Individual Counseling

What individual counseling actually looks like

You meet with the same clinician on a regular schedule, usually weekly to start, for about fifty minutes. The first session or two is mostly history and orientation: what brought you in, what you have already tried, what you want to be different. After that, sessions are working sessions.

There is no script. Some weeks you arrive with a specific problem and spend the hour on it. Some weeks you arrive with nothing in particular and find out halfway through what was actually bothering you. Both are useful.

What people bring in

• Stress that stopped being situational and became the baseline
• Anger that shows up faster and bigger than the situation deserves
• Grief, a death, a marriage, a career, a version of yourself
• Transitions: separating from service, retiring, divorcing, becoming a parent, moving to Clarksville and knowing nobody
• Low self-worth, or a running internal commentary that would be unacceptable coming from anyone else
• Habits and coping that used to work and now cost more than they give
• Not knowing what is wrong, only that something is

How we work

Our clinicians draw on established approaches, cognitive behavioral work, person-centered and solution-focused methods, trauma-informed care, and pick the one that fits the person in front of them, not the other way around. If what you are describing points toward trauma work specifically, you may be matched with a clinician trained in EMDR and trauma treatment.

You are told what the plan is. You get to disagree with it. Therapy that you are not a participant in does not work very well.

In person or by video

Sessions happen at our Hatcher Lane office in Clarksville, or by secure video anywhere in Tennessee. Video is not a lesser version of the work, for people on shift schedules, people without reliable childcare, and people who drive an hour to get here, it is usually the difference between going and not going.

How long does it take?

Honest answer: it depends on what you are working on. Some people come for eight or ten sessions with a specific problem and finish. Some stay a year. Some come back years later for a stretch when life gets loud again. Nobody here is going to keep you longer than the work requires, and your clinician should be able to tell you at any point what you are working toward.

Starting

Call (931) 444-5630 during office hours, or request an appointment and we will get back to you. We will ask a few questions about what you are looking for so we can match you with the right clinician, you do not have to have it all figured out before you call.