Over the years I have been able to help men develop the ability to relate to others and manage their emotions in interpersonal relationships and at work. As a therapist, I have worked with men of all ages and from different ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations.

In many cases, men have been led to believe that the only emotion they can legitimately show is anger.  They have chosen or been forced to hide all the other sides of themselves.  This means that emotions such as fear, anxiety, and sadness have been considered "weaknesses" and men have learned to hide them or to expect others (often their female partners, parents, or friends) to hold them for them. Unfortunately, this attitude has all to often been a characteristic of men's psychology.

Why psychotherapy for men and why men's counseling?
One of the most consistently held beliefs in psychology is that when we hold our emotions and feelings inside or deny them, sooner or later they find a way to come out unconsciously and beyond our control.  This happens in dramatic and destructive ways leading to frustration, anger, resentment, and even aggression.  Of course, women experience the same things, but somehow in our society and in our times, men appear to more often fall into this pattern and often pay a price in terms of anxiety, lost relationships, and legal problems. Thus, there is a need to address men's issues and difficulties in men's counseling and psychotherapy that creates a safe and confidential place for them to learn to express themselves positively.

          In individual psychotherapy, men find a safe place to unpack the emotions  they have been pushing farther and father down inside themselves. Individual sessions are a place to express what we feel without shame or negative consequences, to listen to ourselves, to safely experiment and find out what is genuine, what is useful, and what is the appropriate and safe way to express ourselves. 

 Our best chances for being happy and relating positively with others is to truly know what we feel and what we really need and to practice telling that to other people in a way that increases our chances of realizing success for ourselves and for our relationships. From my Jungian therapy perspective, this process is a natural one for men to take to become the mature, loving, and self-fulfilled individuals they are meant to be.

(Psychology, therapist, psychotherapy, psychotherapist, men's psychology, men's therapy, men's counseling)