Michael Oster, MSW, LICSW

Welcome. It takes honesty to accept when you just can’t fix it on your own. It takes a willingness to let go of what doesn’t work and to explore new ways of thinking or doing that does. But it takes great courage to reach outside of all you know to ask someone you don’t for help...I get it. Maybe you've been struggling in a painful relationship or grieving over a lost one, consumed by irrational thoughts, or paralyzed by anxiety or depression. Or, maybe you just can't get out of your own way, and make your life work for you at all, and you're stuck. It's hard for friends and family to sometimes fully understand what it's like to live with tremendous emotional and psychological pain, let alone provide us with the objectivity we need to see the issues and challenges we're facing differently. It's even harder to find someone to help who won't just offer opinions but can provide you with the skills and tools you need to actually do something about it. As a practical, interactive, therapist, my treatment approach is simple, straight-forward, and focused on helping you to define the problem, identify solutions, and develop the tools you need to not only get "unstuck," but get back on the road to living a fulfilling life. Based on a comprehensive knowledge of the most current and effective techniques for addressing complex issues, mood disorders, and psychological challenges, I draw from a selection of proven techniques to incorporate what is most helpful for each individual to bring comprehensive change to a wide range of these personal life challenges to achieve a successful outcome. With dynamic feedback, insightful observation, and ongoing support, individuals, couples, and families learn to dramatically improve communication skills, bring resolution to conflicts, and deepen the relationships that bind all of us together. Many of the methods I introduce to you are based on cognitive-behavioral therapies. Cognitive (our thoughts and how we think them), and Behavioral (the actions we take in reaction and response to them), Therapy is active and energizing in its and may be different than your previous experiences in treatment with other therapists. Nobody knows everything and neither do I! What I do know is that “not knowing” isn’t a failure and doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with me or you. It only means that the only answers we have to solve the problems we’re struggling with are the wrong ones for the job. If You had all the right ones, wouldn’t you already know what to do on your own? Reaching out for help is a human thing. If you’d prefer not to be one of us, there probably isn’t much that anybody can do to help. but if your are...reach out. Take a big, deep breath and stretch out your hand. If you only do the things you know how to do, you are also likely to get what you already know doesn’t work. Those who have never experienced therapy before may have the expectation that all therapists work in the same manner. In fact, there are numerous forms of therapy and not all of them involve lying on a couch and digging around in your childhood searching for the answers to current pain in past hurts. Our experiences during childhood are certainly important and form the foundations of who we are. They give us our sense of identity, belief systems and establish a template for the relationships we form with ourselves, spouses, children, and others in the world around us. This template is uniquely determined by our experiences growing up. Unfortunately, this knowledge alone isn’t always helpful in solving the problems we face today. Knowing “why” we do the things we do, does not necessarily prepare us for knowing “how” to handle them. Making your life work for you today is about changing your mind and doing things differently. Learning better ways to solve problems, improve and repair relationships, manage overwhelming feelings, and achieve personal goals, requires making choices and coming up with a new plan and strategy to accomplish it. Letting go of false expectations, self-defeating thoughts and believing in your self is not beyond our reach but within our grasp, and it begins by imagining the possibility that it might be within yours. Michael Oster, MSW, LICSW Advanced Counseling Therapies Disclaimer