the things you wish you had, not done do not define you. They definitely affected you, but there is a you underneath all of those experiences that remains whole and worth finding. It’s my job to connect with the you that wants (figure) to be whole and that wants to have your relationships be a valuable part of your life instead of being exhausting and confusing.
Figure & Ground Counseling, LLC takes its name from a psychological concept that says what we are interested in, want or need (known as a figure) is impacted by our history, or our ground. We work together to understand your history (ground) as well as what you’re dealing with now (figure). When we work together effectively, we are more likely to find ways for you to reach your goals.
Most humans operate at 5% consciousness, which means that 95 % of our functioning is subconscious, also our ground. Our subconscious is always with us, even if we don’t notice it all the time. If you’ve ever done something you were surprised that you did or thought something you didn’t expect yourself to think or felt something you would have said you would never feel, you were experiencing the impact of your subconscious. It helps to notice the creative ways our subconscious affects how we connect with others or disconnect with others. When you enter therapy, you might feel a little uncomfortable sharing your ideas and feelings or you might look forward to an opportunity to share your ideas and feelings. We will help you break free from talking about yourself in old ways so you can find new ways of imagining how to be part of your relationships and so you can find new ways of dealing with yourself.
We look forward to meeting you.
FIGURE and GROUND COUNSELING, LLC
does not subscribe to a unitary theory or a one size fits all treatment approach.
