SERVICES WE PROVIDE

Therapists at BPC Offer Help In Several Forms...

INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

In this form of therapy, you meet alone with the therapist and work to make changes you are seeking for your life within the context of a relationship of trust and confidentially between you and your therapist. While attention is paid to all the dimensions of your life, you and your internal experience are the central focus of the sessions. This often includes exploration of your early life experiences and family relationships in order to gain insight and a greater measure of control in coping with current life issues.

Individual therapy usually occurs on a weekly basis in 50 minute sessions, but exceptions for less frequency are sometimes made depending on individual needs.

For more information about individual therapy, see What is Pastoral Counseling, What to Expect in the First Session, and What Results Can I Expect?

COUPLE THERAPY

In this form of therapy you and your partner meet together with the therapist to address problems and improve conditions in your relationship. Effective couple therapy proceeds on two tracks. First, it helps you learn a way to talk with your partner that preserves the safety and connection between the two of you at all times no matter what the topic. Second, it helps you look at your difficulties as a couple in such a way as to uncover the root causes of your problems. This implies an exploration of your own and your partner's early life experiences to gain insight into how they may be affecting your current relational patterns. This in turn generates an empathic understanding that can help you shift out of the power struggle and into the co-creation of a more satisfying relationship.

Couple therapy varies in time and frequency depending on the needs of the couple although weekly sessions are preferable initially.

GROUP THERAPY

In this form of therapy, you meet with several other group members and one or two therapists who facilitate the group's process. While each person's individual experience is valued, the emphasis is on the relationships between and among the group participants. In that sense, the group serves as a laboratory for individual members to examine their relational patterns, receive feedback from others about the effect of those patterns, and make changes designed to lead to healthier and more satisfying relationships, both inside and outside of the group.

Most therapy groups meet weekly for 90 - minute sessions.

Currently BPC has one ongoing therapy group: "openings," a group for women who have been sexually abused as children (co-facilitated by Lisa Reardon and Charlotte Rogers).

For further information about group therapy at BPC see Difference Between Psychoeducational Groups and Therapy Groups.

PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL GROUPS

This type of group offers participants the opportunity to study a particular topic related to mental health in some depth. In such groups there is always a significant teaching component in which the facilitator imparts information, sometimes supplemented with structured experiential exercises to help group members assimilate the course material.

Psychoeducational groups are time-limited and content-defined, and usually involve less personal sharing than group therapy.

Some of the psychoeducational groups that BPC therapists offer from time to time include "An Introduction to Guided Imagery and Music" (Marshall);; and "Finding Your Voice" (Reardon and Rogers).

For more information on this topic, see Difference Between Psychoeducational Groups and Therapy Groups.

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

Spiritual Direction is a resource for spiritual formation and growth. In spiritual direction, you meet individually with a spiritual director on a regular basis, usually once or twice each month to pay attention to the spiritual prompting and movements of your life. This can include a look at the deeper meaning of events and circumstances that have been occurring in your life, an examination of your relationship with God, discernment about a possible future direction, or anything else that you believe affects your spiritual life. The role of the spiritual director is to listen with you to the signals, promptings, and directives of the Spirit for your life. Our Spiritual Director at BPC is Charlotte Rogers.

SPEAKING AND CONSULTING

Some of our therapists are available to meet with your group or organization on a variety of topics at mutually agreeable times and fees. To inquire about this option, contact our referral coordinator by seeing How to get a referral to a therapist.