Couples Counseling, Individual Therapy and Mens Counseling in Seattle
A better life lies within your reach. The situation is completely hopeful and rich with potential, intelligence, and grace. Many of us are facing challenges to which an elegant solution, created just for us, from our own thinking, has become temporarily obscured. Global Counseling offers effective counseling to reconnect you with the power, intelligence, closeness and love, which are your birthright.
We offer couples counseling in Seattle, as well as mens counseling:
Counseling for individuals, couples, families, groups and organizations in Seattle
Each client is unique.
You are the real expert about you.
Our work together will reflect your individuality, your unique life experience, and the self-knowledge you already possess—whether you are seeking individual therapy, couple’s counseling, men’s counseling, family counseling, or other counseling assistance with your life and those you care about.
Counseling sessions are accessible and convenient either at my office in Seattle, or via telephone counseling , and iCounseling AV (Audio Video) distance counseling.
Conviently located in the Maple Leaf / Greenlake neighborhood in Seattle
Please visit the other pages on this website to learn more about my practice in the Maple Leaf/Greenlake area of Seattle, Washington State, USA, and about telephone and video distance counseling.
Free 1-hour introductory counseling session
To help us both determine if I am the right counselor for you, I offer a free one-hour initial consultation. Please call to ask questions or to schedule your complimentary initial consultation.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Stefan Schlesinger, MA LMHC
Click here to read my Counselor Biography
Couple’s Counseling in Seattle
The Situation is Hopeful for Couples and Their Counseling
It is a joy to be a couples counselor — to be present while two
people take on the important task of getting close to each other. Great
potential lies in the fact that there are two of you. Two people have
the ability to offer to each other the reality of each other’s intelligence,
generosity, and loving kindness. In so doing, they assist each other to
reconnect with the infinite potential they each possess. It is the gift
you give each other. I believe that we saw all of this possibility in
our partners and it is what attracted us to them in the first place.
A New Perspective on Counseling
The counseling you do with your partner is some of the most powerful counseling possible
Early in a relationship we tend to be on our “best behavior.”
During this time, we are not trying to hide our selves from each other,
nor trick our wonderful partner into a relationship. In that early stage,
we simply have not reached the level of trust where we show the places
that we have been hurt in our lives.
Couples often feel very discouraged when they first come to counseling
The perspective I have from outside the relationship allows me to see
that this discouragement is the point where a great amount of trust has
been created. Both parties are now showing to each other the distresses
they carry and the struggles they have had. I believe virtually all of
these distresses have their source outside of the relationship, from long
before the relationship began.
It is a perfect place to be!
From here, you can begin to reclaim your love.
The counseling work you do with your partner is some of the most powerful counseling
possible
I loved our counselor. Stefan was very interesting, and he took a genuine interest in us. It wasn't about "what is wrong with us."
The sessions were set up as a framework for communicating. He taught us a better way to talk to each other, and the method works.
- T.K., Seattle
I approach the presenting problem not as an obstacle but as a doorway
to mutual understanding. I work with the two of you to become great counselors
for each other. First, we slow things down as you take turns listening
and talking.
Becoming better communicators
You will grow in your understanding of how to better communicate
with each other, and, perhaps more importantly, you will gain insight
into each other’s lives. Problems around communication, sex, money,
trust, intimacy, parenting and addiction all become issues around which
you come together.
The work you do with your partner is some of the most powerful counseling
possible. I look forward to working with you and your partner.
Warmly,
Stefan Schlesinger, MA, LMHC
Click here to read my Counselor Biography
Men's Counseling in Seattle
How Men Get Hurt
More and more men are taking a close look at their lives and the ways
boys and men are hurt by negative attitudes about them as males and by
the harmful roles they are pressured into playing. Seeing the male role
can be painful and confusing! Despite courageous efforts to hold onto
human connection with others, we end up feeling isolated, overwhelmed
and numb, with few options.
We Are Wholly Capable
The truth is we were born to live without limits. All men, including
you, naturally possess the ability to recover from any hurtful experience.
You were born good, loving and connected with all life. At any moment
you can begin the journey back to your true self. While you may face many
challenges in this process, the rewards can be rich and vast. You can
break free from the isolation and competition. You can create more satisfying
and meaningful relationships with your family and with other men and women.
In addition, you can uncover a wellspring of joy, closeness, flexibility,
creativity and pride—the full humanity which is your birthright.
Reach Out ...
An important step is reaching out, asking for and receiving help. Now
is a good time to begin or to continue your healing process. I use a powerful
and personal approach to therapy with special attention given to the needs
unique to men.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Warmly,
Stefan Schlesinger, MA, LMHC
Click here to read my Counselor Biography
Phone CounselingTelephone counseling is effective for many people, as demonstrated by research [see the article that follows], and in my experience as a counselor. A primary advantage is convenience and accessibility. I offer the same professional service over the phone as in my office. You can have your free initial consultation over the telephone to decide if I am the right counselor for you while you discover the effectiveness of telephone sessions for yourself. I look forward to hearing from you!
Study from American Psychological Association shows telephone counseling can be effective
As the use of Internet and telecommunications services continues to grow, researchers have questioned the practice of telephone counseling for general mental health. But according to a study reported in the April Journal of Counseling Psychology (Vol. 49, No. 2), telephone counseling appears to be an effective psychological practice.
Based on the 1995 Consumer Reports finding that patients benefit greatly from face-to-face counseling, this study examined free telephone counseling offered to the employees of three large Fortune 500 companies as well as other smaller, regional companies across the United States, Canada and parts of Mexico. Both employees and their immediate family members had access to a telephone counseling agency's toll-free number. Over a three-week period, the authors surveyed a nonrandom sample of adults who called the counseling agency about mental health, relationship or job problems. Master's-level mental health professionals provided the phone counseling, using a solution-focused model of therapy. Most callers received four telephone counseling sessions.
After at least one 30-minute phone session, the counseling agency mailed a packet of questionnaires, including the Consumer Reports Annual Questionnaire (CRAQ), which asks clients to rate their specific improvement, satisfaction and global improvement as a result of telephone counseling. By using CRAQ, the researchers could compare the effectiveness of face-to-face counseling, as measured by Consumer Reports, with the effectiveness of telephone counseling.
The researchers—Robert J. Reese, PhD, of Abilene Christian University, and Collie W. Conoley, PhD, and Daniel F. Brossart, PhD, both of Texas A&M University—found that telephone counseling was beneficial and satisfactory, marked by specific improvement on the issue that lead to counseling and global improvement in emotional state. Of the 186 respondents, 68 percent reported feeling very or completely satisfied with the telephone counseling and 53 percent said they felt somewhat better as a result of counseling. The data also indicate that telephone counseling did not appear to work as well as face-to-face counseling for people who reported feeling very poorly: 31 percent of respondents who initially described that they felt very poorly reported improvement in functioning, compared with 54 percent in the Consumer Reports study of face-to-face counseling.
In contrast to face-to-face counseling, telephone counseling is convenient and less expensive—if provided in a format similar to this study's—and the anonymity of the service may provide clients with a greater sense of control, the authors note. For people who do not have access to affordable mental health care, telephone counseling may be a viable option, they add. The authors also point out that without an office, and physical appearance to potentially distract them, clients being counseled via phone may be inclined to focus better on what the therapist says.
—J. RICKER
iCounseling Audio Visual / Internet Counseling
Video Distance CounselingYour ability to connect with me as your therapist and to put your attention on the significant issues in your life does not have to be limited by physical location or accessibility issues.
Professional mental heath counseling usually occurs in person at my office in Seattle, USA. However, this arrangement simply does not meet the needs of all clients. When a client is out of town for work or on vacation, the regular counseling session may still be important. Parents in particular find it hard to find the time to travel to the counseling sessions they know will give them the support they need and deserve. Some clients have health or other physical challenges that make physically coming to an office difficult, inconvenient or impossible.
These clients, and those who live in cities outside the Seattle area, have had to rely upon phone sessions with me. Phone sessions are effective for some clients. But over the phone, neither counselor nor client receive all the subtly complex information that we humans communicate non-verbally.
A New Approach — Counseling across the Internet
Video-conference technology improves upon the phone session by allowing me to meet with you wherever you are—and even with a couple who may not be in the same location. You might say I can now make house calls—or anywhere calls!
Computers currently on the market commonly bundle in the technology for video-conferencing at no extra cost. Apple's iChat software, fast Internet connections and free services like AOL's instant messaging (AIM) are all examples of the recent improvements in technology that make video-conferencing accessible to all computer users.
iCounselingAV is a live audio-visual arrangement that facilitates communication between you and me as your therapist. By using the full screen option, you can instantly turn your computer into a good place to have a convenient, confidential, and safe counseling session at an easily scheduled time. The technology provides true-to-life picture quality and crystal-clear conversation in an audio-visual format.
A User-Friendly Connection
Setting up your computer for sessions is easy. Apple's iChat is the standard software for Macintosh users; PC users have a range of software options. The Internet connection uses AOL's instant messaging (AIM) software. The client and I both use the AIM buddy list to connect.
After a brief free consultation over the phone, we can determine if it makes sense to work together. After the client completes the necessary regular paperwork (acknowledging disclosure and confidentiality statements receipt), we then exchange our AIM addresses through email. After that, at each scheduled session time, we just click each other's addresses in the AIM buddy list and step into my virtual office.
If you have questions, just give me a call the old-fashioned way at 206-526-0444. Further payment and technology information follow below.
I look forward to seeing you.
Stefan
Insurance and Payment
Video-conferencing is a very new approach to mental health counseling. At this time no insurance company I know of will cover services received over the phone or via video-conferencing.
Payment is made through Pay-pal at the time of service.
Helpful Technology Links
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