LICSW, 23 years of experience
Hello, my name is Stephen Pleasant, and I'm a psychotherapist for men. Why therapy for men? Well, because sometimes a man just needs a pork shoulder to cry on. That being said, I will also work with women as well. It’s a recognized human tendency for men to get “stuck” in their lives and to end up “settling” for the status quo when deep down they know they are capable of a great deal more. Here’s the truth; You are never “stuck” with your present circumstances. The Game of Life is a psychological and spiritual journey and winning at this game requires you to change your play and learn to think differently and do things in a new way. I help men break out from being “stuck” in life, resigned to producing results that are disappointing to them and others. My goal is to see transformative progress in men’s confidence, clarity, and self-expression, so that they may gain the fuller personal and work life they thought was beyond them.
I help men close the gap between where they are now and where they want to be in life and relationships. Usually, people try to change things on the outside without first changing what’s going on, on the inside. That never really works. Clients can expect to take away being more effective and courageous in dealing with the inside. And, by extension, produce better results on the outside.
I think one of my biggest strengths is that "I walk the walk." In other words, I also do the work for myself and my life. I meet clients where they are and with whatever they are dealing with.
You're probably here because something in your life isn't working or not working as well as you'd like it to. The question is how do you get moving in the right direction. Forward vs. backward? Future vs. past oriented? What if you could get your behaviors to match your intentions? What if you could get your actions equal to your thoughts? What if you could get your mind and body working together? I use CBT to help you create a new experience in your life.
The mind and body are inextricably linked. The brain (the mind by extension) is constantly checking in and monitoring your body's state. The body produces feelings equal to the way you are thinking. Once. you begin to feel the way you think, you begin to think more thoughts that are equal to the way you feel.
It's not good enough to learn something, to acquire knowledge. The next step in the process is to get the body involved by taking action. You need to apply what you've learned. You need to personalize it. You need to demonstrate it. In other words, to initiate knowledge means you're going to have to do something. For that, you need to have some "tools" to help you implement what you're learning.