Most of the people who know me will tell you if there’s a book on therapy or parenting, I’ve probably read it or have it on my reading list. Many books on running a private practice mention finding the “ideal client.”
I began to wonder, what makes an ideal client? For WTHC, an ideal client could be anyone. I’ve enjoyed working with kids age 2 and adults up to 90.
I enjoy watching kids practice new coping skills and tell me the next week how much it helped. Parents who engage in PCIT and begin to notice huge differences in their child and the school even makes them student of the month! Adolescents who need someone besides their parents to remind them why sleep is important or ways to survive being a teenager in a stressful world.
I enjoy when college kids come in needing a place to vent and leave with strategies to set boundaries in their relationships or have a plan to tackle something difficult.
I enjoy when adults have a judgment-free space where they can talk all about their weeks, explore their current stresses and how to lower them, have a safe space to vent about their frustrations with their partners or parenting or work through their own trauma. Knowing how much that hour can mean to them and their self-care and to their relationships with the newfound clarity they can earn in counseling.
Personally? I just enjoy working with people. My ideal clients are people who (mostly) want to be involved in therapy and want to learn and grow. Those who show up on both the good and the bad days knowing their counselor is there to listen to them and help them to grow and heal.
Hope to see you soon at Willow Tree Healing Center.
-Mary Willoughby Romm If you are looking for counseling, Mary Willoughby (Romm) Prentiss is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Virginia who provides online therapy for Willow Tree Healing Center. She enjoys transforming the lives of women, college students, kids, tweens/teens, and families through providing communication strategies, coping skills that work, allowing a safe space to be heard, and actively working towards helping you with your challenges. She is certified in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (ages 2-7) and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, counsels substance abuse in teens and adults, and practices Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy.
Please send an email to wthc@willowtreehealingcenter.org to explore working together.
Comments