My Clients:
My clients are not expected to be experts in communication, or to be instinctively comfortable with personal disclosures, especially about sensitive topics that have often been hidden from the world for years. That said, my clients have begun to see the consequences of living with secrets and the damage that over-compartmentalization has caused, usually accompanied by strong feelings of guilt, embarrassment, remorse and shame.
My client’s often struggle with problematic patterns or addiction, either to substances or sexual patterns including problematic pornography use and are either still on the fence or completely convinced that their routines are more consequential than perhaps they had previously been willing or able to see. The men I treat are working to take honest stock in the impact of these patterns both in their personal sense of health and stability, as well as in their relationships.
Some of my clients are single and are starting to question whether their sexual habits or pornography use are preventing them from establishing intimate relationships. Some of my clients are married and are beginning to see the fragility of their relationships. Some of my clients have begun to track the changes of their use patterns and have begun to reflect on the way that changes in either time spent consuming sexual content or the nature of the content itself has changed over time, which can lead to an elevated sense of fear about possible discovery.
Many of my clients have been in therapy before, and many recognize that perhaps, for one reason or another, they weren’t ready to acknowledge a more honest or full recognition of their problems, often inclined to minimize the scale of the problem or by keeping the attention on another area of focus, which never allowed for a full assessment of the impact that a secret or habit is having on them.
If you can relate to this description, or if you’re questioning another part of the patterns you’re struggling to manage, I hope you consider reaching out for a brief 10-15 minute consult to decide if setting up an appointment might be a resource you’d consider.