What is Individual Therapy?

Discover the path to personal growth and well-being

Therapy centered on you and your personal needs

Unlike group therapy or couples counseling, individual therapy offers a safe and confidential space for you and your therapist to explore your thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Therapy is all about you and validating your experience. Our experienced therapists provide personalized attention and tailor the treatment to your needs.

Individual therapy is one of only places where you can say what's on your mind and truly be yourself without judgment or shame

In individual therapy, we focus on short-term goals to empower you with the necessary tools and skills to overcome immediate challenges. We work together to identify patterns, develop coping strategies, and enhance self-awareness. This process will give you valuable insights into yourself and your relationships.

Short-term goals: patterns, coping, self-awareness

Individual therapy allows us to get the real authentic you and freely analyze your thoughts and notice patterns

Long-term goals: resilience, confidence, healing that lasts

Your long-term growth is our priority. In individual therapy, we aim to help you develop a strong foundation for long-lasting positive change. Whether it's building resilience, improving self-esteem, or fostering healthier relationships, we provide resources and guidance to help you reach your full potential.

Individual therapy in the long-term allows you to learn to cope with triggers, manage your anxiety and take back control over your emotions

Individual therapy: Tailored to your unique, specific needs based on your identity & culture

Individual therapy for emerging adults provides guidance, support, and tools to navigate through important life transitions

Adults in 20s/30s

  • You are probably navigating career choices, forming relationships or developing your identity. A therapist helps you gain self-awareness, develop coping strategies for managing the stress, and go from being overwhelmed to emotional well-being

Individual therapy for high achievers helps manage stress, maintain work-life balance, enhance productivity

High Achievers

  • You are probably navigating burnout and persistent stress but also looking for deeper motivation to help you stay on track. A therapist helps you gain self-awareness, develop coping strategies for managing the constant stress and holds you accountable to maintain a healthy work-life balance

Individual therapy for women helps manage stress, anxiety, depression, relationships, self-esteem, parenting, postpartum

Women

  • You are probably navigating the life issues described above and expectations related to body image or dating/relationships. A therapist helps you process your thoughts openly without judgment, redefine expectations for yourself around your own beliefs and core values and develop communication skills like assertiveness

Individual therapy for South Asians addresses internalized pressure, redefining expectations, guilt, shame and self-judgment

South Asian

  • You are probably navigating the life issues described above but also internalized pressure from your community. A therapist helps you process the feelings that perpetuate the internalized pressure, redefine expectations for yourself around your own beliefs and live according to your core values without common feelings like guilt and self-judgment

Individual therapy: An effective service that provides solutions for various life issues & symptoms

  • Individual therapy helps you manage anxiety by giving you control over your thoughts and emotions and building resilience

    Anxiety

    Individual therapy creates a one-on-one confidential environment where you and your therapist can identify negative thought patterns and therapists employ techniques to help challenge, reframe, or understand these patterns depending on the treatment method chosen

  • Individual therapy helps you overcome depression with tools to navigate challenges and find inner strength to build resilience

    Depression

    Individual therapy creates a safe space where a therapist can work with you to understand the root of your depression while treatment progresses at a pace that suits you toward achievable, collaborative goals

  • Individual therapy helps you heal from trauma with a safe and supportive environment for healing, processing and coping

    Trauma

    Individual therapy is essential for processing trauma in a space where the focus remains on you; we practice coping mechanisms and confront symptoms/triggers in a safe, contained environment to help you heal

  • Individual therapy helps resolve relationship issues by exploring emotions, gaining insights, and effective communication

    Relationship Issues

    Individual therapy is often a necessary step when dealing with relationship issues so you can learn to manage your own emotions, understand the cause of your triggers and adopt a sense of comfort/confidence even when you feel alone

  • Individual therapy resolves family conflicts and issues, improve communication, and promote healing of your relationship

    Family Issues

    Individual therapy becomes crucial to help deal with family issues because you can truly explore the cause of your triggers, practice essential communication skills such as assertiveness and even role play scenarios all in a place that invites you to try new things without the real-world consequences

Individual therapy: Several treatment methods to choose from based on your needs and our training & experience

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in individual therapy helps you challenge automatic thoughts/beliefs and establish goals

    Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)

    Your therapist helps you understand the root cause of your spiraling thoughts, recognize the problematic patterns in your thoughts, use logic to challenge automatic thoughts / assumptions and establish behaviors / values that are aligned with your goals

  • Psychodynamic and attachment therapy in individual therapy helps you discover subconscious patterns, resolve past traumas

    Attachment/ Psychodynamic Therapy

    Your therapist helps you realize the patterns present in your current relationships, trace the source of these patterns back to past relationships / traumas, heal these relational wounds and establish new patterns to align with your goals

  • Narrative therapy in individual therapy focuses on empowering you to reshape personal stories and find new perspectives

    Narrative Therapy

    Your therapist helps you interpret the themes that emerge across your entire story, externalize the problems that are holding you back and rewrite the story, paving the way for your beliefs and behavior to align more closely with your values

  • Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in individual therapy combines mindfulness, acceptance, and behavior change techniques

    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

    Your therapist helps you stop overthinking / overanalyzing, practice embracing the discomfort caused by your thoughts, establish your core values and commit to and hold you accountable to daily / weekly goals that serve you

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is scientifically proven to help process traumatic experiences

    Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

    Your therapist helps you practice mindfulness and self-regulation skills until you master them. Then, your therapist enables you to process traumatic memories, negative beliefs, and self-limiting patterns with specialized eye movement techniques

Individual therapy: Made efficient, convenient and effective with Align

  • Highly trained

    A highly trained therapist will be more effective in assessing your symptoms, identifying patterns and making the correct treatment recommendations. Having the proper tools and techniques to work with individuals is vital to helping clients sustain progress in individual therapy

  • Diversity

    A therapist who appreciates your cultural similarities and differences is more likely to ask the essential questions that help them understand the impact of your culture on you. For Align, culture is more than just ethnicity; we also consider age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, financial situation and any other aspects that affect you individually

  • Relatability

    Many clients come to individual therapy to share thoughts and feelings they do not feel comfortable sharing with anyone else. A relatable therapist provides you with the comfort and security to truly open up

  • Online

    Online individual therapy affords clients the ultimate flexibility by removing as many barriers as possible. You can see a therapist in a private, secure session by using your phone or computer in any space you are comfortable

  • Availability

    Individual therapy needs to be scheduled around your availability, so it helps significantly when therapists offer days/times that are convenient for you. Therapists with flexible availability, often at times when you are not working, become important when you have a busy lifestyle

  • Flexibility

    When real-life situations come up, we usually need therapy the most. Therapists with flexibility ensure your sessions are consistent even if you have to reschedule for any reason

The importance of finding the right fit: Individual therapy is all about your connection with your therapist

The research is clear: the alliance between therapist and client (characterized by trust, mutual respect, shared understanding, and collaboration) remains the best predictor of positive outcomes in therapy. In individual therapy specifically, this connection is the foundation for effective communication. It allows you to feel comfortable expressing your thoughts, emotions and vulnerabilities. Clients come with their own experiences, beliefs, values, and preferences. A good fit between therapist and client ensures the therapeutic approach aligns with the client's unique goals and objectives.

Describe the problem that brings you to therapy and try asking them:

  • What is your initial assessment of my problem?

  • Have you ever worked with someone like me before?

  • What treatment method would you recommend?

  • How would that help me solve my problem?

  • What do you emphasize in therapy that is unique?

Experience transformative online therapy with our team of highly trained, flexible, and relatable therapists

Take the first step towards personal growth by scheduling a consultation with our experienced, relatable and flexible therapists

If you still don’t know who would be the right fit and would like our help, contact us directly and we can help you find the best fit by asking just a couple of questions about your needs and goals.

  • A therapist who is understanding, empowering, and non-judgmental. Individual therapy is supportive and non-blaming

    Judy Tam

    Individual therapy with me is supportive, empowering and non-blaming

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  • A therapist who is committed to reflection, empowerment, and non-blaming. Individual therapy with her is an open space

    Julia Melvin

    Individual therapy with me is reflective, empowering and non-blaming

    Read bio
  • A therapist that helps you reflect, be comfortable and focus on solutions. Individual therapy emphasizes progress

    Jasmeet Bhullar

    Individual therapy with me is reflective, comfortable and focused on solutions

    Read Bio
  • A therapist who is direct, compassionate, and uses humor to create a comfortable and effective therapeutic environment

    Molly Binenfeld

    Individual therapy with me is direct, compassionate and includes humor

    Read Bio
  • A therapist who is direct, compassionate, and uses humor to create a structured and effective therapeutic environment

    Fidel Quintanilla

    Individual with me is direct, structured and includes humor

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  • A therapist who is not only passionate about helping others, but approachable and relatable. Individual therapy is about you

    Stephanie Gonzalez

    Individual therapy with me is passionate, approachable and relatable

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  • A therapist who is supportive, reflective and focused on solutions. Individual therapy is casual and approachable

    Nazzi Vazira-Bhullar

    Individual therapy with me is supportive, reflective and focused on solutions

    Read Bio
Learn more about all our therapists

Additional online resources and perspectives about individual therapy: