Psychotherapy for Women and Couples Counseling in Maryland
Thank you for coming to my page on individual and couples counseling. For 20 years, I’ve been offering psychotherapy services to my clients at Women’s Counseling and Psychological Services in Frederick, Maryland. I’ve helped hundreds of women–and men–like you feel better about and more compassionate toward themselves, have more self-esteem and a greater sense of personal power, develop more fulfilling relationships, and overcome the feelings, thoughts and patterns that get in the way of a satisfying and fulfilling life.
I strive to help you find the balance between the demands and expectations of others and what you need and desire for yourself. I help you make the distinction between the critical and self-disparaging ’outside voices’ within you that hold you back, and your true inner voice, which shows you the way forward.
Whatever you’re feeling or going through right now, I will help you sort it out. I know that it’s difficult to come to a stranger and share your most vulnerable self. I honor your courage for taking that risk, and will walk you through and guide you from exactly where you are.
Even though others may tell you, and you may tell yourself, just to “buck up,” I know from the core of my being that the fastest way to real change is through a compassionate and self-accepting mode of healing, where all parts of you and everything you experience is welcome. In this way, whatever has not felt safe or acceptable within you can safely have a voice and heal.
Working with couples in couples counseling in Maryland, I find that many of the same principles apply. Both the man and the woman in the couple need a safe place to be heard, and to learn or re-learn how to hear each other in an atmosphere of acceptance. People come to marriage counseling because they’re fighting too much or they’re distant, or when life stresses have deeply strained the relationship. But at the core, marital problems begin when two people no longer feel safe to tell each other what’s really important going on inside them. That’s when a disconnect occurs, and the relationship starts to wither and die. I help couples overcome the hurt, pain and habits of disconnect to become a team, to listen and respect each other as individuals, and to risk trusting and depending on each other’s love. This, of course, is as true with lesbian and gay couples as it is with heterosexual couples
How Will Therapy Help Me?
My goal for you not only is to find relief from your problem, but to feel a sense of wholeness in your being, energized in your life, imbued with a new sense of hope. It is to regain parts of yourself that you’ve lost, and to live truer to what you really want and feel.
That might sound a bit intimidating, but in fact, therapy should mostly be a very interesting and enjoyable process, where you really get to know yourself and tune into your inner knowing. Surprisingly, simply naming and getting to the heart of the problem and giving voice to it – without even changing a single thing — makes a huge difference in the way you feel and the way you hold that problem in your body. And each little step of discovering, listening to or acting from your inner voice strengthens you and makes it easier to take the next. As for not feeling good about yourself, when you awaken what’s true inside you rather than attempt to live from an external standard, your self-esteem takes care of itself.
How Do I Get Started?
The hardest step is the first one, of reaching out for help. If you live or work in Frederick County, Maryland, neighboring Montgomery, Carroll, Howard or Washington counties, or the suburban D.C. area, I invite you to contact me by clicking here or on the link below, or by calling call me at (301) 695-5858. Some of my more geographically distant clients have found that a combination of therapy sessions in person and by phone has worked well to balance their busy schedules and the inner healing they wish to do.
I look forward to hearing from you. I would be honored to help you take the next step toward living from your life-giving inner voice.
More About My Work
In 20 years I’ve dealt with the whole gamut of issues that women – and men – may face: Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as issues of transition, loss, trauma, and low self-esteem. I’ve dealt with conflicts in their relationships, their marriages, with their parents or children or siblings, and in their jobs or career. And I’ve worked with women suddenly confronting problems they never expected to have: Divorce, infertility, medical issues.
I was trained at the University of Denver in cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic therapy where I received my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. Over the years, as the fields of psychology and neuroscience have learned more about what helps people feel better, and as I have observed what has helped my clients most, I’ve integrated many new approaches to my work. Foremost is Focusing, which is a gentle yet powerful mind-body process that helps you access your deepest and wisest self. I’ve been a Focusing-oriented therapist and trainer for nearly 20 years. Besides Focusing, I’ve integrated EMDR, somatic and mind-body therapy, Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy, and my own synthesis, as described in my book, I Know I’m in There Somewhere.
Helene G. Brenner, Ph.D., is a psychologist in Frederick, Maryland and Rockville, Maryland and offers counseling and psychotherapy to individuals and couples in Washington, D.C. and the following cities and towns in Maryland: Rockville, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington, Takoma Park, Silver Spring, College Park, Wheaton, Gaithersburg, Potomac, North Potomac, Germantown, Clarksburg, Boyds, Frederick, Myersville, Middletown, Walkersville, Thurmont, Hagerstown, Mt. Airy, Woodsboro, New Market, Boonesboro, Brunswick, Poolesville, Barnsville, Beallsville, and the following communities in Virginia: Arlington, Alexandria, Langley, McLean, Great Falls, Falls Church, and Vienna, Va.
