Jeremy Litfin Psychotherapy, LMHC

I became interested in becoming a therapist in college over ten years ago and have been practicing therapy for the last seven years. I’ve always had a strong intellectual curiosity in understanding human emotion and behavior and I have a high level of empathy with strong listening skills. I believe that social norms and messaging can be very constraining and prevent people from developing into their ideal self. I think that anxiety and depression are as much a societal issue as an individual issue. I am passionate about helping people to better understand themselves, accept themselves, and increase their own fulfillment.

Many clients come to me feeling stuck and become unstuck due to being able to vocalize suppressed feelings out loud. My sensitivity, thoughtfulness, and carefulness in how I approach things are my greatest strengths. As someone who has done my own work on being vulnerable, I understand just how uncomfortable being vulnerable can be. Clients say one of my greatest strengths is the ability to state exactly what they are feeling better than they can themselves. My style involves first thoroughly understanding what your current problem is and what is blocking you from solving it on your own. Once we've developed strong rapport, I become interactive in session and provide structure, education, assignments, feedback, and will challenge you if you are ready. Together, we will create and review goals that are moving you closer on the path to greater life fulfillment.

The majority of the clients I work with in my practice are new to therapy or have had limited experience with therapy. What I often hear them say is that the very act of committing to an hour a week of taking care of themselves leads to positive feelings. The initial session can be very cathartic, allowing you to get things off your chest. I acknowledge that opening up at all or opening up to someone you don’t know can be intimidating. While it may feel a little uncomfortable at first, it gets more comfortable over time. Think about why you are considering therapy and the possible consequences if you continue on your current path. Most people who engage in therapy find they learn a lot about themselves and change their thinking and behaviors in a way that changes their lives. Remember you are trying it out. You can always change your mind or change therapists if it is not a good fit.

I am very passionate about destigmatizing therapy for men and male identifying clients. Just acknowledging that you need help and can't do it all on your own may be an uncomfortable step for you as a male. Male clients often take on a lot of pressure to figure things out themselves and expressing the need for help is often frowned upon by society. It's difficult to seek help when there is so much pressure to be macho and live up to the societal definition of what a man is. There is so much pressure to support a family. Sometimes that leads to internal conflict between staying unhappy at the job you are in to make money and finding the job you dream of. As a male, you may wish to better understand what you are feeling and express those feelings. You may not have a lot of people or any people you feel comfortable sharing your feelings with. You may hold a lot in and then feel irritable or lash out because you haven't been able to express yourself. I’m here to help you manage the struggle of the unique societal pressure that males face that may not always be acknowledged.

I start off by assessing the source of the anxiety. It's important to understand if it is general, social, situational, environmental, conflict-driven, traumatic, phobic, or a combination of all of those. Once we understand the primary sources, you can begin to learn how to change your reaction to those sources through coping strategies and changing your mindset. Practicing coping strategies and changing mindset will help you be able to better relax. I don't practice this as a requirement but if you'd like I can provide weekly assignments for you to work on. Clients state this can help everything feel less overwhelming and give them a sense of structure.