Managing expectations is an important part of life; therapy is no different!
I get excited when I see my clients reaching their goals. When I think about my clients and ask, “Who do I love to work with? Who appears to thrive in therapy with me?” I have recognized a theme. I once read something along the lines of:

Ideal clients are not found they are made.

I adore this sentiment, because I enjoy working with a wide variety of clients (personality, background, presenting problem, goals in therapy, etc) and I recognize that therapists and clients are most likely to do good work together when they are a good match.
So consider this YOUR invitation to BECOME my ideal client!

You are my Ideal Client:

You love to learn. You are interested in learning about yourself and how your history, personal make up, and choices affect your present situation and future. Encountering new ideas is exciting to you. You crave more insight about yourself, the world, and ways to reach your goals. You love getting new tools or concepts to apply towards becoming a healthier person or building healthier patterns and relationships.

You are open to therapy as a creative process. You willingly consider various methods to promote insight and change in yourself and your life. Since you know you are an intricate person (i.e. biological, psychological, social, spiritual), you are interested in care that addresses you holistically. While traditional talk therapy is useful, it is strengthened when used in conjunction with other experiential and creative practices.

You own your life. You recognize other people and systems influence your life, but you are responsible for the life you are living and the choices you make. You are asking me to inform, guide, and encourage you, while recognizing you maintain control over yourself – choice belongs to you.

You embrace 70/30. You engage therapy thoughtfully, coming with and taking responsibility to inform me of your personal goals. While you are looking for input and guidance, knowing a session is incomplete without it, you recognize your role as active participant. Because what you bring to session is meaningful to you, it provides the motivation for doing the vital work of change outside of therapy.

You identify the takeaway and seek to implement it into your life. Because you desire growth, you pursue it with courage by implementing what you are learning. You recognize therapy is not ultimately about the session, but about intentionally developing yourself as a human and creating the life you desire.

You are IN PROCESS on the points above! You see the value of learning, creative process, owning your life, taking responsibility for therapy, and implementing session takeway. You are practicing these ways of engaging.