Professional Counseling

-Maya Angelou

The Counseling Process

Your counseling sessions will be tailored to fit your particular needs and goals. The therapeutic process typically begins with 2-3 sessions focusing on assessment of your unique situation. Your therapist will help you establish realistic goals that you can commit to working towards through counseling which will keep the sessions focused for your benefit. To help you feel more comfortable, an explanation is included of some of the approaches Monarch Wellness specializes in and may be introduced during your pathway to healing. While traditional “talk therapy” may be useful, other integrative and expressive modalities may be suggested. We value evidence based practices that have been proven effective by research and also believe that no one size fits all; different approaches will suit different individuals and experiences. Please feel free to call with any questions about what to expect from counseling.

Click on any of the following for further information about our counseling services:

Therapy Time Frame

Photo courtesy of the Monarch Butterfly website: http://www.monarch-butterfly.com

Initial sessions are 90 minutes, and ongoing meetings are typically between 45-60 minutes, or longer for more complex or crisis related concerns. We are solution focused in our approach and believe in the benefit of short term therapy, since the purpose is to resolve issues and help build coping skills so that individuals can function independently rather than stay in therapy indefinitely. Sometimes only a few sessions beyond the assessment are necessary; more commonly a few months are beneficial; whereas someone with a complex trauma history will most likely need more long-term therapy.

Sessions are usually scheduled once a week  (more often if needed for more severe or crisis situations, or if you are only in town for a period of time) and usually taper down to every other week as progress continues and monthly or as needed for follow up. While sessions may also be spread further out, weekly or every other week consistency is typically most beneficial initially to allow for the therapeutic bond to form and to dive into the work. As progress is demonstrated, more time in between sessions allows for new skills to be practiced and evaluated.

Parent Involvement

If you are a parent or guardian seeking counseling for your child (under the age of 18), you will be a key resource involved in the healing process. A meeting will be scheduled with you initially if your child is of elementary age. This helps the therapist gain an understanding of your concerns for your child, gather background history, and answer any questions you may have about the counseling process. If your child is in middle or high school, the initial session typically consists of joint time with parents/guardians, pre-teen/teen, and therapist together, followed by individual time for your child and therapist if time allows. Initial sessions also allow for counseling policies and procedures will also be reviewed, including confidentiality and the therapist’s requirement as a mandated reporter to report any suspicion of abuse/neglect.

To promote a successful therapy process and to avoid any legal issues or other complications, our policy is to obtain both parents’ consent and involvement if possible. Since the child is the client, respect of the therapeutic relationship will also be requested. It will be difficult for your child to build trust in the counseling process if he/she believes the therapist will share everything with the parent. However, parents/legal guardians will be informed of any self-harm/safety concerns (as appropriate), and if any issues related to the parent/guardian arise during sessions, the therapist will suggest family sessions to address the issues together.

Typically, sessions consist of the therapist meeting with the child for 30-40 minutes, and speaking with the parents before or after the session if needed.  Monarch Wellness is strongly family oriented…family sessions are highly beneficial and will be scheduled as needed and appropriate.

Before Your Appointment

After you have scheduled an appointment, please visit our Forms page to print out and complete the initial paperwork to bring to your first session. The forms are quite thorough but helpful in gathering the full picture in order to guide our therapy process more clearly.