Welcome, and congratulations on taking an important first step in finding the assistance that you need. Just as each client is unique, therapists are also varied in their personalities and styles of helping. It will be important for you to take care in finding a therapist who is a good fit for you. Your comfort in communicating and confidence in the person with whom you take this journey will be key contributors to your progress. In your first meeting, or perhaps first few meetings, you will have a chance to sense if a good working relationship is likely to develop. You should always feel free to ask questions about the care you are receiving. Remember that you and your therapist have a shared responsibility to work toward a healthier you. I wish you the best in moving forward with the therapist you select. Let me offer you a brief description of my background, should that help you in making your decision. Successfully meeting the mental health needs of clients for over twenty-five years has rested in the breadth of my experiences. As a military veteran, former high school teacher, and a psychologist in various settings, I have come to appreciate the broad range of challenges that life can bring to many of us. It has been my privilege to see the world through the eyes of those who are struggling with all types of emotional and interpersonal distress, and to guide people past their discouragement to a more productive and positive self-understanding, one that supports concrete steps toward self-selected goals of better health. While my therapeutic approach varies with the particular difficulties and personality of each individual, several themes are nearly always present: • deep steady attention to the client’s perceptions, beliefs, and feelings • collaborative working relationship that contributes to a better understanding of the source a presenting concern, identification of one’s internal resources that would support change, setting of goals spaced in achievable steps, and the articulation of specific strategies to create that movement • identification of one’s current habits of thinking along with inaccurate beliefs about oneself and others that may support the reported difficulties with mood, interpersonal comfort, job performance, and family relations • skill development that focuses on barriers to progress, be that the promotion of more rationally based thinking habits, strategies targeting specific interpersonal or communication difficulties