Hello, I'm a licensed therapist who has experience in working with individuals, couples, and families. Because I am currently only working on the telehealth platform I won't be working with individuals who aren't appropriate for telehealth therapy which for me includes minors, individuals with more severe mental illness such as those with suicidal ideations and self harm, or any individuals who are more appropriate for in person counseling locally. Because most of my clients tend to be outside of my local area, but are in the state of Texas, it would not be a good idea to treat someone with the aforementioned contraindications. The ideal client I would feel comfortable working with through telehealth will be individuals who are pretty high functioning and who are just in need of someone to process what they are going through and/or who are looking for coping skills to deal with their current issues.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session together, I will gather intake information from you which will include learning about your presenting problem(s), your family of origin, any history of substance use/suicidal ideation/education/employment/social relations/medical issues and other information I gather for the initial session. I will also provide my client with information about what I do in therapy as well as gain insight from you as to what you are seeking out of your therapy session.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
In my experience working as a therapist, I feel like my strengths are that I can listen well, which is probably a given. I can also perceive, based on what I observe and what the client tells me, what the client is looking for out of therapy in general or out of each session. I can stay neutral in that I am non-judgmental. When working with couples I feel I have the ability to stay neutral as well, as my goal is to treat them as a couple and not take sides.
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
I am best able to serve individuals who are seeking guidance with how to communicate more effectively, learn how to adjust with whatever they are going through, and in some cases those who are dealing with unresolved past trauma. My only caution with working with individuals who haven't worked through past trauma are those who may need in person counseling, which I cannot provide at this time. The reason for this is clients in need of receiving therapy with face to face interaction are individuals such as those who may need resources in their local area or are at higher risk for suicidal ideations and/or self-harm, and would therefore not be suitable for the telehealth therapy platform. Clients who want to unpack whatever is going on in their lives now or even what they haven't resolved from their past are suitable for me as well as anyone looking for copings skills to manage their current issues.
About Laura Robbins
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I am certified in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and how I use this method is by integrating it with other approaches including solution focused therapy, emotion focused therapy, and Gottman therapy. My main approach is CBT as this has high efficacy rates when working with individuals who suffer from anxiety, depression, OCD, and many other conditions. CBT focuses on what's known as the cognitive triangle, which is how your thoughts impact your emotions, and your emotions affect your behaviors. Be it positive or negative, your thoughts influence how you feel and how you feel will influence your behaviors/decision making. How I practice this method is by exploring with you what your self-talk is like, meaning the things you either tell yourself or think about, and how this may be causing cognitive distortions, or irrational thoughts, that often contribute to feelings of low self-esteem, self-doubt, lack of motivation, and many of the other "icky" feelings you may have. Left unchecked, these thoughts and feelings can lead to anxiety, depression, and many other host of problems. I explore with my clients how to apply the 3 C's, which stand for "catch, challenge, and change". With you I will use psychoeducation to give you the tools to identify the negative and unhelpful thoughts so that you can challenge them and then change them to more realistic and helpful ways of looking at a situation.
Couples Counseling
I mainly use Gottman therapy which is where I use psychoeducation to inform couples of how to communicate more effectively, have more compassion for their partner, which in my definition is having empathy with understanding, and being able to see themselves more as a team than as adversaries. Couples who are able to work together to solve problems by communicating regularly and not holding onto issues can grow stronger and allow them to trust in their partner. Trust though begins with the self. Individuals who haven't yet worked on themselves to the point where they feel they can trust themselves may need to work with their own individual therapist at the same time they are doing couples therapy, if not before.