I am a senior, and so I believe that I can relate to older adults better than younger or less experienced clinicians. By the time we reach our senior yeats, we have generally experienced the best of the highs and the worst of the lows, and we have gained a wisdom that only comes in glimpses in earlier years. I like the depth and breadth of older adults' life experiences.

Older adults tend to be more homebound than adults of younger ages, often due to surgical/medical reasons; social reasons, such as no longer being able to drive; or personal preference.

Online therapy enables them to meet on their own schedule without needing to spend time getting to an appointment (which could produce fatigue) or needing to adjust to someone else's environment (which could be jarring). It is thus the most effective therapy for the least amount of effort.

I view therapy as one long conversation that is driven by the client. During the first session, I will answer client questions and tend to talk more than usual because I want the client to know the person with him s/e will be working with. After that, the client sets the agenda for the session.

My preferred methods of therapy are existential, narrative, cognitive-behavioral, cognitive processing, motivational, and reality orientation. Regardless of the presenting problem, eventually we reach a basic question: This is your life (with the presenting problem). How do you want to live it? I don't typically dwell on clients' feelings or spiritual beliefs, but we certainly pay attention to them for existential, motivational, and narrative purposes. My ultimate goal is to help the client modify both his/her behavior and life story (which is where the narrative therapy comes in). The goal of therapy is to get rid of me, because the client is back to functioning in a way that promotes well-being and growth as applicable.

I first learned about psychology as a 9-year-old, when I went with a friend to visit her mother at work. Her mother was an administrator at a skilled nursing facility, and she told me about the work that various employees did.

The one that struck me was the behaviorally-oriented work that psychologists did, and I decided then that that's what I wanted for my own career. Fortunately, life cooperated, and I pursued my master's and then doctoral degrees when the opportunities presented themselves. I've never looked back at my choices.

First, there's nothing to be nervous about. You're in the driver's seat, so you get to steer the course. If the therapist you're working with seems to want to take charge of the process, find a different therapist. At our age, we know enough about life to steer our own ship; mostly, we just need someone to bounce around ideas that will will help to set the course.

There is no one correct approach. Rather, it's a process of matching the therapy to the person's presentation and strengths. The most successful therapy occurs when the client is open to looking at his/her issues in a flexible manner and the therapist can pull out specific tools from various orientations to address them.

But beyond that, therapy is dependent on the bond that that therapist and client create; it succeeds best when the client feels listened to and understood.

First, there's nothing to be nervous about. You're in the driver's seat, so you get to steer the course.

Fun fact? I have two birthdays: the day I was born and the next day, which is the one that was recorded on the birth certificate that was never corrected. Other fun fact: I was an exchange student in Denmark during the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, when I was 16 years old. My Danish sister and I have extended our relationship forward to two generations; our children and grandchildren all have close relationships. Social media and affordable travel have enabled us to visit and keep in contact more frequently now than what was possible in the past. My Danish sister and her children are fluent enough with English, and I know enough Danish to carry on short conversations.