More about My Specialties
Specialty Services
Individual Therapy
Even when your loved one won’t attend therapy, there are solutions. In fact, we can’t change others, anyway. The success of therapy depends on your own willingness to share the problem with someone equipped to suggest new viewpoints and new behaviors that will alter the interactions. It’s possible to be even more productive in therapy without a partner. It can certainly feel good to have all the healing energy focused on ourselves, and to still know that it can be effective. We deserve to feel good. We are more productive for others when we do.
Couples Therapy
When we feel stuck in ways of relating that are uncomfortable, it may be time for professional intervention. We may seek a therapist who is on our side, but it may be more useful to have a third party who is more objective. In fact, there are usually things we, ourselves, can do differently that will create the changes we are seeking. We can feel validated without having to be “right.”
Family Therapy
Our current problems may involve a family member, or even a partner, to whom we are not married. Therapy can be just as effective between other parties of two, three, or more, as it is for individuals and couples. The therapist may break down the sessions into various combinations, or continue to see you as a group. This depends on the issue, feedback from the members, and the level of tension between members during sessions.
Group Studies
Anxiety
We can struggle with anxiety for years, believing it is “normal.” By the time we realize that it may not be, and we seek solutions, we may have developed coping behaviors that make life terribly inconvenient. These have often developed into other pathologies, or mental illnesses. For instance, we have avoided social situations which elevate our anxiety, and have become depressed.
Everyone has some anxiety. It can move us to face and solve problems or to better prepare. What differentiates normal anxiety from the pathological? To have the normal tendency to get keyed up and to worry become excessive, so that it is persistent and consistent. We feel constantly apprehensive and are more vigilant. It has begun to interfere with our ability to function in the ways we were once able, to feel productive and to enjoy life. When this happens, it is time to seek professional help.
Relationship Issues
All relationships have struggles. Times of growth and times of peace. When the struggle begins to interfere with your ability to enjoy each other, your ability to solve problems, and even your ability to focus on more satisfying things, it is time to ask for help from an objective third party. An experienced therapist can help you identify the primary issues, and, maybe even causes, of the ongoing tension in the relationship. When we run out of good ideas, a professional can help us address the problem and, hopefully, develop new skills in the meantime, which become preventative in nature.
Conflict
Feeling heard and being validated are priceless. You should experience both with a qualified therapist, while also being offered alternative perspectives from a more expanded point of view. When we are stuck in conflict, we lose our objectivity, limiting our ability to problem solve as effectively. We may feel attacked and become defensive. Knowing these things does not solve our problem. But the sometimes novel suggestions for how to deal with the problem should begin to widen our own perceptions and even expand our hope. While the suggestions may seem practical, and sometimes obvious, their effects can be truly life-changing. This requires a bit of trust in your therapist. As you invest in trial and error regarding the suggestions, and they begin to work, your trust likely increases. If this doesn’t work, try being even more transparent in your sessions. The therapist’s effectiveness relies largely on your level of willingness, thoroughness and honesty.
All of My Therapeutic Specialties
- ADHD
- Addiction
- Alcohol Use
- Anger Management
- Behavioral Issues
- Borderline Personality
- Chronic Pain
- Codependency
- Combining Methods for Tailor-Made
- Treatment
- Depression
- Divorce
- Domestic Abuse
- Domestic Violence
- Dual Diagnosis
- Family-of-Origin Patterns & Long-term Effects
- Grief
- Infidelity
- Life Coaching
- Marital and Premarital
Frequently Asked Questions
As a marriage and family therapist, I am often asked whether I see individuals. Actually, I see more individuals than I do couples or families. We may decide to attend therapy for a personal problem or a relationship problem. What differentiates a marriage and family therapist from other types is how we view your problems. You didn’t develop your problem in isolation, or by yourself. So we look at all of the variables in your life. We can more accurately place responsibility, and seek solutions, when we look at all aspects of our lives. It is helpful to know how our problem developed. Clients sometimes report feeling “less crazy.” They develop more self-compassion and understanding. That’s a good thing.
I am not a member of any managed health care programs. This means I accept private pay only, which is due at each session. You may ask for receipts which are suitable for attaching to your health insurance claims. Be aware that this WILL require me to make an official diagnosis on your behalf.
Clients sometimes don’t realize that once we file a claim on our insurance, our personal, very private information, including diagnoses, become more public. More people will see the information. It becomes a part of your historical medical record. Once this happens, it cannot be undone. While insurance companies do their best, we hope, to protect that information, it is still available to a number of parties, and more easily accessible.
We are sometimes inadvertently penalized, later, by third parties who may decide your benefits based on your past medical history. However unfairly, even life insurance is sometimes based on whether you have been diagnosed with a mental illness, even though you became healthier through counseling.
If your medical insurance is provided by, or supplemented by, an employer, they have certain rights pertaining to your medical history. They may have access to your diagnosis and your attendance history.
I take cash, major credit cards, checks and Venmo.
Contact Amy
Contact Us:
Let me help. Lean on my faith.
Location
North Star Counseling and Coaching
1024 E College Street Seguin, TX 78155
(830) 261-3030 | Get Directions