Audrey Oneal

My education includes having completed an MS and mental health counseling from Walden University. I am continuing my education by having enrolled in a doctoral program in clinical psychology in which I have already completed 40 credits. I also hold a masters degree in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence college.

One of my passions is writing and I enjoy encouraging my clients to journal as well as to engage in narrative therapy. I help professional men and women increase their self esteem and reduce anxiety so that that they can continue to thrive in their lives.

My philosophy consists of the belief that everyone has the resources within to be able to better their lives and make positive changes. I believe that my clients are the experts of their lives and therefore, I use a humanistic approach in which I practice unconditional positive regard as well as congruence. I believe in using a person centered approach as this places the client as the expert of their lives, rather than a therapist assuming the role of an expert. I believe that this approach engenders confidence as well as trust. I believe at heart that my approach is Rogerian in that I make an attempt to adhere to genuineness, unconditional positive regard, and empathy in order to help my clients. A person centered approach also does not pathologize people. In contrast, it places therapeutic attention to the client's perceived difficulties as well as distress, and treatment directions. Simply put, the person centered approach assumes non-judgment and emphasizes active listening.

The interventions that I love to use in the therapeutic encounter are Active listening and reflection of content and feelings. I believe these interventions engender empathy and unconditional positive regard. These interventions prove to be healing, and especially for those that have a critical internal voice, or suffer from low self-esteem. I believe that by using these interventions, I am also modeling non-judgment and expressing my acceptance of all the facets of my client's personality and behavior. Hence, I believe that my client will eventually internalize the unconditional positive regard that I expressed towards them, and begin to grow in self -acceptance. I believe that as people begin to grow in self acceptance, anxiety lessens. I enjoy using active listening, reflection of content and feeling, and unconditional positive regard, as I believe it is beneficial, and it is also a way that I am able to more accurately reflect and act as a mirror by helping my client see what they are expressing. Therefore, they can revise and expand their perceptions of themselves based upon what I am reflecting.

I believe these interventions are effective in increasing self- understanding. Fears and anxieties begin to fade away. Through this process, the client begins to internalize their own positive nature and as they experience it, they are able to use it in their every day life for betterment. I believe that in working with a person centered approach, I am able to help the client to become less rigid in their thinking, and to feel a stronger sense of self-worth. What I have found is that clients become more flexible generally, and more creative in their thoughts and actions as they begin to free themselves from imposed conditions pertaining to worth.