FAQs about counseling, therapy, psychotherapy, and coaching in Tacoma

Tacoma Therapist, Katie Lorz, shares Frequently asked questions about counseling, therapy, psychotherapy and coaching.

Now that you’ve got a short list of therapists in Tacoma, WA and know what questions to ask a counselor. You may be wondering what therapy actually is. There are so many ideas of what counseling is, but aligning your expectations with your counselor’s approach are key to getting the most of your experience. So I’m going to tackle some FAQs about therapy to help you understand what it is and how it actually works!

FAQs about therapy and counseling in Tacoma, WA

What is therapy? How does it work? After you find a therapist, and schedule a consultation call, what actually happens once you are sitting across from your counselor? So many questions may be running through your head. I’m here to help answer some questions that I’ve heard often from friends, family, and clients about what therapy actually is and how it works.

Question #1: How do I know if I need counseling?

This is a complex question which—in true therapist style—has me curious about the source of the question. Do you think you need counseling? Did someone tell you you need counseling? Is this about financial reimbursement? (Insurance coverage often requires “medical necessity” i.e. “need” for counseling)

In my practice the “need” for counseling shows up when one of many possible things occurs:

• You notice your own mental health is declining and this is affecting your own wellbeing, your relationships, or your stability in work and/or life. This may show up as an increase in a variety of symptoms such as anxiety, sleeplessness, inability to focus, poor health or hygiene habits, short temper, more arguments or difficulty maintaining relationships, feelings of hopelessness, and much more.

• Others are telling you or showing you that you need counseling. Not the ideal way to find out, but sometimes (and often) this is the way it occurs. It may be a friend or family member, or in more extreme situations an employer, judge, safety officer, or mental health professional

• You want to improve your mental health, gain insight about how you became who you are, be proactive in changing your personal or family legacy, overcome relational or situational traumas, learn better ways of coping, live your best life, or any other number of reasons. If this is your reason for needing counseling, it often has the best outcomes. Wanting to improve your mental health proactively is a great reason to start therapy. If you are showing up with one of the other reasons, it’s ok, but know that it may take longer for you to achieve your therapy goals because being committed to therapy is one of the highest indicators of success!

So, again—in true therapist style—do you think you need (or want) counseling?

Question #2: What should I ask a therapist before meeting with them?

I covered this in my last blog Questions to Ask a Therapist, Counselor, or Psychologist in Tacoma, WA, so click the link to find out more. If you want to know more questions to ask, looking at a FAQs page of potential therapist websites may help you find good questions to ask, and even provide some answers before you make the first call. Here’s a link to my FAQ’s, because I put a lot of commonly asked questions there too!

Question #3: How long will therapy last?

Your personal reasons for seeking counseling will factor into this answer. Taking this into consideration, I recommend that my clients plan for 5 to 10 weekly therapy appointments with short breaks of 1 to 4 weeks in between for you to reflect on the changes you see as a result of therapy and the effectiveness of our work together.

Some of my clients with acute concerns achieve optimal results in as little as 5 weeks. My goal is for my clients to receive most of the benefits of counseling as quickly as possible and in less than 12 months. Clients who wish to continue counseling past 12 months usually do so on an as needed basis or if something unexpected in life comes up. Ideally you end counseling with the skills, insights, and personality development to be able to maintain your optimal mental health without much more than occasional, optional “check ups”.

It is possible to live a mentally healthy and enlightened life without continuous therapy for years on end. Modern approaches and theories validate that mentally healthy, trained minds are very resilient, so once the mind achieves mental health, maintenance can be done relatively automatically and easily.

It’s important to note that not all therapists use this schedule, so asking this question (and knowing how long you expect to be in therapy) is important to find out. If you prefer to have extended therapy treatment or attend less than weekly, I encourage you to find a therapist who provides this service. And I’ll also ask you to consider why you think you need therapy intermittently or for many years. Is this a belief based on popular culture, old ideas about what therapy is, or your own ambivalence about change. All are valid, but it’s worth thinking about!

Question #4: What is the difference between a counselor, therapist, social worker, and psychologist in Tacoma, WA?

This is a tricky question. I like to answer it “nothing and everything”. But that’s not very helpful, I suppose. We all do very similar things and all receive similar foundational education and clinical internship experiences. And just because we are or aren’t trained in a certain way, doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of crossover in how we view mental health and how best to achieve it. The basic distinction I made in determining my education path was that as a psychologist I would have spent more of my time doing research or providing and interpreting diagnostic testing. As a social worker I would be more likely to spend time in medical settings such as hospitals, ERs, treatment centers, etc.

And as a counselor, I use a wellness and strengths-based approach. For me, this means that I prefer not to work with insurance providers, prefer not to use a medical model, and prefer not to diagnose or focus so much on “disorders” but rather on relieving symptoms, recovering and healing trauma, understanding and identifying personality traits, increasing awareness and intentional practice, and supporting holistic mental wellbeing by acknowledging strengths, identifying challenges, and reconnecting my clients in mind, body, and inner wisdom.

My approach is validating, empowering, and relies heavily on increasing personal insight and acceptance for self, others, and life as a whole.

Question #5: How often will we meet?

This is a great question to ask for many reasons. Some therapists will only see clients weekly, some types of therapy recommend multiple sessions per week, and some therapists may recommend twice monthly, monthly, or less frequent sessions. A lot of factors go into this such as how severe your symptoms are, what type of treatment is being provided, and what works best for scheduling.

FAQs about counseling, therapy, psychotherapy, and coaching in Tacoma, WA. Therapy 101 Series: Your need-to-know guide. Connect at www.counselinginwashington.com Heal Grow Connect and Meaning Logo with a butterfly.

Traditionally people think of therapy as a weekly occurrence. Though not too long ago, and in some models, 3 to 5 days of weekly psychoanalysis was not uncommon. With some of the newer discoveries in what works best for mental health, trauma processing, and change progress, more therapists are offering “intensives” or other types of therapeutic frequencies to support best outcomes.

In my practice I find that once per week sessions provide optimal results. Occasionally I may find that a client may benefit from twice per week sessions in the beginning, if there is a lot to process so that any current crises can be managed, or baseline coping skills can be achieved. If clients need more than once or twice per week therapy I refer them to a different type of treatment that has more intensive services. If clients want less than weekly therapy, I recommend that they seek a different provider, or return when they are able to commit to weekly therapy.

I do this primarily because I see that if my clients are not coming weekly, they are typically not making much progress, or they are actually regressing. I don’t want my clients to be in therapy forever. I want them to address their concerns, achieve their best outcomes, and get back to life outside of therapy.

Question #6: Do you have experience working with the issues I am looking for help with?

This question is important to ask because while all therapists are trained generally in a variety of topics, many therapists receive specialized training in certain treatments, demographic groups, or primary concerns and diagnoses.

I compare this to going to your family doctor or general practitioner who is a medical doctor or advanced practice medical provider, for a mental health issue that you want psychotropic medication for. Your family doctor is qualified to assess you and provide a variety of medication options. But your family doctor also sees a lot of people for diabetes, heart disease, pregnancy, and a wide variety of other medical concerns. If you go to a psychiatrist or a psychiatric practitioner, they have likely spent less time studying and treating heart disease or diabetes (or delivering babies), but they are well versed in psychotropic medications, psychiatric diagnoses, and best treatments (and possible side effects) for many conditions related to mental health. You are going to get better results!

I am well-trained in a variety of mental health therapies, but I prefer to use Lifespan Integration, depth therapy, positive psychology, developmental, relational, and neuroscience informed theories and tools in my practice. I love working with people of all ages, and have had some of my most pleasurable career experiences with kiddos, teens, and elders.

But I currently enjoy working most with women and men who are struggling in their relationships, or have past trauma that is showing up and affecting their mental health. They are often feeling stressed, anxious, depressed, low motivation, low self confidence, or having panic attacks and sleeplessness. They are often using alcohol, cannabis, pornography, TV, sex, or other distractors to cope, and it’s not working anymore. They are highly motivated to change, but are just not sure how to do it.

That’s where I come in to help. We re-evaluate what’s working and what’s not working, we heal deeply rooted traumatic experiences, we learn about personal values, beliefs, and assumptions that drive behavior. And we learn how to change that behavior through increased insight, awareness, and subcortical reprocessing of memory associations in a safe, therapeutic environment. It is powerful, and transformative.

Katie Lorz, Anxiety, Self-esteem, relationship therapist in Tacoma,WA

I hope this helps you feel more confident to find the right therapist in Tacoma. If you are still feeling stuck, feel free to call me at (435) 776-5959 for a free 15-minute phone consultation. I’d be happy to hear about what is happening and help direct you to the right person. If you are looking for help with trauma and relationship counseling, you can read more about how I can help here.