How Counseling Works
“How can just talking about things make me feel different?” is a question new clients sometimes ask Lisa and Renee. They have a point! We all know people who can talk about their problems endlessly and never make any changes.
The Arc of the Therapeutic Experience:
Generally, there are distinct phases to counseling.
In the first phase, you will establish a relationship with either Lisa Huybrechts, M.A. During this time, she will get a sense of who you are and what is going on with you. You will get used to talking about yourself in a safe, open environment. As you connect with and trust your therapist, you can begin to talk more openly and allow new parts of your experience to come into your awareness. The therapeutic relationship with Lisa becomes a transformational space.
In the second phase, your awareness about yourself and your experience will continue to develop. Your therapist has many techniques and strategies for helping you to gain awareness. You will access feelings, thoughts and images that will help you understand yourself in new ways. With this understanding, a course of action will begin to come into focus.
As your growth experience continues you may begin to experiment with new behaviors. Guided by a better understanding of yourself, you can practice new ways of being that reflect your authentic feelings, needs and aspirations. Lisa can help you to brainstorm, create strategies, and provide support as you choose which aspects of your life you value, and which you would like to change.
The counseling relationship ends when you feel that you have achieved your goals you set for yourself at the outset of counseling.
Your Counselor’s Job:
It is your counselor's job to help you feel comfortable, safe, and understood. At the same time, they will challenge you enough to help you to grow. You will never be pressured to agree with them, or to do things that you don't want to do. A trained counselor will ask you though provoking questions, and may help you to think and feel in new ways. However, you are in control of the process.
Your Job:
Therapy is a collaborative endeavor. It is vital that you are open with your counselor in giving them feedback about what you need from the experience. Ideally, you and your therapist will have a relationship where you can be honest – even if you’re honest about not wanting to talk about something. Lastly, while your counselor can be a partner in change, you are ultimately responsible for your behaviors and decisions.
Kinds of Psychotherapy
Lisa emphasizes the use of several different modalities of counseling, all of which have been shown to be effective in helping people to change. The common aspect of these therapies is that they emphasize cultivation of your strengths in a positive, health based approach. You can discuss with her which approach feels like the best fit for you.
Experiential Therapy:
The focus of this work is on creating awareness of different aspects of your experience in order to make contact with parts of yourself that you may have disowned. As you reclaim yourself and your inherent wholeness you will have access to more personal strength, power and understanding of yourself. In this model, personal growth emphasizes ‘congruency’ or authenticity in relationships, your interactions with the world, and with yourself. Emotions may be explored and understood, and old, unfinished business can be resolved.
Narrative Therapy:
This kind of therapy emphasizes understanding your problems in a new way, placing yourself in context, and creating a ‘new story’ for your life. Your issues are separated from who you are, freeing you to experiment with new ways of being.
Solution – Focused Therapy:
This short-term therapy strives to look for positive strengths and exceptions. By honing in on what works rather that what doesn’t you can focus on solutions.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy:
With CBT, the emphasis is on identifying and changing negative thought patterns, and practicing more adaptive behaviors. Homework and strategic exercises will be part of this process. You and Lisa may work together in one of these modalities or use a blend, depending on your current needs and goals in counseling.
Start your journey today. Call 303.861.1110 or email
for your free consultation with Lisa.