WHAT TO EXPECT AT NORTHERN REFLECTIONS COUNSELING

Northern Reflections Counseling provides a broad scope of services to individuals,
couples, families, groups and individuals. I use an eclectic approach to the therapeutic
process, emphasizing a person’s strengths, versus their weaknesses.

During our first session in therapy, there will be some paperwork to complete and I
will spend time discussing the counseling process and issues of confidentiality. I will
explain what the responsibilities regarding confidentiality are, on both the part of the
therapist and on your part, the client.

Next, we will talk about what brings you to counseling at this time and we will develop
a plan, together, a kind of road map. We will decide in which direction we want to go,
initially. And perhaps even more importantly, we will try to determine where we want to
end up. I believe you have to be able to visualize where you are going in order to ever
arrive!

There may occasionally be “homework” between sessions. These activities are meant
to give you an opportunity to “practice” some of the new skills you are developing or
new ways of thinking about things, outside of the session. All the magic can’t happen
within the 50 minute sessions.

At times you may feel challenged. You might be asked to focus more deeply within
yourself. You might be questioned about your attitudes and belief systems. This is
never meant to be threatening to you. It is simply to encourage you to dig deeper to try
to identify the part that you are playing in your current difficulties.

Counseling is not always a smooth process. It requires an individual to take a more
discerning and thoughtful look at themselves and those around them. As a therapist, I
hope to be able to offer you tools to help you cope more effectively, to understand how
to refocus and reframe how you are viewing the world. However, I do not have a magic
wand and you will be doing most of the real work. That’s when it can become difficult;
you may be asked to evaluate and change some deeply entrenched behaviors and
thoughts about the world around you.

Photo used from Creative Commons, thank you Marco Bellucci.