Psychotherapy

William Gaultiere, Ph.D.

In psychotherapy Kristi and I (Bill) invite people to see their problems as indicators of their deeper need for soul care. We’ve helped people with problems like depression, anxiety, relationship conflicts, traumatic memories, eating disorders, unwanted homosexuality, sexual addiction, compulsive behavior, and faith struggles since 1987. To treat symptoms like these we use our training in psychology (psychodynamic-object relations, family systems, and cognitive-behavioral) and Christian spirituality to help people to change on the inside:  learning how to get their needs met, becoming someone of good character, developing more loving relationships with God, others, and themselves.

Let me briefly explain our view of the therapy process. Imagine that you were to meet with me and ask me, “Bill, how can you help me?”

I’d say, “You’ll get help when you and I join God in caring for you.”  In other words, the help you need is relational and requires your participation. You need to be able to develop trust in Kristi or I and a few other people as “Christ’s Ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20) to you and to solicit and make good use of our care and feedback. As Counselors our role is not only to give you that care and feedback, but also to help you learn how to set aside your defense mechanisms and resistances and then to internalize and make use of God’s grace and truth.

I’d also say to you, “Growth is a process.”  Overcoming your struggles is a developmental process that often requires getting help with childhood wounds or unmet needs. To mature on the inside you’ll need to make incremental changes in areas like learning to trust, sharing deep feelings, internalizing comfort and affirmation, developing self-identity, setting boundaries, giving and receiving forgiveness, overcoming harmful attitudes and behavior, applying wisdom in real life challenges, discovering and using your unique gifts, and rejoicing in opportunities to give yourself away in love to God and other people.

Another thing I’d say to you is, “How motivated are you to get help?”  Over the years our clients who have grown the most have not only participated in therapy consistently over time they have done other things too like participating in 12 Step Group Programs or other support groups, sharing with recovery friends or prayer partners, journaling feelings and prayers, reading books or articles, getting involved in a local church, or practicing spiritual disciplines like prayerfully reading God’s Word.

Like many of our prospective clients, you might also ask, “Do you use Scripture or prayer as part of the psychotherapy process?”  The answer is “Yes, when you ask for this kind of help and we determine it's appropriate in your treatment."  (For instance, see "Bible Verses for the Soul.") There are stories or insights from God’s Word that can be powerful resources in therapy. But Scripture is more than this to us; it guides our approach to therapy and the way we work with people.  And regarding prayer, we pray for our clients silently during sessions at times, out loud with our clients (when this is requested), and privately outside of sessions. For working through traumatic memories or deep bondages we can provide healing prayer ministry as part of the therapy. As with Scripture, prayer is more than these tangible expressions; we believe that our care for our clients is prayer, as we continually seek for God to be present with us and guide as during the psychotherapy process.  After all, Jesus is the "Wonderful Counselor" (Isaiah 9:6) and we are simply co-counselors assisting him.

You can learn more about how we work with people in psychotherapy by reading the articles on our website. (Even though I am the author of these articles you’d find that Kristi uses a similar approach with her clients since we have collaborated extensively over the years in our professional development.) These articles give many examples of how we conceptualize and respond to people’s problems. This is a way that you can get ideas on the types of psychological interventions we use and the practical tools for overcoming your problems that we teach our clients. Also our website links to many referral organizations to encourage you to get more information or find a support group to help you with your struggles.

When psychotherapy is complete we would hope for you to be healed and matured to the point that you could get your personal needs met from friends, your local church, and in your relationship with God. And we’d thrill to see you overflowing with God’s love as you worship him and offer your care and gifts to help other people in Jesus’ name. Because there is no greater joy in life than loving others as God has loved you! (If you primarily want help developing your relationship with God and your ministry to others then read about the spiritual direction services we offer.)

There are many logistical questions you probably have about our psychotherapy services. We’ll answer the most common ones. I’m a Licensed Psychologist in CA (#PSY12036) and Kristi is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in CA (#MFT29887).  We offer 45-minute psychotherapy sessions in our Irvine office paid for at the time of service.  (You can schedule more time.)  We don’t bill insurance, but we do give you a receipt that you can submit to insurance for reimbursement. We find that usually psychotherapy is most effective when appointments are weekly, though some people come every other week and others need to come twice per week. In the first session you’d fill out an intake form, go over the basic policies, ask any questions you have, talk about what you want help with, introduce the background to your problem, and receive a preliminary diagnoses and treatment plan.

Read our Psychotherapy Policies.