Not always, but quite often, individuals and couples enter into therapy because they are experiencing a level of distress that is no longer tolerable.  In the beginning stage of therapy, you and your Therapy2Thrive® therapist in Pleasanton will work together to obtain relief from the intensity of this stress by getting symptom relief.  Your therapist will provide you with support as well as teach you problem-solving skills and better coping strategies.  The benefit you obtain from your time in therapy is based on how well you make use of what you learn by putting it into practice outside of the therapy room.  Once the intensity of the distress has passed and you begin to feel better, each individual or couple is then faced with a choice: to either leave therapy or to enter into a deeper kind of work which involves a process of self-exploration leading to changes at a much deeper level than mere symptom relief.  This type of therapeutic work is much slower in nature but ultimately much more rewarding because it supports you or your relationship changing at a core level.  The benefits of this type of long-term therapy are life changing and often lead to a much deeper connection with yourself and others. What life challenges are you facing?

At this time, Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton counselors do not provide court-ordered/court-mandated therapy other than providing dates of service to the court.  We are also unable to provide divorce or custody evaluations/recommendations to the court and/or as part of a mediation process.  In addition, we don’t provide SSDI evaluations or evaluations in connection with medical procedures such as gastric bypass or gender reassignment.  If you need any of these types of services, our Pleasanton famliy counselors at Therapy2Thrive® of Pleasanton encourage you to work with a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in these types of services.  Please let us know if you need these types of services and Therapy2Thrive® can provide you with local referrals that provide these types of services.

Therapy2Thrive® does not offer after-hours on-call services in case of an emergency.  We ask clients to both leave their Therapy2Thrive® therapist a message and call 911, a suicide hotline (Alameda County 1-800-309-2131; Contra Costa County 1-800-833-2900; or National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-8255), and/or go to the nearest emergency room.

Our Pleasanton family counseling clients at Therapy2Thrive® have a reserved time and day for their therapy sessions which may last anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes.  Family therapy or individual therapy sessions in Pleasanton typically occur on a weekly basis, but may also be scheduled for every other week depending on the frequency needed to achieve your goals.  Each session is unique and can focus on your issues, your concerns, your worries and/or your goals.  Typically, the client takes the lead in the therapy session in our Pleasanton counseling center and your Therapy2Thrive® therapist journeys with you as you talk about your life.  Your Pleasanton therapist will listen attentively, ask questions, provide feedback, and teach you strategies.  Your therapist may also encourage you to take certain actions outside of therapy to achieve your therapeutic goals.  The process of therapy and its ultimate effectiveness is based on your willingness to take self-responsibility for your actions and to put into practice outside of the therapy room what you have learned.  This requires your active participation both in and between sessions.  Therapy can be hard work but the personal rewards are without compare and our Pleasanton family therapists are here to support your efforts in reaching your goals.

Be assured that your Therapy2Thrive® therapist in Pleasanton is required by the law to keep confidential and private anything you discuss with him or her unless you provide your therapist with written permission to do so.   Within Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton counseling center, our therapists do case consultation with other working therapists and their supervisors to get clinical support for their client’s cases.  The same rules of confidentiality apply to all of Therapy2Thrive® therapists and supervisors in Pleasanton and are covered more in-depth in the Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton counseling center Client Agreement signed at the commencement of therapy. There are certain conditions under which the law either allows for or requires that confidentiality be breached.  Please call our counselors in Pleasanton with any questions regarding these allowances under the law.  Some of these conditions are noted below but are elaborated upon in the Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton counseling center Client Agreement:

1. If you threaten to harm yourself, your therapist may be obligated to seek hospitalization for you or to contact family members or others who can help keep you safe.
2. If you disclose that a child, elderly person or dependent adult is being sexually or physically abused, your therapist is bound by law to report it.
3. If you are a danger to yourself or others, then your therapist is bound by law to protect you and/or the other person.  The other person would be warned and the police notified.  This also includes a threat to another’s property.

By law the only individuals who can prescribe medication are those with a medical degree or M. D.  Marriage and Family Therapists do not have a medical degree and therefore cannot prescribe medication.  However, there are certain conditions, such as depression and anxiety that respond very well to a combination of medication and therapy. When medication is used in conjunction with therapy, the medication helps relieve the intensity of depressive or anxious symptoms making it possible for you to do the necessary therapeutic work to address the root causes of your symptoms.  Medication alone may address symptoms but may not assist in developing alternative behaviors to address symptoms whereas medication used in combination with therapy is much more likely to result in sustainable long-term symptom management and/or relief.

If your spouse/partner refuses to come to couples therapy, Therapy2Thrive® Pleasanton counselor encourages you to come to therapy on your own.  Here’s why…Often couples develop long-standing habituated patterns that stifle and deaden the couple relationship.  This deadening effect becomes status quo and couples can reach a place where they begin to despair that it will ever change.  When one spouse/partner comes into therapy and begins the hard work of personal growth and change, he or she begins to change the status quo by no longer behaving the same way when the pattern emerges with his or her spouse/partner.  As a result, the spouse/partner who is not in therapy begins to change as well in order to accommodate the change of the partner who is in therapy.  Don’t be surprised, when your spouse/partner becomes more open to the idea of couples therapy as he or she experiences you changing and leading your partnership in the right direction. Contact a couples counselor in Pleasanton at Therapy2Thrive for an appointment.

What you tell your child or teen about seeing a Therapy2Thrive® therapist for the first time will differ depending on the age and maturity of your child.  Be honest about the fact that your family is going to see a therapist. Avoid misleading your child or teen in thinking they are going somewhere else.  Trust is crucial and honesty builds trust in the beginning of the therapy process.  Talk to your child or teen in a positive and upbeat manner about the idea of going to therapy.  Help your child or teen know that we all need a little extra help sometimes to deal with things that are challenging.  If your child or teen has previously expressed a challenge with something, you may then explain that they are going to see a Therapy2Thrive® therapist in Pleasanton for help with that challenge.  Let your child or teen know that they are not in trouble and they are not going to see a therapist because there is something “wrong” with them that needs to be “fixed.” Talking or playing or hanging out with a therapist is an opportunity to express their ideas with a person who is open to their unique view on your world.