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My psychotherapy practice is anchored in family therapy and family systems theory. This means that, whether I'm assisting families or individuals, youths or adults, I consider people's difficulties within the context of their family relationships, both historically and presently. Family Systems theory reveals contexts within which patterns of behavior occur. For a brief view of my beliefs about family therapy, please click here for my Family Therapy Page. I am also a student of Existential-Humanistic Psychotherapy which emphasizes self-reflection, finding meaning in one's life and unconditional positive regard. Research has demonstrated that the most reliable predictors of quality outcomes in psychotherapy are "relationship factors" between client and therapist.1 This relationship between client and therapist is more important than the specific practice model utilized by a therapist. In other words, the relationship is the therapy in psychotherapy. While I am trained in specific therapeutic models which match my beliefs, values, and temperament, these models also support my primary therapeutic concern: That clients experience our therapeutic relationship as safe and respectful. Please click here for my ten point essay entitled, Toward Creating A Human Therapeutic Process. ParentsI have been in private practice in Portland, Oregon since 1998 and I have over 15 years experience specifically helping youth 10-21 years old. My education included intensive and specialized supervision focused on adolescent developmental needs. I am successful with many types of emotional and behavioral problems including oppositional-defiant behaviors, ADD/ADHD, anxiety, depression, illegal conduct, anger, as well as explosive and violent behaviors and have worked in diverse settings such as: Juvenile Detention, Adolescent Residential Treatment, Community Mental Health Clinics, Homeless and Runaway Shelters, Drug and Alcohol Inpatient Hospitals, and as a Wilderness Instructor with Outward Bound School. My many experiences with young people give me a depth of therapeutic understanding that most clinicians do not have with adolescents. Of prime importance when counseling teens is the relationship between the therapist and the young person. I'm convinced, and my experiences show me, that no matter how guarded or hardened a young person may present herself/himself to be, all youth desire relationships with calm, confident, and competent adults from whom they can gain acceptance, understanding, guidance, and a sense of commonality. My method emphasizes the modeling of behavior at all levels of interaction with young people and acknowledges that young people are constantly monitoring their environment for cues toward behavior, safety, and for knowledge. For more information on Specialized Counseling for Teens please click here. For more information on successful parenting please click here.
1Miller, S.D., Duncan, B., and Hubble, M. (1997). Escape from Babel: Toward a Unifying Language for Psychotherapy Practice. New York: Norton. |
Copyright © by Douglas Wilson Johns, M.S.W., 2001-2005, all rights reserved.
