Counseling/Psychotherapy

Dr Robert D Carafiol Therapy is available for individuals, couples, and families. My approach is cognitive-behavioral, which means that we work with your thoughts and your behaviors. Often one's problems can be traced to irrational thinking which in turn results in unhealthy emotions and self-defeating behaviors. Examples of irrational thinking are when you think that you, someone else, or the world around you "should be, must be, or has to be," a certain way. When it's not, you might feel that you're a failure, that something is horrible, or that you can't stand it. Thinking this way can result in major negative emotions such as guilt, anxiety, depression, rage, or low frustration tolerance. It can also result in major self-defeating behaviors such as poor relationships with others, poor functioning at work or school, and addiction. When irrational thoughts are examined, disputed, and changed, effective new philosophies form and more adaptive behaviors develop.

I do my best to be an active therapist. Rather than just nodding my head in sympathy, asking you to tell me more, or responding to your questions with reflecting another question back to you, I try to make the therapy more interactive. This doesn't mean that I'll tell you everything you need to do or that I'll claim to have all the answers to your problems. But I will have active conversations with you, give you honest feedback and impressions, and make suggestions about potential changes whenever appropriate.

Therapy is probably as much art as it is science. Therefore it is difficult to say how many sessions might be desirable. For some people, just a few sessions are enough. For others, true therapy means forming a relationship that can last quite some time. Depending on your interest, insurance benefits if applicable, and presenting problems, therapy might be short-term, solution-focused, or it might be longer-term, process-oriented, or something in between. In most instances, you will be the one to determine how long therapy lasts. I will do my best to help you whether you see me once or many times.

weight management services One of the nicest compliments a client ever gave me was telling me that I helped her as much or more with my heart as I did with my mind. It's been known for many years that regardless of the type of therapy being conducted, it's best for the therapist to bring genuineness, trust, and unconditional positive regard to the relationship. I like to think that the compliment mentioned above meant that I successfully brought these components to the relationship. While I would never claim to help everyone who comes to see me, I will do my best to bring genuineness, trust, and positive regard to your therapy. Hopefully between the part of therapy that's "art" which is the relationship we form, and the "science" which is the cognitive-behavioral aspect of therapy, if you enter therapy with me the outcome will be positive and you will feel that the special relationship with your therapist was one of the main reasons it helped.