Center for Professional & Personal Growth, Inc.

	INDIVIDUAL THERAPY Description: If you struggle with emotional difficulties you may benefit from individual psychotherapy. Meeting with a counselor regularly to discuss your problems can provide the support, understanding, and problem-solving skills that will enable you to change your life for the better. Our counselors can assist you with both situational struggles and lifelong issues. Some events in life will usually cause emotional distress: a recent marriage, death of a parent, starting a new job, divorce, birth of a child, conflict with a teenager, loss of your job. Many people successfully transition through these stressful occurrences without the need for professional help. Others seem to become stuck in "emotional limbo," unable to move on with their life. Short-term therapy can often help resolve emotional paralysis due to these "normal" stressful events. More serious chronic emotional problems such as depression, anxiety and phobias, uncontrollable rage, and the symptoms of attention deficit disorder are frequently treated by medication alone. Research indicates that either medication or psychotherapy can be helpful with such problems. The same research shows that a combination of both medication and psychotherapy is more effective than either alone. For example, if you take medication for depression, anxiety, or attention deficit disorder, you might find that therapy assists you in changing the internal and external stressors which create your emotional distress. If you think that individual therapy might help you, fill out the FEEDBACK form and a counselor will (discretely) call you for further discussion. You can indicate a preferred time and phone number.
	CAREER COUNSELING Description: There are a variety of reasons why you might wish to consult a career counselor: -Difficulty in job search and interviews -Newly "laid off," unsure what to do next -Stuck in a job which is unfulfilling, boring, doesn't pay enough-or all three. -Unable to get started on a career path. -Inability to supervise subordinates -Repeated unemployment/underemployment -Conflicts with supervisors -Balancing work and personal life -Retired but desiring challenge Career counseling, unlike psychotherapy, is unlicensed and unregulated in Georgia. Some “career counselors” have no education in counseling, much less the special training required for career counseling. This Center employs only trained and licensed counselors, with Master's degrees in counseling or psychology. All counselors receive additional supervised training in career counseling by Dr. Fisher. We do not employ unlicensed "coaches" or "consultants." We offer three primary career services: -Vocational goal setting, concrete and detailed; -Research to locate specific employers; -Training in job-search and interview skills. The average length of career counseling is eight sessions. Computerized vocational testing (with same-day results) is available. Your counselor can assist you in researching different jobs and work settings, using our broadband internet connection, which is available for your use during office hours. If you think that you can benefit from career counseling-or you are interested in more information-drop us a note using the FEEDBACK page. A counselor will call you to discuss your situation.
	COUPLE'S THERAPY Description: Couples come to relationship counseling to discuss many different issues. They may disagree about money, children, religion, family relations, how to balance work and home . . . and the list is interminable. However, what every couple seeking help share is an inability to communicate. Typical behaviors include one partner withdrawing into silence; one partner erupting into rage and storming out; partners who outdo each other in “niceness”; and the partner who submits to the other, while simmering with resentment. Because effective dialogue is a pre- requisite for resolution of specific issues, this Center focuses primarily on teaching couples the skills of interpersonal communication. Many people do not listen when their partner talks; instead they are preparing their response. Within minutes, discussion about a particular issue can degenerate into “You always . . .” and “Obviously, you never . . .” generalizations. We teach couples how to better express themselves and, perhaps more importantly, how to accurately listen to each other. If you feel heard by your partner, you are more willing to listen to the response. This skill, acquired within the first several sessions and practiced between appointments, enables couples to discuss disagreements without either feeling victimized. Since we focus more on the skills of communication than on particular issues, most couples benefit from a relatively brief period of counseling. For more information, contact us on the FEEDBACK FORM.
	GROUP THERAPY Description: Individual counseling is often very effective in treating internal difficulties such as depression, anxiety, fear of decision-making. However, these and other internal emotional problems also have powerful effects on personal and work relationships. Group therapy is a way you can move beyond the safety of individual therapy to work with others on shared goals: overcoming shyness and social fears; learning assertiveness and communication skills; resolving family or intimacy conflicts; setting and achieving career or personal goals. Our therapy groups meet one evening a week for two hours. Groups are limited to a maximum of 8 members, who can discuss whatever areas of their life they wish. Members do not offer each other advice, but provide an empathic sounding board, giving alternative points of view. Group therapy is particularly powerful in providing support and encouragement to end paralysis and begin movement towards goals. If you are interested in group therapy and whether you might benefit, use the FEEDBACK FORM.