Five Questions for Creatives Starting Therapy
Counseling for Creative People provides therapy for people with creative backgrounds. Here are a few questions you can consider as we get started. Having an understanding of yourself and your current circumstances helps us meet your therapeutic needs.
1. What’s bringing you to sessions?
This is one of the first questions I ask when we initially talk. How you answer the question is very telling. Oftentimes, there are specific life events that bring people to sessions, but underlying issues can present themselves preceding the initiation of therapy. We can learn about the presenting issues and how you think and feel about your current life.
2. How do you like to learn?
There are many ways to heal, learn, and process emotionally. If you are somatically inclined, kinesthetic learning may be a good option. Some people are visual learners, while others process information through reading and writing, and some prefer to learn solitarily. Others value interpersonal communication and processing with others. How do you operate? How do we make your therapy experience conducive to your learning style?
3. Do you prefer in-person or online sessions?
Currently, I offer telehealth sessions via telephone and video. If you are interested in in-person sessions and are located in the San Fernando Valley, there may be opportunities to meet at my Encino office in 2026.
4. How do you see the challenges or obstacles you are facing?
Understanding how we view our problems can be very helpful in better understanding barriers to healing. Are there times when helplessness sets in? Does it feel like there’s not a lot of hope or capacity for change? One approach to managing anxiety and overwhelm is gaining a better understanding of what parts of our experience we have control over and those aspects we do not have control over.
5. How do you typically cope during periods of low energy and/or inspiration?
As a creative, what is your relationship to making things? Do you experience bouts of low productivity? If so, what is the relationship to productive or unproductive periods and your mood? All of this information can help in our work together. For example, for those who are prone to experiencing depression, creative output, such as engaging in a creative practice, artmaking, music making and writing, or crafting, can act as a form of behavioral activation and assist with managing a depressive episode.