Individual Therapy Counseling Services

Finding the right therapist for your area of struggle is key to successful therapy outcomes. Feeling comfortable and understood by your therapist is essential to helping you trust the process that will lead to you reaching your therapy goals.

All of our therapists are state-licensed and have completed all education and training necessary to see clients in the state of Washington. We also have case management services, peer counselors, psychiatric prescribing, primary care for medical issues, and more.

Meeting with your therapist for the first session may feel scary. Or maybe you are really looking forward to it. Either way, we want you to be prepared! The first session is considered an intake session. These intakes involve less therapeutic intervention and more getting to know your therapist and your therapist getting to know you. Here is what you can expect from your first session with your Willapa Behavioral Health therapist:

• You will first be asked to fill out a packet of information so that we can open a client file for you. Within this packet there will be a few screening questions that will help inspire some introspection in you and give your therapist an idea of how you have been feeling on a regular basis. Please let us know if you need help filling anything out. We are happy to assist. We do not want paperwork to be a barrier.
• You will be invited to the therapist’s office where they will ask easy to answer, personal questions about you. What are your hobbies? What does your day-to-day life look like? What are your strengths? Knowing these things helps build a picture of who you are.
• You will be asked questions about your family history. When your therapist understands your past, they can better understand how you view the world and how your family shaped your beliefs, habits, and approaches to relationships.
• Your therapist will ask the purpose for your visit and what you are hoping to gain from therapy. Establishing therapy goals for your treatment plan will help both your therapist and you along the journey and ensure you are headed in the right direction.

Your session style and approach will be individualized and tailored to your own needs. Most often there will be a lot of self reflection and talking about yourself involved in each session. We understand talking about your past, your current struggles, and life experiences may make you feel vulnerable and be difficult. Therapy can be emotional, and oftentimes, people try to suppress those emotions as they come up during sessions. One of the wonderful benefits of therapy is not having to suppress these emotions, and being able to address these feelings in a safe, confidential space, with a therapist who cares about you, and who wants to help you heal. When you allow that process to happen – when you trust the process, beauty and change can occur in your life. The more you share, the more you are likely to feel confident and comfortable in your future sessions.

“Homework” is commonly used by many therapists, but is not mandatory. “Homework” assignments help you continue the work you have accomplished in your session throughout the week. The homework is designed to help you with everyday life growth and application. Applying what you learned in a therapy session, exploring your emotions, and developing new coping strategies can facilitate real healing in big ways. Over time, you will experience happier moods and more effective thinking patterns in your life.

There are multiple modalities and approaches to individual therapy. Each of our therapists have interventions they may favor, but our therapists are also all trained in various methods. While working with you and getting to know your struggles and goals, your therapist will choose an approach or multiple methods to help you overcome your distress. Common therapeutic methods we practice at Willapa Behavioral Health include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This widely popular approach to individual therapy focuses on helping people to notice the connection between their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Once negative thinking patterns are identified, positive patterns can be implemented, practiced, and mastered. CBT focuses on creating healthy thoughts that will lead to healthy actions.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): This intervention teaches individuals how to effectively cope with stress, improve emotional regulation, and approach relationships in healthier ways.
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT): Focusing on relationship skills, this intervention aids individuals in healing and creating bonding relationships.
• Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR): This is a very structured intervention that involves the use of eye movement. This model does not require as much talking and a large portion of the work is done inside your mind during and after the session as the traumatic memory is reprocessed and stored in a place where it no longer affects you as it used to.

A typical therapy session is between 45-60 minutes in length. The overall treatment plan and the number of therapy sessions for individuals varies depending on the reasons a person is seeking treatment. Factors your therapist will consider when creating your treatment plan include:

• The severity of distress you are experiencing
• The length of time you have been experiencing the distress
• How dominant the destress is in your daily life
• How much stress does the issue cause
• How much effort you are putting into therapy
• Possible financial constraints

While therapy does not always cure a condition, it can help you discover and develop healthy coping skills, ways to let go, problem solving strategies, and ways to become resilient. Your individual commitment to therapy is the determining factor in how effective therapy can be for you.

Successful therapy looks like experiencing fewer triggers or relapses related to your distress in your real life. Positive overflow from therapy is often observed in more areas of your life than just the area for which you were seeking treatment. When you feel better in one area of life, you will most likely begin to feel better in multiple areas of your life.

Therapy in conjunction with medical intervention often has excellent outcomes, and we are proud to offer both services to you at Willapa Behavioral Health so you can experience the best possible outcomes.

We know how frustrating it can be to be ready to seek treatment, but feel the financial strain. As a community mental-healthcare provider, Willapa Behavioral Health can work with you to find a payment option that may work. We are committed to doing whatever we can to work with your budget and your needs. We have:

• Income-based sliding fee scale
• Payment arrangements

Contact our Client Navigator for more info – Karmon Hymes – 360-642-3787 ext 1025