What I’m All About

 
bridgette gottwald liscense therapist.jpeg

DISORDERS I HAVE
EXPERIENCE WITH:

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

  • Substance abuse

  • ADD/ADHD

  • ODD

  • Suicide

  • Self-esteem issues

  • Relationship challenges

  • Children, young adults and adults
    ranging from ages 3-55 years

Hi I’m Bridgette,

Throughout my entire life, I have always wanted to work with and help other people and I truly believe that everyone can learn to create a life they love and desire.

In May 2019, I graduated from Webster University where I obtained my master's degree in professional counseling. For my clinical internship, I worked for a company called A&A Inspirations/KHAOS for about a year. I worked with various populations and clientele within St. Louis and this exposure gave me insight to all different kinds of clients and disorders. I am now located in Chicago, Illinois where I am a psychotherapist for a private practice called Symmetry Counseling. I work with adult individuals and couples, and strive to help my clients restore equilibrium within their unbalanced worlds. You may view my profile or book an appointment with me on the Symmetry Counseling website, or on Psychology Today (or see buttons below).


I fully believe in the capacity of change and understand that everyone at times is subject to the whims of a randomly cruel universe. I hope to help my clients realize that although life happens to all of us, that does not mean it has to stop. I strive to be an agent of positive change in the lives of others as I help my clients reach the optimum state of mental health and well-being that each unique individual is capable of achieving. Through my relationships with clients, I hope to help them learn to examine their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, values and behaviors as I enable them to grow and change in positive ways. My main focus revolves around challenging distorted thinking, relationships and trauma recovery.

My Approach

THEORETICAL ORIENTATION

The type of therapy that I utilize is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and talk therapy. CBT believes in the notion that our thoughts, feelings and behaviors all influence one another. Once this connection is made, it is easier for us to improve upon our lives. This distorted thinking leads to distress and problematic behaviors, where as realistic thinking with less negativity allows us to respond to challenging life circumstances in appropriate ways. CBT is goal oriented and specific to problems, with an overarching goal of achieving remission. A more productive thought process will have my clients better suited to deal with the problems that life brings about. No one knows my client better than the client themselves, so I always make sure they know that they are the experts. Change is evoked through a healthy collaboration between client and counselor that is facilitated through therapeutic sessions. Many times, people come into counseling wondering what is wrong with them. In fact, it’s never about what is wrong with you, it’s about what’s happened to you. Once that is unpacked, you will be able to align your thoughts, behaviors and set yourself up for wellness. 

 
 
 

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