Growth-oriented therapy (personal growth counseling)
Are you seeking counseling with a focus on personal growth – counseling that can encompass the broader realms of the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual self and help you develop into a more satisfied, authentic, and grounded person?
Do you feel you’re capable of being a better or somehow different person but aren’t sure how to get from where you are to where you’d like to be?
Do you feel an urgency for change in your life but aren’t sure where to start?
If your answer to these kinds of questions is “yes” then let’s talk about what your particular goals are and how I as a therapist might assist you in exploring your values, beliefs, and attitudes and help you find the path you’re meant to be on.
People commonly enter therapy with the hope of finding relief from very specific sources of distress that have been plaguing them, such as anxiety, depression, intimate relationship issues, or difficulty adjusting to specific life stressors. They anticipate that their therapy will be sharply focused on their identified area of concern.
Then there are people, perhaps like yourself, who are struggling with larger questions having to do with meaning, purpose, happiness, and the greater arc of their life on this planet. Perhaps you’re second-guessing your personal choices, values, or beliefs. Or maybe you feel a vague discontent with your life or want to be able to feel better about who you are. If you’ve dreamed of entering therapy to aid your personal growth and development so you can be a happier, healthier person, why not act now?
My work with individuals seeking this type of therapy is an exploration of the larger patterns of a person’s life. Growth-oriented counseling emphasizes recognizing barriers that hold you back from being who you feel you’re capable of being and illuminating blind spots – behaviors or ways of thinking that you may not be fully aware of which keep you stuck and unable to get the results you’re seeking.
In my work with clients willing to take a deeper look into themselves I make use of the developing relationship between the client and myself, out of the observation that the therapy hour is a microcosm of how a client relates to others in their life and what others may see and respond to. By using my relationship with a client as a starting point, I can help them challenge themselves and overcome barriers they may be finding in their relationships with others.
When helping people clarify goals, purpose, and meaning, I find that it’s important to help them identify their strengths and assets. Identifying their supportive relationships, role models, and past successes is also often helpful.
When people are working towards being a better version of themselves sometimes our work centers around exploring what it’s like to allow oneself to be vulnerable and to trust, and to depend less on one’s reflexive defenses. I want to encourage clients to speak and live their authentic truths even where they may feel hesitant.
Oftentimes the choices we make in life are made out of fear or doubt. Sound familiar? It can be a powerful experience to have a skilled therapist walk beside us as we try on new thoughts and behaviors and act in spite of fear and doubt.
I’m honored that people have entrusted me with their secret hopes and dreams, their shame, their fears, their perceived failures, their pain, and their triumphs as we’ve worked together to build their confidence and make a plan for the future.
To be human is to struggle. To be human means facing challenges. Living is a continual act of creation. Sometimes asking for help or support from a professional can be the beginning of illuminating our path on the way to finding ourselves.
If the kind of therapy you’re seeking sounds like what I’m describing here, or the thought of personal growth and development therapy resonates with you, why not set up your free 15-minute phone consultation to explore your options further? Call 505-431-5058 or email me at ravenwatercounseling@outlook.com