Dan Sneider-CotterLCSW

In most things, getting started is the hardest part. When we are struggling with anxiety, stress, or in troubled relationships it is hard to know what to do or how to change feelings that are overwhelming. The idea of facing all of these challenges and talking about them to someone that you don’t know is hard, especially if you have never been in counseling or had bad experiences with a previous therapist. Is counseling worth the money? How do I know who is the best therapist for my needs? These are big questions to sort through when feeling overwhelmed and confused. Luckily, it has never been easier to find the best therapist for your needs. Spending a few minutes searching online yields a ton of information about therapists in your state that offer online sessions. As the client, you are able to visit different therapist websites and profile pages to read their materials, read their articles, and watch videos to learn about their style and personality. Take this page as an example. You can see pictures of me, read about me, watch me in a video introducing myself and talking about my approach to counseling. All of this is meant to help you make the best decision possible when choosing the right therapist for your needs. Remember, getting started is the hardest part. Things will not change until you begin doing things differently. The opportunity of starting therapy with an experienced counselor will outweigh any barriers and help you feel better soon!

Therapy is all about you, the client. Everything we talk about and do in therapy is designed to help you achieve your goals, feel better, and improve relationships. As a therapist with more than 10 years of experience helping hundreds of individuals and couples just like you I have developed a proven style of counseling that is client-centered. We will work together helping you manage anxiety and depression, improve trust and intimacy, and feel more confident. My goal in each and every session is to model patience, calmness, consistency, and use ‘care-frontation’ techniques to help you feel comfortable and gain insight from reflection. When I gently ‘push back’ or offer alternative ways to think about something it is with the intention of helping you gain clarity and new ways to approach problematic patterns. Since getting married and having children I have learned firsthand the ups and downs of relationships and the challenge of juggling the different roles of parent, friend, spouse, and worker. I use that awareness to inform our work and help you improve your relationships.

Success is measured by positive changes in your everyday life. Your friends, family, and loved ones will notice that you have more energy, are less irritable, and project greater confidence. Therapy is successful when you feel better able to manage your feelings, relationships improve, or you are sleeping/eating/exercising and taking care of yourself in healthier ways. These changes can happen quickly or over the long-term, depending on how ready and engaged you are. It is my goal from the very first session together to help you learn and practice valuable, practical, and actionable skills. In every session we will ‘check-in’ on how things are going, track your feelings from session to session, and practice skills to directly address your needs. We will also discuss resources and how to use reflection in between sessions to practice what we are learning.

My desire to practice therapy started when I was a teenager and formed a powerful relationship with a therapist who listened and helped me through a very challenging time. I went to college and studied Psychology so that I could better understand myself and the people around me with the intention of becoming a therapist. From there, I earned my Masters degree in Social Work and began working in schools and residential treatment centers providing therapy for teens that were struggling with anxiety, depression, and other issues. The experiences that I had in therapy helped me to use patience, calmness, and gentle 'care-frontation' to help the teens that I worked with at the time. I decided to go back to school in 2015 to earn my Doctorate of Education and advance my learning so that I could continue helping people using the most up to date and researched methods. Since 2017 I have been in private practice helping individuals and couples improve their relationships through learning new ways to communicate, build trust, and connect. As a married adult and parent of two rambunctious boys I know firsthand the challenges of maintaining a close connection with a partner. I use that experience to help other couples in their journey to an improved relationship.