Individual

Learning about yourself in counseling can help you identify patterns of thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that are causing you pain. We help with the following:

  • A loss of self through depression or anxiety
  • A chronic or terminal illness
  • The death or loss of a loved one
  • Loss of employment or income
  • Divorce
  • Incarceration
  • Suicidal thoughts
  • An abusive relationship
  • Survivor’s guilt

Couples

According to Dr. John Gottman, less than 5% of divorcing couples seek marriage counseling. The average couple waits six years before seeking help for marital problems. Keeping in mind the fact that half of all marriages fail in the first seven years, the average couple lives for far too long with unhappiness.

If you are struggling with your relationship and you and your partner have been unable to resolve the issues, counseling can help you get “unstuck.”  Couple counseling is about learning skills in order to have a successful relationship. You and your partner will learn the following:

  • Ways to communicate better
  • How to argue in a healthier way
  • How to resolve conflict and problem solve in a productive manner
  • How to express, disclose and resolve painful emotions
  • How to state your needs clearly and openly within your relationship
  • How to work through unresolved issues
  • How to negotiate for change within your relationship

Children & Adolescents

At CCOEA we work with children as young as the age of 2. We will also work with you to help build your capacity for parenting and your ability to cope with your child’s behavior. According to the American academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, these are warning signs that indicate your child is having difficulty and may benefit from therapy:

  • Changes in school performance such as dropping grades, missing homework and skipping school
  • Excessive worry or anxiety
  • Loss of interest in usual activities
  • Changes in sleeping habits, nightmares
  • Mood changes
  • Dangerous or illegal behavior
  • Fighting or episodes of anger
  • Theft

Family

Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible—the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family. Virginia Satir

Family therapy addresses routines that have become burdensome, breakdowns in communication, and extreme emotional reactions. It is a process that goes beyond hearing each member talk about family problems.  It focuses instead on providing tools and experiences that can change patterns of relating, hierarchies, unspoken needs, unconscious expectations, intolerance, and repressed resentment.

Group

One misconception about group therapy is that members take turns receiving individual therapy from the therapist while others observe.

What actually happens is that members are actually encouraged to turn to each other for support, feedback, and connection, instead of getting all of that from the clinician. Here are five specific benefits of group therapy.

  • It helps you realize you’re not alone. When we believe that our problems are unique it isolates and alienates us. In a group we learn that in fact there are many who struggle with the same issues we believe are only ours.
  • It facilitates giving and receiving support.
  • It helps you find your “voice.” Participation in a group helps you become aware of your own feelings and needs and learn to express them.
  • It helps you relate to others (and yourself) in healthier ways. In a group we get to see our difficulties in relationships when we see how our behaviors and words impact others.  It is easier to take feedback from people who are not permanently in our lives and may help us see where it is we have difficulty with our friends and family.
  • It provides a safety net. We can take risks in a group we may not otherwise be willing to take in our circle of family and friends.

Not everyone is ready for group therapy however. It takes strength and some recognition of the needs of others to function well in a group.