Jacqueline Bonelli Smith, MFT

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Elements of Change

When you engage in psychotherapy you have the opportunity to learn about yourself and to make better choices, typically impacting your relationships, your work and school, and your self esteem. Through the therapeutic process people tend to develop their capacity to observe themselves on a few levels: their thinking, their feelings, their actions and reactions to life events and other people. It is in the talking, in the “being with” your therapist, and in the mutual observation of your patterns that we will be able to make more sense of the difficulties that led you to seek therapy, and to create a real space for change.

This is a collaborative process. Your role in psychotherapy will be to share your concerns, your experiences and what your feelings and thoughts are during our sessions. My role will be to listen carefully, ask questions and offer new perspective on your issues.

Safety is a significant aspect of psychotherapy: without feeling safe with me – as a psychotherapist – you won’t be able to share your doubts, worries, problems, and fantasies. The suspension of judgment on my part is a crucial piece to establishing this safe space. Although I have legal and ethical obligations to provide a safe therapeutic environment (from the way I handle confidential information to my non-judgmental stance), it is likely that your own “gut feeling” – your intuitive capacity – will be primary in deciding to trust me as a professional. In fact, chances are that you have already been attuned to the issue of safety ever since you asked for a referral, or browsed the myriad names and photographs on-line.

Timing is also an important part of your process in psychotherapy. Is this the right “time” for you? A great number of clients consider psychotherapy months or even years before they finally pick up the phone for an appointment. I will honor your timing by adjusting my interventions to your pace, and by creating the necessary safety for you to discuss possible mixed feelings regarding seeking help.