Featured in Santa Barbara News-Press: SB therapist writes book to help first-time clients

I am happy to announce that I was featured, alongside my new book, on the Santa Barbara News-Press blog. See an excerpt from the article below and visit their website to read the full story. Thank you!

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Faith Freed has been practicing psychotherapy for more than 10 years, but she knows not everyone is accustomed to the therapist’s couch.

To help newcomers, she wrote “Starting Therapy: A Guide to Getting Ready, Feeling Informed, and Gaining the Most from your Sessions” (Apocryphile Press, 2020).

“Having been a therapist long enough, I realize that some people come in with a measure of trepidation and discomfort, like not knowing what to expect,” the Santa Barbara therapist told the News-Press. “And they’re just some really basic things that if they know going in, they can just feel more comfortable.”

She writes about the emotional side of therapy as well as the paperwork that new clients encounter.

She also hopes her book can encourage people to start therapy.

“I really want to normalize therapy,” Ms. Freed said. “Anybody who’s open to it can definitely benefit from therapy.”

She begins her book with a disclaimer that she uses the word “client” instead of “patient.”

Ms. Freed said the word “patient” implies an illness, but noted therapy doesn’t require one to have a mental illness.

A few of her new clients have read the book and appreciated her mythbusting.

“I think it was because they were coming from that old school train of thought like there’s some kind of stigma to therapy,” she said. “I think they just felt like it lays out all the basics.”

The 114-page book is a refreshing overview with dollops of humor and a laid back tone. It puts readers on the fast track to successful sessions.