Frequently Asked Questions about Therapy and Counseling in Salt Lake City, Utah

/ Christy Kobe, PLLC/
Frequently Asked Questions about Therapy and Counseling in Salt Lake City, Utah

You and I will begin where you are at—emotionally and psychologically—and work together to create a safe nonjudgmental space, therapeutic relationship and process where you can explore your struggles and identify your therapeutic needs and goals. This is a very collaborative and respectful process.

My goal is to empower, support and assist you in expanding your knowledge, skills and capacities to meet your identified needs and goals.

Generally, the more of yourself you are willing to invest, the greater the return.

Most people feel nervous when they first begin therapy. I want you to know that I have a strong belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all people. One of the most important things to me is creating a safe, healthy, caring and compassionate working relationship with you in order to enable you to heal, grow and progress. My office is a judgment-free zone. I see that as an absolutely essential part of creating a safe space and therapeutic relationship with you.

All of my therapy sessions with my clients are 80 minutes because that has been shown to be the “gold standard” session length.

I recommend that my clients meet a minimum of once every two weeks.

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Choosing a Therapist who is a Good Fit for You

/ Christy Kobe, PLLC/
Choosing a Therapist who is a Good Fit for You

Choosing a therapist who is a good fit for you is an important, personal decision. Each therapist has certain types of people with whom they work most effectively. I’ve put together a list below of some of the traits and behaviors of clients with whom I’ve achieved the best results in my work. I might be the right therapist for you if any of the following apply to you:

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What is Loneliness and How Does it Affect Us?

/ Christy Kobe, PLLC/
What is Loneliness and How Does it Affect Us?

Loneliness causes us to shut down socially, and to be more suspicious of any social contact. We become more hypervigilant, more likely to take offense when none was intended, and to be afraid of strangers.

Loneliness is best defined as the sense that you’re not sharing anything that matters with anyone else.

To help a depressed or severely anxious person out of loneliness, they need more love and reassurance than they would have needed before they became lonely. The saddest part about this to me as a therapist is that many depressed and anxious people receive less love and reassurance as they become less enjoyable to be around. As they receive judgment and criticism from others, their retreat from the world accelerates and their loneliness deepens and increases.

If you would like to learn more about these findings and what you can do to decrease loneliness, I would strongly encourage you to buy the book below and begin to apply the principles to your life. It’s one of the best books I’ve read on the subject of depression and anxiety in many years.

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The Best and Most Recommended Books for Couples Wanting to Improve Your Relationship

/ Christy Kobe, PLLC/
The Best and Most Recommended Books for Couples Wanting to Improve Your Relationship

Although reading a book often isn’t enough to significantly change the quality and direction of a relationship long-term, I have found in my 15+ years of practice that books can be an excellent resource to enable couples to stabilize and improve their relationship more quickly, in combination with our work in couples therapy.

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What is EMDR therapy and Modified Protocol, Attachment-Focused EMDR therapy?

/ Christy Kobe, PLLC/
What is EMDR therapy and Modified Protocol, Attachment-Focused EMDR therapy?

Modified Protocol, AF-EMDR therapy might be a good fit for you if you struggle with smaller traumas that manifest as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, phobias, creativity blocks, relationship difficulties, not feeling fully alive, not enjoying life, difficulty making important decisions and taking action, intense emotional reactions to certain situations or people, difficult relationships in the family with whom you grew up, or issues in your relationships as an adult.

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How to Find a Therapist in Salt Lake City, Utah

/ Christy Kobe, PLLC/
How to Find a Therapist in Salt Lake City, Utah

In my experience, most people don’t seek out therapy as a first resort when they are faced with an problem in their lives or relationships. You are, of course, an intelligent and self-sufficient person. So, you first use the coping skills you know of such as researching the problem online, talking with friends or family, reading self-help books, exercising or maybe practicing yoga. And it is only when you have exhausted all of your coping skills and are still struggling, that you reach out to see if counseling or therapy might help!

So, how do you find a therapist in Salt Lake City, Utah?

You may go online to do a Google search and be overwhelmed by the number of different counselors and therapists in our area. It can be very challenging to determine from the many listed which counselors or therapists specialize in treating the problem you are struggling with, use the treatment method that will be the best fit for your unique problem, and which therapist you will feel most comfortable in working with. Perhaps most important, you’d like to know what other clients have experienced in working with these potential counselors and therapists in order to make an educated decision in selecting the therapist that is the best fit for you and what you’re looking for.

A great website and resource which provides this information about the counselors and therapists is www.healthgrades.com. Healthgrades provides specific information about each counselor’s specializations, conditions they treat, treatment approaches they utilize, and it provides anonymous client reviews to give you a better understanding of whether that counselor or therapist might be a good fit for you and your needs.

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