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I'm Paul Goossens. Great for you to reach out for support! I am a licensed Psychologist with extensive experience helping teens, adults, and families maneuver through a variety of mental health challenges and life transitions. I seek to understand and connect with each individual in the context of their life, while working together to define treatment success and create pathways toward that success. I am able to offer an assortment of clinical tools and modalities to our work together, tailored to each person's needs. I am here to help you move forward when you are ready.
My approach
While I am able bring an assortment of clinical tools and modalities to our work together, I primarily work within cognitive-behavioral and rational-emotive modalities where we explore the connections between our thoughts and interpretations of life’s challenges and our emotional and behavioral responses to such. Within that context, when appropriate we may explore ideas through a psychodynamic lens; consider family relationship challenges from a family systems perspective; gain insights from use of metaphors; or tap ideas from Transactional Analysis to better understand relationship dynamics. I listen to the "language" of each client to determine tools and modalities that may resonate and help move our work forward.
My focus
I mostly work with individuals facing mental health challenges in the context of life transitions. Our life is a series of transitions – both those that have already occurred and those we are considering. We might struggle with transitions resulting from losses such as death, illness, job loss/change, or relationships, or even while embarking on “positive transitions” such as new relationships, job, school. Growth is change. Change is hard. Help is good.
My communication style
It is important that each client feels safe, respected, and understood. I strive to balance being client-focused and supportive, while also providing challenge and alternative perspectives for consideration. Our sessions will be conversational and focused on connecting insights into action.
My journey to mental healthcare
I experienced excellent and supportive counselors who helped me maneuver through challenges of adolescence and early adulthood. These professionals inspired me to a career of helping others as they face transitions and challenges. I have been fortunate to receive broad clinical training and have had extensive experience working with a wide array of clients in a variety of settings. Throughout this journey, my primary objective in working with clients has been that our work together becomes a “value added” in their life journey.
My goals for you
I have found that clients enter therapy seeking change, often reluctantly, but seeking a different outcome in their life nonetheless. Goal setting is client driven and reflective of those changes the client wants to make in their life. I help them focus energy into identifying changes within their control, with recognition that if such changes were easy, they would have already been completed.
My first session with you
Our first session together will begin with a simple set of questions: "What brings you here?" and "What do you hope to get from therapy?" We will discuss the context of your life that has been a challenge and understand your expectations of me and our work together.
