Attitude by: Charles Swindoll
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.
Denise L. Dworakoski MA, LPCC
311 Ramsey St. Suite 205
St.Paul MN, 55102
612-554-9453
ddworakoski@hotmail.com
Counseling Style
I have a gentle approach that recognizes each person's unique strengths and gifts in addition to the issues that brought them to therapy. I work with people dealing with life changes, depression, anxiety, grief and loss, low self-esteem, feelings of meaninglessness and spiritual issues. I tailor my approach to the needs of each client and allow the work to proceed at a pace that feels safe and supportive.
Additional areas of clinical practice include: postpartum depression, grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide, and sexual orientation coming out process.
There are many different theoretical approaches to therapy; I primarily utilize cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, existential, and coaching concepts.
Cognitive Behavioral: Exploring how our thoughts impact our behaviors and emotions. Facilitating behavior change by managing our thought patterns.
Psychodynamic: Identifying and processing past experiences and relating them to our present to gain insight and awareness of ourselves.
Existential: Looking at the big picture and rationale behind what we do or do not do. Asking ourselves is this consistent and compatible with my personal convictions and beliefs?
Coaching: Looking at the present and developing concrete goals to embrace change. These goals are identified by introspection of your bedrock values in life and what is important to you.
Prior to the first session: If you have not had a physical in the past year, this is strongly suggested. Often times certain medical conditions such as diabetes and hypothyroidism can appear to look like depression if not being medically treated. After we have agreed on an appointment time, I will have some brief forms for you to fill out prior to our session. If using insurance, I ask that you bring a photo id at time of our first session.
The initial visit is a time for both of us to get to know each other, this involves me obtaining a detailed personal history as well as discussing the situation that brings you in to seek therapy. At the end of the appointment I will discuss treatment options with you and identify goals for therapy. I encourage you to ask questions throughout the process as this creates a collaborative relationship.