You deserve support, and if you are coming with your partner , you both do, no matter how hard the road ahead may seem. You need someone that will strive to understand you, but commit to supporting you in moving towards change that feels meaningful. While I will never pretend to know your exact pain, I do find that my experience juggling life as a parent, a partner, and in demanding careers such as corporate leadership and skilled trades have often helped me find a traction point to connect with you , so I can support you.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In the first session, you can expect a few things. Before we "get started," you can expect I will spend about 5 minutes going over what to expect. This will include reviewing how scheduling works and briefly reviewing certain legal notices. Then we will talk, in a conversational style about what brings you in, what you have tried, what is working and wht is not. Eventually I will ask a few questions about different parts of your life and we will put together a plan for how counseling can work best for you.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Clients and colleagues describe my approach as deeply curious at first, which helps set us up for a quality that many of my clients share in: a lense of logic from which to start off. But you wouldn't be here if "Logic" was all that it took. In Coupels work, i am trained in both the more practical Gottman style, and the "deeper" EFT style. In all my work I engage an integrative approach that avoids the "cookie cutter therapies" while also integrating their best pricnoples and practices based off of what I learn about you and in some cases your partner.
Some people appreciate that while I am direct when needed, I also value gentle humor and the occasional "Dad Joke."
About Aaron McGinley
Address
5 Allen Avenue, Asheville, NC, USA, ste. BAppointments
Virtual & in-person
My treatment methods
Couples Counseling
While couples often at least mention "Communication" when discussing wat brings them in, so often it is more complicated than that. At times, issues like money, chores, sex, parenting, family come into play, other times the work runs deeper around issues such as trust, emotion, emotional safety, and other issues. Most often, it is combinations of these types of challenges that can be especially difficult. That is why I have pursued the two gold standards in couples counseling , both EFT and Gottman, so I can provide the most skilled and comprehensive treatment, tailored to each couple's unique needs. I also bring to the field 20years of experience with neurodiversity, to enhance the experience for couples whose work includes navigating issues around ADHD, giftedness, Autism, and other forms of neurodivergence.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
While CBT is not the only form of therapy, it is quite an effective one under the right circumstances. For those clients who prefer an analytical and logical approach to therapy , this is often a comfortable place to start. In addition to having grown up in a household with a family member that was literally a "professor of logic," I also have been fortunate enough to have been mentored by clinicians that have trained intensively with some of the biggest experts in the world on CBT. CBT is a tried and true method that is now in its "Third Wave" , and readily integrates what we have learned about mental health from wellness and somatic orientations, DBT, ACT, and other effective strategies, and I tend to do the same.
Acceptance and commitment (ACT)
Sometimes, you can't "Outhink" the sources of stress in your life. This applies when stresses are out of our control, when aspects of our internal world such as intrusive thoughts are a froce to be wreckened with, and maany other situations. ACT allows us to accept reality as is, and to move towards "Valued actions " in our life, so that when fleeting feelings like joy are less available to us, we start by channeling meaning and purpose, and figure out where to go from there.
