Hello, my name is Tamara Williams-Benjamin, and I am a licensed professional counselor in the state of Texas. I have been counseling in the community for over 15 years. I help my clients get to the bottom of thoughts and behaviors that no longer serve them, and help them gain perspective in the creation of their futures, with no limitations.
The first session is more of a get to know session. I introduce myself and they introduce themselves. I ask some background questions, mainly about family and relationships in their lives, also their goals for therapy and how they currently take care of themselves. I explain my methods and check for understanding and then I may give a little homework. Something fun for the first time ususally.
I have a warm style of engagement that helps me establish rapport rather quickly. I have an awesome sense of humor, as well as being a person who understands multiple points of view. I have a high level of cultural sensitivity and clients find me very relatable.
I love working with young people on the verge of adulthood. Everything is exciting and new, but also can be scary and overwhelming. They tend to think they have to have the world figured out, and I like to help them see the only constant you can depend on is change, and how to learn to stop and smell the roses.
DBT is the lens through which I conceptualize cases. I use all four areas of DBT to categorize my clients presenting concerns. Then the course of treatment is building skills within each area to a address the big picture.