What is therapy?
Expert guidance from a trained helper.
Therapy-- counseling, psychotherapy, talk therapy, mental health counseling—involves the meeting with a trained and licensed provider, usually over a series of sessions with the purpose of improving the psychological wellbeing of the patient or client.
Many people seek the care of a trained helper at some point in their lives. Some people seek an unbiased perspective on complicated life-issues, like break-ups, health and medical issues, caregiver burden, grief, and family turmoil. Others seek relief from difficult emotions, distressing thoughts, or problematic behaviors.
Call 970-609-9810 to schedule
The Action Potential Treatment Approach
You're a unique person with a unique history, biological make-up, and personality. When providing therapy, it is important to consider the many facets and complexities that you bring into the room. The primary treatment modality at Action Potential Behavioral Health is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is a research-supported, multifaceted, behaviorally-based treatment.
One of the things unique about ACT is the flexibility to adapt the treatment to the needs of each client. That is, there is no cookie-cutter approach under ACT. Since it's a behavioral approach, there is an active vibe to therapy and you are encouraged to make changes in your life and not get stuck on simply reaching insight.
Understanding why you engage in certain patterns is important if it helps you move toward change, but it isn't the highlight of therapy. From an ACT perspective, your values and life-goals are also important, in fact, they are a cornerstone of treatment. Most people don't realize when their values and life-goals are out of concert with their daily lives, until they are weighed down by depression, anxiety, perfectionism, or general discontent-- or until your therapist conducts a values assessment with you.
Another aspect of ACT you may like is the opportunity to integrate mindfulness and existential living into one's life. For more information on ACT, please visit The Association for Contextual Behavioral Science website.
While ACT is the primary modality of Action Potential Behavioral Health, a number of other therapeutic approaches are available, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, prolonged exposure therapy, time-limited dynamic psychotherapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, behavioral therapy (AKA behavior modification), client-centered therapy, and gestalt therapy.
What problems can be helped with therapy?
While there is not guarantee that you will get better with therapy, there are many problems that are often helped by therapy. Therapy has the potential to help when:
-
Something about you or your actions keeps you from being yourself or feeling good about life.
-
You have a problem related to your emotions, behaviors or thoughts that you could control better, if you knew how.
-
You can understand yourself better and make new choices.
-
You are confused about your life-direction or career.
-
You are having trouble sticking to your resolutions or goals.
-
You are having trouble adjusting to a new situation (e.g., moving, school, work, medical condition or injury, divorce or separation).
-
Grieving the death of a loved one.
-
Your physician told you to make health or lifestyle changes (e.g., eating healthier or exercising more), but you are having trouble getting started or need help planning. **Therapists cannot recommend specific diets or programs, but they can help you implement a plan chosen by you or your medical providers.
What if my problem is not with me, but with someone else?
Other people can be the source of your suffering. Cases of neglect, sexual abuse, bullying, harassment, and violence are examples. It is important to keep in mind that therapy cannot change other people; it can only change you.
During the course of therapy, you may learn:
-
Ways to deal with difficult people.
-
How to process uncomfortable thoughts and feelings that come from how others have treated you.
-
How to adopt healthier behaviors for new relationships.
-
That the abuse or neglect that you were exposed to was not your fault.
-
How to change your behaviors in social relationships.
-
How to set healthy boundaries.
-
How to grieve.
-
How to understand yourself (thoughts, emotions, behaviors) better.
-
How to change reactions to people and events.
-
How to discover what's important to you—identifying your values.
-
How to stop or reduce thoughts and behaviors that are harmful to you.
-
How to identify your strengths.
-
New strategies for coping with difficult emotions or situations.
-
How to move on from something from your past.
How does therapy work?
Therapy involves a series of interactions between you and your therapist. Your therapist is the expert guide in a particular treatment approach, called a theoretical orientation or treatment modality. You are the expert on yourself, your experiences, and your preferences. Unlike a surgeon, a therapist does not "do" something to you to make you better. You, the client or patient, is the one who takes action. For example, a therapist may offer a suggestion that you try out a new behavior in between sessions, but it is entirely up to you to actually engage in that behavior. This process requires trust, patience, cooperation, honesty and willingness. Therapy can be hard work, but, according to the scientific literature, can result in lasting changes-- and it's entirely organic, with no artificial ingredients!
Call 970-609-9810 to schedule
