Mark Koch

My style is to listen carefully to your complaints or concerns, then to check with you to insure that we have agreement as to what you would like to change. After reviewing your prior efforts to create change, we will consider altternatives and their feasibility. This might involve assessing whether you currently have the means necessary to initiate an alternative approach to the issue at hand. We will experiment with various approaches and strategies to determine what new learning will help you to experience the relief or remedy that you are trying to accomplish.

Clients can, first of all, expect to be heard by me, the therapist. I may require clarification and reclarification but sometimes it's difficult to communicate our concerns. I will not ask "what's wrong with you?" but I might inquire about your perception of the obstacles that are currently in the way. This questioning does not imply rightness or wrongness, goodness or badness. The purpose is to discover what is your desire and what will it require for you to fulfill this desire. Therapy is always an experiment in this sense. We are NOT trying to "fix anybody". Rather, we are listening for what may be out of balance.

The people that I meet with can expect to be listened to with dignity and respect. They can expect that I will validate their experience though I may not agree with their strategies. Individuals can also expect that I will provide them with the skills that will help them to resolve given situations. New skills often need to be practiced so that they become an integral part of learning. Practice often involves disappointment, frustration and Re-learning. New learning usually requires adopting fresh perspective and recommitment. My clients generally learn to expect that real change involves a process in which we become more of our true self.