INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING
Individual counseling can help you cultivate a genuine emotional connection to your real self and to others around you. Counseling helps you gain resiliency, increases your capacity, gives you a greater ability to live creatively and fosters a greater sense of self. Each of us was designed to move toward health, healing and connection. Our work together supports that process.
What is individual psychotherapy?
Individual psychotherapy is a process of talk therapy that takes place with a trained therapist in a caring, safe, empathetic, and confidential environment. I work holistically with from a strength based perspective.
What is the process like?
Understanding the Person
I believe that everyone is different and that therapy should be custom-fit to each individual. I work to understand a person’s experiences to better help them.
Digging Deep
A lot of the problems people face come from deep-rooted issues, often ones they might not be consciously aware of. I work to help people understand and face these deep issues through therapy.
Relationships from Childhood
People’s early relationships with parents or caregivers shape their views of themselves and others. I work to help my clients understand and change these views to have healthier relationships.
True Self vs. Adapted Self
The “true self” is a person’s authentic emotions and desires, and the “adapted self” is kind of a mask people wear to fit into the world. I work to help people find and be their “true selves.”
Addressing Fear of Abandonment
Many of my clients are carrying deep sadness and fear from feeling abandoned in their childhood. I help them work through these feelings to build a stronger sense of self.
Building Trust
The relationship between a therapist and a client is really important. Building a strong, trusting relationship is a big part of my approach to therapy.
Focusing on the Present
While I care about a person’s past, I also focused a lot on what a person is feeling “here and now,” helping them to deal with current emotions and behaviors.
Healing from the Inside Out
Besides working with clients, I also write and have other resources to share my knowledge and help more people.
My goal is to help people heal from deep-seated issues by understanding themselves better, fostering healthier relationships, and leading more authentic lives.
Individual counseling helps our ability to be present to ourselves and others in these areas:
- Connection: Capacity to be in touch with our body emotions. Capacity to connect with others.
- Attunement: Capacity to attune to our emotions & needs. Capacity to recognize, reach out for, & take in physical & emotional nourishment.
- Trust: Capacity for healthy dependence & interdependence.
- Autonomy: Capacity to set appropriate boundaries. Capacity to say no & set limits. Capacity to speak our minds without guilt or fear.
- Love-sexuality: Capacity to live with an open heart. Capacity to integrate loving relationships with a vital sexuality.
Schedule a Consultation
Click the button below to schedule a 15 minute phone consultation. You’ll be able to ask any questions and get a feel if we are a good fit for each other.
I offer in person and online sessions.
I believe each of our lives hits a moment that feels too big, too scary, too hard. That’s the moment to reach out to Dr. Nicole McGuffin. She listens, she challenges when necessary, and she invites exploration of life experiences through a new and wider lens. She guides the healing journey until a more whole, more authentic self emerges from under the rubble. She has a vast depth of experience and a steadfast belief in possibilities. It’s work, but it’s worth it.
Cynthia Forstman, Culture Talk
I believe emotional security, feeling whole and fulfilled, feeling safe, with vital aliveness should be available to everyone.
My hope for everyone who works with me is that they remove the roadblocks that get in the way of their agency, self-activation, and aliveness to create the life they want.