Services

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We focus on what is happening in your current experience, looking back only to the degree that history informs understanding of the present.  I pull from systems theory, cognitive behavioral theory and strategies, Gestalt theory and strategies and whatever else might be helpful for a particular client.  I believe psychotherapy is most effective and most empowering when it is a collaborative effort between the client, the therapist and any other practitioners providing care to the client (medical doctors, naturopaths, etc.).  We are all whole beings, not only our bodies or our moods or psyche.  Our work together will always be holistic and integrative in nature. 

• Depression:  Nearly everyone, over the course of a lifetime, has times when they feel sad or teary, irritable, overwhelmed, unable to concentrate, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, loss of appetite, weight gain/loss, fatigue, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, are sleeping too much or too little or have recurrent thoughts of death.  When a few of these symptoms happen at the same time, the quality of life diminishes.  Psychotherapy can help, either with or without medication.
• Anxiety:  Our lives are full of things that stress us or make us anxious.  Anxiety is an additive condition, meaning that all of our stresses add together to increase our constant level of anxiety.  Eventually, if we fail to attend to our anxiety, it may become overwhelming and cause panic attacks or phobias that can significantly impact our health and well-being.  However, anxiety disorders are all treatable with psychotherapy, often without medication. Symptoms often include regular feelings of worry, fear, panic or uneasiness, problems sleeping, muscle tension, uncontrollable or obsessive thoughts, repeated flashbacks of a traumatic event, shortness of breath, racing heart/palpitations, cold sweaty hands/feet, inability to stay still or calm, ritualistic or repetitive behaviors and can include dry mouth, numbness of limbs, nausea or dizziness. There are many types of anxiety disorders, each with specific symptoms.  However, all are uncomfortable and disruptive to our lives.
• Serious medical illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, chronic pain and other acute and chronic conditions present extraordinary psychological challenges to the patient and the patient’s family.  We know that depression and anxiety are common with these conditions and we know that both depression and anxiety increase the perception of pain and physical distress.  Help is available that will improve quality of life and help relieve physical suffering.  

People are the most valuable asset many companies have.  Managing that asset effectively can be very challenging.  The human aspect, that is, finding ways to value and respect employees while also motivating and fully utilizing them for optimal benefit to the company, is what makes managing a team challenging.  An Organizational Development Consultation provides a fresh and holistic perspective, looking both at the needs of the business and the needs of the individual employees who fill the positions within the company.  We work with the current team to assess what is working and what is not working as well and then make recommendations for any reorganization of job functions and responsibilities that might increase efficiency or effectiveness as well as level out workloads.  We then assess the goodness of fit of the people with those jobs.  

Often, as companies grow, jobs are created on the fly, as they are needed, and are never reviewed later for their systemic fit for the overall company or for the people filling them.  Ultimately, Organizational Development is about making sure positions optimize company resources and that employees are well suited to the positions they serve. While meeting company needs is essential, employees that are well matched to their positions and are meeting professional as well as personal goals are more devoted to the company, more creative and significantly more productive.  When this process is done well, employee retention and satisfaction goes up, reducing costs.  Companies that are efficiently and effectively staffed are able to maximize productivity, grow intentionally and increase profitability.

• Executive coaching addresses personal and professional goals and challenges.  Very often executives or managers have no one who understands their professional challenges except immediate colleagues.  Discussing those challenges with immediate co-workers or colleagues is sometimes unwise for competition or privacy reasons.  Executive coaching offers confidentiality, while providing a forum for personal and professional growth.
• Personnel Selection:  Team building is an art form that takes experience and deliberate attention.  Finding employees that will work well with and add to the team is essential for creating a productive and satisfying workplace.  In addition, carefully matching the job to the person so that success in the job supports personal as well as professional growth creates an atmosphere in which people thrive and maximize their contributions to the company.
• HR Challenges:  Sometimes an experienced and objective perspective can help resolve or mediate HR issues before morale is effected, while also reducing loss of management time, team distraction and ultimately costs.  
• Growth & Downsizing Challenges:  Change is inevitable; how to change effectively is the challenge.  While owners and managers certainly know their particular business best, an experienced and objective perspective can sometimes help them gain clarity about next steps or avoid missteps and wasted effort, time or money by not reinventing a process that has already proven itself as helpful or unhelpful elsewhere.