Ray Armstrong

Hello - Thank you for looking at my profile. I am Dr. Ray Armstrong. I am a licensed marriage and family therapist and also hold a doctorate in clinical psychology. I have been in this field for over 25 years and have a vast array of experience. I have worked in psychiatric hospitals, various outpatient and residential facilities. For the last 15, I have been in private practice, in addition to working as the clinical director for several residential treatment facilities. In private practice, I work with individuals, couples and adolescents.

Hello and thank you for visiting my profile. My therapeutic philosophy is that individuals need to be a part of their own solutions. Each person is the expert of their own life. I strive to empower clients to feel that their successes come from themselves and are the result of their own dedication and hard work. Clients should be encouraged to seek out their ideal therapist and what the therapist has to offer them individually, their family, spouse, partner, children, etc. My approach to therapy aims to keep sessions as comfortable as possible by creating a nurturing, safe, warm and judgement free space. I want clients to feel they can discuss anything they want without fear of being labeled, judged, etc. I try to stay away from diagnostic labels and work well with those who don't appreciate being categorized. I don't start labeling or plugging you into a pre -existing program. Sessions stay away from therapy jargon and we use everyday language and terminology. Diagnosis is used for insurance purposes only as I don't believe in labeling a person with a diagnostic code.

The first session focuses on getting to know the client and establishing trust / comfort. I do not jump immediately into the main issues as I need time to understand the client, the personality and what methods will work best for this person / couple / family, etc, The first session also gives the client time to assess if I am a good fit for them as well. The rapport, trust level, and compatibility between client and therapist is very important to create a strong therapeutic alliance. I will ask what brings the person to therapy and ask questions to deepen my understanding and what the client hopes to achieve and benefit from therapy. I allow time for the client to ask me any questions and a preliminary outline of treatment will be discussed. I try very hard to make clients feel at ease, comfortable and emotionally / psychologically safe.