I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Illinois and have been practicing for over 30 years. I worked for 8 years on an inpatient psychiatric unit and for nearly 13 years at an outpatient behavioral health clinic. My clients ranged in age from 12 to 88 years. This provided me with extensive experience in working with persons suffering from mood disorders, eating disorders, self- injuring behaviors, personality disorders, etc. In addition, I worked for 11 years in a long term care facility, which gave me experience with working with the elderly population.
The first session will entail a significant amount of information gathering to determine what specific issues you are experiencing and want to work on. Even though some background history is gathered, we can't expect to get through a whole life history in a short amount of time and I won't pretend to be able to help you fix everything that has ever gone wrong in your life. I prefer to focus on what the current struggles are and what you're hopes or expectations are for treatment.
My greatest strength as a provider is being non-judgmental and providing a safe, comforting atmosphere of healing. That does not mean that I will not call you out on things, if I feel you are being vague or not completely honest. I can only help, if you will let me. This includes building a foundation of trust and mutual respect.
Many people struggle with issues that they feel are not within their control to change. They have the misconception that others should change for them. When this does not happen, they become discouraged and even depressed. We fall into behavioral patterns (taught by caregivers or learned along the way) and sometimes do not realize that we hold the key to change by altering not what happens to us, but how we interpret, process and react to it.