INDIVIDUAL SERVICES

Adults

 

Our culture can sometimes tell us to be strong to get through difficult times. Emotional and relational pain can manifest because of stressful circumstances or past experiences. Professional counseling that considers your mind, body, and spirit can assist you in finally finding real freedom from issues that you have struggled with. Lasting life changes can result from counseling. While it is never too late to come in, it can be especially rewarding to come to counseling as early as possible. Your counselor is  your partner, and together, you can achieve the level of personal growth that may help to improve your quality of life. Here is a small list of possible reasons to seek professional counseling:

  • Personal Growth
  • Grief/Loss
  • Hopelessness
  • Feeling Emotionally Numb
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Difficult Relationships
  • Life Transitions
  • Anger Management
  • Chronically Overcommitting
  • Guilt/Shame
  • Dealing with Health Problems
  • Stress

Young Adults

One of the greatest dreams of a teenager is graduating from high school and getting to move away from home. Once out of high school, opportunities often provide for great fun, learning, new relationships, and more independence.  While the years between high school and turning thirty can be wonderful days in life, they are also filled with tremendous challenges.  The common questions that must be dealt with in these years are:

  • What am I good at?
  • What kind of career do I want?
  • What are my values?
  • Who am I?
  • Who do I choose to be?
  • What am I passionate about?
  • What kind of people am I attracted to?
  • What are healthy dating boundaries?
  • Do I want to marry and/or am I ready to marry?
  • Am I ready for children?
  • How do I deal with parents who are still trying to manage my life?
  • What do I believe about God?
  • Do I still believe the same things I did as a youth?

In today’s world, young adults are often more comfortable with counseling than their parents, and many are seeking counseling to assist them through challenging or treacherous times.

Adolescents

The adolescent years are often marked as a time of trial and tribulation.  Adolescence is meant to be a time to discover and grow.  However, adolescents often struggle through this process and need a professional to help them walk from childhood to young adulthood.  There can be a variety of reasons an adolescent, or his parents, may feel counseling is appropriate for him.  Counseling is a safe place for your adolescent to explore his thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about himself, family, and the world in which he lives.

It is encouraged for the adolescent’s parent to be a part of the therapeutic process as much as possible. Adolescence can be a hard time for parents as their child is beginning to gain independence and explore his beliefs.  Counseling can help your child to appropriately handle the freedom needed to develop and walk through this stage of life in a positive, healthy manner.  Counseling can also help you as, a parent, learn how to assist and walk with your child through this process rather than fighting this natural stage in life.  Some common reasons to seek counseling for your child are listed below:

  • Sudden change in behavior (acting out or withdrawing)
  • Sudden change in attitude (angry, sad, fearful, disrespectful, disobedient, etc)
  • Change in appetite (loss or increase)
  • No longer enjoying the same activities
  • Change in grades or behavior at school
  • Sudden change in peers or problems with peer groups
  • Inability to maintain personal hygiene
  • Sleep disturbances or nightmares
  • Loss of a loved one (relative, friend, or pet)
  • Conflict within the family (parents or siblings)
  • No longer respecting parental authority
  • Enduring or witnessing a traumatic event

Children

Frederick Douglass’ statement “It is easier to build strong children than repair broken men” rings true in the counseling world.  While childhood is often a time filled with innocence, joy and laughter, it can also be a time filled with pain and loss.  In order to build strong children, sensitive and painful issues must be addressed so these children can heal and grow into happy adults.  If you are concerned about your child or your child is struggling, counseling is a wonderful place for your child to begin to heal from his or her struggles.  Common behaviors, attitudes and events in your child may be a sign that counseling is needed:

  • Sudden change in behavior (acting out or withdrawing)
  • Sudden change in attitude (angry, sad, fearful)
  • Change in appetite (loss or increase)
  • No longer enjoying the same activities
  • Change in grades or behavior at school
  • Inability to maintain age appropriate personal hygiene (wetting the bed after being potty trained, etc)
  • Sleep disturbances or nightmares
  • Enduring or witnessing a traumatic event
  • Loss of a loved one (relative, friend, or pet)

Counseling is often thought to be a place for adults, but practices such as play therapy and art therapy are often extremely helpful for young children.  They can learn and flourish from concepts in counseling much like adults can.