Grow Therapy Home
Bob Zima profile image

Bob Zima

Bob Zima

(he/him)

LCPC
20 years of experience
Authentic
Solution oriented
Humorous
Virtual

I provide collaborative telehealth counseling services to individuals and couples. Unresolved pain and fear from "doin' life" fuels anger, anxiety, and addictive behaviors that destroy relationships and turn life into a “cardboard dirt sandwich with a side of sawdust.” I use Narrative Therapy to help people separate themselves (and their friends and family) from the problems that plague their lives, allowing people to externalize their issues rather than hiding them in the depths of their souls. You are NOT the problem. Other people are NOT the problem. Problems are problems. Your problems do not define you. Your interpretation of your problems, the outcomes of your problems, and your attempts to solve your problems heavily influence your identity, self-esteem, emotional stability, and how you react behaviorally. Behaviors impact relationships which impact our ability to enjoy life. I also use Existential, Rational-Emotive Behavioral, Client-Centered, and Gestalt Therapy techniques to help you become an expert of YOU while embracing your values, dreams, skills, and desires to live the life that you designed. Together we identify solutions to problems via alternative stories of your past, present, and future life, widen and balance your view of yourself, provide you with an authentic purpose in life, challenge old and unhealthy beliefs with new and more accurate conceptions, and open your mind to new ways of "doin' life" that reflect a more accurate and healthier story of you.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

The first session is all about getting to know each other. At the end of the day, every research study has demonstrated that the relationship between counselor and client is the primary factor connected to the efficiency and effectiveness of therapy. I want to understand why now, why at this point in your life, have you taken the steps to schedule this appointment. Understanding the motivations that drive your desire to give therapy a go is critical. It's also an opportunity for you to hear about me, my approach, and my philosophy, and for us to establish initial goals.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

I am a strengths-based counselor who seeks to normalize what we call 'LIFE.' Using humor, a narrative, life-story telling approach, to help people develop and refine psychological-fitness skills to improve the quality of their life. I have a lot of life experiences myself including recovery from addiction, rebuilding after financial devastation, and grieving the loss of two of my four children who died way too early. Together with my life story, personality, and clinical experiences from working in ERs, Community Mental Health, and Private Practice as well as teaching and touring to give keynote addresses, I help people plan and get the life they have always wanted.

About Bob Zima

Identifies as

Specializes in

Serves ages

Licensed in

Accepts

Appointments

Virtual

My treatment methods

Narrative

Narrative therapy seeks to separate us from our problems. In narrative therapy, problems are problems while people are people. People are never problems. We are never the problem. Our family and friends are never the problem. The problem is the problem. By sharing life stories of the past, present, and future I help clients disconnect themselves from the dysfunctional behaviors, unwanted emotions, and lousy outcomes that sometimes plague their lives.

Reality Therapy

Plan. Do. Check. Act. These are four basic steps that can miraculously improve the quality of our lives. When it comes to creating better coping, problem-solving, and communication skill sets, we must plan. We must implement new skills and strategies. We must check out the effectiveness and efficiency of these skills and strategies, and when necessary modify and adjust. Reality therapy helps us make a reasonable and executable plan to improve the quality of our lives.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy

We think. We feel. We act. When in a therapy session, Thinking, feeling and acting are discussed in a linear fashion. The reality is that life is process oriented and circular. Understanding how our thoughts Drive automatic emotions which are then expressed through behaviors is a key to improving our overall mental wellness. if we change how we think we will change how we feel and we will change how we act ultimately leading to different outcomes.

Motivational Interviewing

If a baseball bat worked to motivate people to make changes, I'd use it. But it doesn't. I use Motivational Interviewing because this theory respects the reality that most of us find change a bit difficult and occasionally unappealing. I use motivational interviewing to explore the possibilities of change and how, if those changes are possible, my client's lives may be different, healthier, and more enjoyable.

Humanistic

There isn't a single research study in the world that doesn't support that the therapeutic and professional relationship between counselor and counsel is the single most important factor in therapy being effective. In session, I am me, warts and all. I strive to be authentic, genuine, and transparent and I seek the same for my clients as we connect and work.