J. Woodfin Counseling

And the short answer is, it depends. There is no set amount of time for a set type of struggle, but there are a few factors that will determine how long your treatment will take. The severity and complexity of the issue you’re seeking help with How long you’ve been experiencing symptoms What type of resources you have in your life What you support system is like And most importantly, your commitment to treatment and willingness to change. The type of therapy we conduct focuses more on depth-oriented work as opposed to only treating your symptoms. Our goal is to get down to the core of the issue, look at the strategies you’ve come up with for managing the issue and really explore if these strategies are continue to work for you. We work to create lasting changes in YOU, how you experience your world and how you operate in your world. This is not short-term work but can have a lasting, life-changing impact.

We do. We can treat anyone in California via phone, video sessions or live in our offices. Also, if we normally see you live in-person and you need a video session one week, no problem: just give us a little advanced notice and we’ll be good to go.

For all new patients we recommend meeting weekly. If you are experiencing a crisis or for more depth-work we will, at times, suggest meeting twice weekly or more often for a more -indepth treatment. Meeting weekly keeps the pace of therapy and change and progress happens more quickly. When spacing sessions out to bi-weekly, often times we’ll lose time to playing ‘catch-up’, instead of working in the therapeutic process or addressing the issues causing you discomfort. We want you to make good use of your time. When treatment is beginning to near it’s close or pause, we can discuss lessening the frequency of sessions to bi-weekly. This allows you to have a gradual increase on self-dependence to maintain your progress.

It may be slightly different in each session and with each therapist. You will generally direct the flow of the session. Your therapist may initiate the start of the session by asking how you are to invite you to share your thoughts, experiences and feelings. You should expect to do a majority of the talking, especially in the beginning states of treatment. In our work, we will let you bring us the ‘meat’ of the issue and we will help you take a good, hard look at what you’re discussing, ask questions to help you find clarity and the meaning of your experience, or provide guidance and education about what you’re facing.

Absolutely not. One of the most important pieces is the therapeutic relationship which is based on trust and confidentiality. Confidentiality allows you to feel safe enough to fully bring your true self into your session. No need to filter, or alter yourself in any way. What you say in the room, stays in the room. This also applies to minors. When working with teens, it is vital for our younger clients to understand we are THEIR therapist. Legally and ethically, we must hold our teen client’s confidentiality as strongly as our older clients. Without this understanding that your teen is safe to really open up to us, we won’t be able to help. If we know we will be speaking to our teen client’s parents, we will make a point to ask your child “Is there anything you want me to tell your parents and is there anything you don’t want me to tell your parents?” Showing your teen we hold their confidence and privacy to dearly allows them to bring their inner selves to their treatment.

Therapy can suck sometimes. There will be sessions when you are talking about memories or experiences that you’d rather forget about or pretend never happened. Sessions when you discover something you don’t like about yourself or you’re feeling overwhelmed with all the changes. And sometimes, your therapist will make a mistake. We may miscommunicate, not understand or disappoint you in some way. We strongly encourage you to bring this up if this is your experience. A part of the therapeutic work is learning how to have a healthy relationship. and being in therapy allows you to experiment with new ways of being in a relationship in a safe way. If you’ve been a people-pleaser or are heavily conflict-avoidant, think of your therapist letting you down as an opportunity to practice a new skill. Practice asking for what you want or practice sharing what you don’t like.

It depends on the crisis. If you’ve discovered infidelity, your teen is using drugs or alcohol or someone is engaging in self-harm, then yes, we can handle that. If the crisis escalates we will provide referrals for a higher level of care and assist you in the transition. You don’t have to experience that alone. If there are serious safety concerns, active suicide or homicide attempts, and someone is a danger to themselves or others, then we encourage you to call the local 24-hour crisis line. Santa Clara County 855-278-4204 If you are the parent of a minor and need immediate, emergency assistance for your child, we encourage you to call Uplift’s 24-hour emergency mental health services. Uplift Family Services, Emergency Mental Health for Youth 877-412-7474 If you are a current client experiencing a psychiatric or mental health emergency, please contact us as soon as safely possible.