I am so glad you’re here - give yourself a moment for making it this far! I’m Ariel Swanson, LCSW. I’ve been in practice since 2014 in a variety of settings with a variety of people. I’m solution focused and want to work with you to create goals to work towards a healthy future. Think about what brought you here - divorce, mood deregulation, stress or life all together. I’m here for you.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
Our first session will be an assessment/get to know you session. I want to explore what has prompted you to therapy - tell me as much or as little as you deem necessary. I want you to trust me, so I strive to make this session feel less intimidating that it might seem.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
My sessions should feel warm and inviting. At every session I will ask you, “what’s going on?” I’m able to sit back and let you talk through your stressors with guided prompts or I can be more directive and challenging. This is something I like to focus on in our first session so I can get a good feel of what you’re looking for in therapy. You might be starting therapy with a laundry list of goals. While I applaud the intuitive, let’s slow down and pick 1-2 at a time to really hone in on your needs, wants and desires. We will build goal setting into our first session but can continue to elaborate on this for 1-2 sessions after as needed. Once we complete the initial goals then we are able to move on to the next!
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
The most common practice is good ‘ol talk therapy - so we’re going to use CBT. We’re going to put a spin on that and adjust it to current times and situations. I lean towards DBT to improve our own regulation, building mindfulness and coping skills while also reducing impulses and crisis management. I gave experience with a trauma focused approach and that will truly be the overarching sense of our work together.Being in the field for 10+ years has allowed me the opportunity to work with so many people to understand a variety of diagnosis and symptoms. I do tend to work well in treating personality and mood disorders, anxiety disorders as well as trauma impacted individuals.
About Ariel Swanson
Identifies as
Specializes in
Serves ages
Licensed in
Accepts cash
Appointments
VirtualMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
CBT is a go-to favorite to identify negative thoughts and behaviors to challenge them and make improvements in functioning.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I love DBT because of its emphasis on interpersonal skills and radical acceptance at its core. We can’t always change the way things are but we can learn to pivot and cope.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
Let’s set goals and figure out where we need to go to achieve them. Solution focused brief therapy allows us to prioritize one or two goals and hone in on making positive changes and improvements.
Strength-Based
We want to focus on empowering you, identifying your strengths and using those to move forward in your journey to recovery.
Trauma Informed Care
Trauma is so unique to every individual and being trauma informed in practice is imperative.