My name is Dave Rogers, and I have been counseling professionally for over 30 years. I have worked at inpatient and residential treatment centers for Eating Disorders, and addictions, and as you can imagine - worked with families and loved ones impacted by these extremely difficult problems. I am so fortunate to have worked with gifted teams of professionals who taught me everything I know. I have also worked extensively as an outpatient therapist since 2011 when I opened my private practice. I heard a statement early in my career that impacted my practice of therapy greatly: "People don't care what you know, until they know you care". Research continues to verify that the quality of the therapy relationship is the foundation for all the other work. So - I do my very best to make a comfortable and supportive relationship from the start, because people often come to therapy with apprehension, fear, or bad experiences with therapy that cause them to be reluctant, or hesitant to open up and address their struggles and pain. One of my early goals in therapy is to listen so well, that the client says "you get me". I do my best to help clients heal, change, grow, and work toward contentment with themselves and life, as much as possible.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
Introductions, and giving opportunity for the client to ask me questions about my background, experience or training because I am mindful that I am a virtual stranger to them, to start with. I will review existing information about what brought them to therapy, review their history/experience with therapy, and ask the client a fairly comprehensive list of assessment questions - with the goal of understanding the client as thoroughly as possible. I will also help the client establish some treatment goals that will address their concerns and give direction and focus to the work we do together.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I have been told I have a warm and disarming personality that enables clients to feel comfortable early on. My 30 years of experience with a wide variety of people and their respective problems has expanded my capacity to understand people, and why they are going through the challenges they are. I also have an extensive skill set to offer clients to cope and problem solve. I have developed the ability to adapt to a wide variety of client personalities, meet clients where they are, and identify the approach that will work best for them; some prefer supportive approaches, while others prefer a more direct approach. One of my greatest strengths is that I am a very good listener, which is indispensable to the counseling process.
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
Clients who struggle with Eating Disorders, Anxiety, addiction, relationship problems, life transitions.
About Dave Rogers
Identifies as
Serves ages
Licensed in
Address
8505 Bell Creek Rd, Mechanicsville, VA 23116, Suite DAppointments
Virtual & in-personMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive behavioral therapy holds that there exists an ongoing interplay between our thoughts, emotions and behaviors. When clients are seeking change, we not only review their circumstances to identify what may be changed about them, but also - what role our thoughts, behaviors and emotions might be playing in keeping us stuck, or result in adapting in a negative way to our circumstances. CBT also examines the positive ways we function, to reinforce these, as sometimes we are successful in ways that we don't even realize. I help clients review what brought them into therapy, what their needs and goals are, and then help them review their current circumstances, reactions to them and develop skills and a plan to reach their goals. We pay close attention to thoughts, behaviors and emotions so that we can help make changes toward the client's goals.
Relational
Harvard researcher Robert Waldinger pointed out in a 75 + year long research study called, "The good Life" that close, securely attached relationships, are one of the most important factors in happiness and health in life. There is an old saying - it takes people to make you sick, and it takes people to make you well. Past and current relationships are both our greatest assets and gifts, as well as being our biggest challenges and shaping factors. Relational therapy examines how I have been shaped by others, how this plays out in my current relationships, and how I would like my relationships and interactions with others to be.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
Frequently, people seek therapy because they are stumped by a problem, or several. Repeated efforts somehow don't seem to be working, and the pain created by the problem is growing, but the individual or couple/family doesn't know what to do. Solution focused therapy identifies the problem, potential causes or contributing factors, and especially solutions to help solve the problems, whatever they may be.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT was developed by a brilliant clinician named Marsha Linehan through rigorous testing and research. In short, it consists of four skill sets: Emotion Regulation, Distress tolerance, Interpersonal effectiveness, and Mindfulness. These skill sets largely describe themselves, except for Mindfulness, which in simple terms is the ability to observe, and be present. While mindfulness encompasses far more that this, it is the opposite of being impulsive, focuses on paying attention to myself, my thoughts, intentions, desires, reactions, my environment as well as being mindful of others - staying curious. Our culture, especially in Metropolitan areas, tends to be in a hurry which works against being mindful. We forget to 'stop and smell the roses', and mindfulness can help here. DBT also involves dialectical thinking. Sometimes we get caught in "all or nothing" or "black and white" thinking, that can cause it's own set of problems. Reality is - life has some gray in it. Dialectical thinking helps us realize that life contains many contradictory things that would seem to cancel each other out, but in fact, they co-exist, and I can chose to accept this, or, keep fighting it, which often continues to generate mental and emotional hardship.