LMSW-C, 30 years of experience
New to Grow
I am Ruth Westfall, a licensed Social Worker, with 30 years of experience as a therapist. I am passionate about getting to know my clients and seeing them heal and overcome life's challenges. I have the greatest respect for those who seek support in order to make positive change in their lives! After finding myself a single parent, I needed to find work in a field where I could support my son and myself. I was always interested in a helping profession as well as one where I could be involved in social justice. I graduated with a Master's in Social Work in 1995 and immediately found work at a mental health clinic. I worked there for 24 years in various positions, not only as a therapist but as an advocate for victims of crime. The pandemic caused such a need for therapists that I was able to branch out on my own and go into private practice, which I love! Since 2020, I have worked with hundreds of clients on telehealth platforms and helped them cope with the many challenges of these last few years.
Ask yourself "How will I know when things are better?" or "How will I feel when I have reached my goals?". During our first session, I will likely ask some questions or provide some exercises for you to decide what positive changes you wish to see in your life. Therapy is a joint effort and I encourage you to let me know how you feel it is going, or if there are areas where you wish to shift our focus. For our first session we will be getting to know each other, and I will likely have some questions about your background and concerns. You may ask me questions about myself or just about therapy in general. Sometimes people have a lot on their minds during this first session and they may need to do a bit of venting. Don't worry, this will often tell me a great deal about your greatest worries and challenges, and we can use this information to make a plan for change.
I feel that I present as calm and compassionate. My sessions can tend to be pretty relaxed, and somewhat casual. Despite this, we are able to do a lot of work and to cover whatever subjects you feel are important. I want our sessions to be a safe space where you can feel safe to discuss anything! I am also able to provide you with psychoeducational resources and worksheets that you may use in between our appointments. And one of the bonuses of virtual therapy, I would love to meet your pets!
Whenever I have had clients thank me for helping them I tell them that they are the ones who have done the difficult work. I appreciate the courage that it takes even just to ask for help and you have already started to heal by getting this far in the process! Recognizing that there are problems that you need to work on and asking for assistance are two of the most difficult steps. But I can't fix things for you, it will require some introspection, trial and error, and self-knowledge to identify your triggers, needs, the signs and symptoms that you are struggling, and what are the skills that help you. We all are different but there are so many ways that we can find solutions!