Getting the Most of Your Psychotherapy & Couples Counseling

Feb 102013
 

Ever wonder why there are times when you go to counseling yet nothing changes?  Why you expressed your feelings and it “appeared” s/he understood, yet nothing changes?

Many times this is due to a misunderstanding of what the counseling process is all about.  Counseling is not like going to the doctor where s/he gives you an antibiotic to take when you leave.  With the antibiotic, all you need to do is remember to take the pill.  In psychotherapy or couples counseling one not only need remember to take the pill, but one must also swallow it with “intention” to “digest” it.

I often remark to my clients prior to their leaving the first session, “if you check at the door as you leave what you have learned today, life will be no different upon your return”.   Couples counseling is a combination of discovery of self and other.  It includes tools and suggested resources such as readings, videos, simulcast, classes, and the like. Continue reading »

How to Choose Your Psychotherapist & Couples Counsellor

Jan 202013
 

There are many things to look for when looking for a therapist.  However, there are three major things for which to look.  One is credentialing.  If you are needing help with a individual issue such as depression, anxiety, addiction and the like, then look for someone in that related field.  Many times a Social Worker (MSW), Psychotherapist, or Registered Marriage and Family Therapist will have a focus in one of those areas.  It is important to find someone who deals fully in the area of need.  As the saying goes, one does not go to a foot doctor for brain surgery.

There may be times one may need to seek help on a deeper level through a psychologist or psychiatrist.  The difference, a psychologist is steeped in assessment and cognitive/systemic treatment plans without medications.  The psychologist is better trained in “talk therapy”.  Where a psychiatrist is steeped in assessment and many times will provide medication for the diagnoses.  There are times when both a cognitive/systemic treatment plan is needed in addition to the medication.

When looking for “relational” help, the best choice is usually a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist.  They are steeped in relational treatment through Individual, Family, Marriage and Couples Counseling.  Even then do your homework. Continue reading »

Hello

Jan 022013
 

Hello, I’m Richard Langston, a Registered Marriage and Family Therapist (Psychotherapist).

I love life!  Some of my favorite visions of life may be found in my time with my wife and two boys, ages 6 and 8.  I love being outside and soaking up the sun while smelling the fresh air.  I enjoy baseball, basketball, and football.

Even though I grew up in Myrtle Beach S.C., I have an affinity for the mountains.  In Myrtle Beach one of the most beautiful sites you will even see is a moon rise over the ocean.  Especially a full moon as it is rising above the ocean.  As it rises the reflection of the moon creates this magical walkway on the ocean to the moon.  It is a certain reminder of God’s grace and love for life.

That being said, I find solace in the mountains.  The Blue Ridge Parkway in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina gives way to miles and miles of beautiful life bearing visions.  There is something refreshing about the air and the sights and sounds of the mountain range.  In the silence of a walk on the beach or the hike through a mountain trail that one can hear better the still small voice.

I moved to Canada in the fall of 1997.  Ontario has a beauty of it’s own.  The summers are amazing and lack the humidity and temperatures of Myrtle Beach.  The fall colors are wonderful as well.  For those who may not know, not a whole lot of snow in Myrtle Beach.  I found I love playing in the snow with my boys.  We also enjoy sledding, snowball fights, and making angels in the snow.  Ontario has become my home.

I am married (beginning our 17th year) with two boys ages eight and six.  Living life begins at home for me.  I have a lovely wife who didn’t need me when we married, yet chose me for life, what an honor.   We have two wonderful boys who teach me as much daily as I hope to be teaching them.  We have a rabbit with a couple aliases, Snuggles, Bun Bun, or simply, Bunny.

Some of my favorite books are:

Continue reading »

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