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Counseling Services Offered

Michael offers individual, couples, and family counseling. Counseling issues may include premarital, marital, grief, anxiety, vocational, anger management, depression, sexual issues, and life skills.

By law, the practice of professional counseling is defined as the application of mental health, psychotherapeutic, and human development principles to facilitate human development and adjustment throughout the life span; prevent, assess, evaluate, and treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders and associated distresses that interfere with mental health; conduct assessments and evaluations to establish treatment goals and objectives; and plan, implement, and evaluate treatment plans using counseling treatment interventions that include:

"counseling" which means assisting one or more clients through the therapeutic relationship, using a combination of mental health and human development principles, methods, and techniques, including the use of psychotherapy, to achieve the mental, emotional, physical, social, moral, educational, spiritual, or career-related development and adjustment of the client throughout the client's life;
"assessment" which means selecting, administering, scoring, and interpreting instruments designed to assess an individual's aptitudes, attitudes, abilities, achievements, interests, personal characteristics, disabilities, and mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and the use of methods and techniques for understanding human behavior that may include the evaluation, assessment, and treatment by counseling methods, techniques, and procedures for mental and emotional disorders, alcoholism and substance abuse, and conduct disorders, but does not include the use of standardized projective techniques or permit the diagnosis of a physical condition or disorder;
"consulting" which means the application of scientific principles and procedures in counseling and human development to provide assistance in understanding and solving current or potential problems that the person seeking consultation may have with regard to a third party, including an individual, group, or an organization; and
"referral" which means evaluating and identifying needs of a counselee to determine the advisability of referral to other specialists, informing the counselee of such judgement, and communicating as requested or deemed appropriate to such referral sources.

Michael offers the following types of counseling:

(1) individual counseling which utilizes interpersonal, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, psychodynamic, and affective methods and strategies to achieve mental, emotional, physical, social, moral, educational, career, and spiritual development and adjustment through the life span;

(2) group counseling which utilizes interpersonal, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, psychodynamic, and affective methods and strategies to achieve mental, emotional, physical, social, moral, educational, spiritual, and career development and adjustment through the life span;

(3) marriage counseling which utilizes interpersonal, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, psychodynamic, affective and family systems methods and strategies to achieve resolution of problems associated with cohabitation and interdependence of adults living as couples;

(4) family counseling which utilizes interpersonal, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, psychodynamic, affective and family systems methods and strategies with families to achieve mental, emotional, physical, moral, social, educational, spiritual, and career development and adjustment through the life span;

(5) chemical dependency counseling which utilizes interpersonal, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, psychodynamic, affective methods and strategies, and 12-step methods to achieve abstinence from the addictive substances and behaviors by the client;

(6) rehabilitation counseling which utilizes interpersonal, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, psychodynamic, and affective methods and strategies to achieve adjustment to a disabling condition and to reintegrate the individual into the mainstream of society;

(7) education counseling which utilizes formal and informal counseling methods and assessments and appraisal instruments for the purpose of determining strength, weakness, mental condition, emotional stability, intellectual ability, interest, skill, aptitude, achievement, and other personal characteristics of individuals for the selection of and placement in educational settings, preschool through postdoctoral study;

(8) career development counseling which utilizes formal and informal counseling methods and appraisal instruments for the purpose of determining intellectual ability, interest, skill, aptitude, achievement, mental condition, emotional fitness, and other personal characteristics for occupational, vocational, and career selection and placement throughout the life span;

(9) sexual issues counseling which utilizes interpersonal, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, psychodynamic, and affective methods and strategies in the resolution of sexual disorders;

(10) referral counseling which utilizes the processes of evaluating and identifying needs of clients to determine the advisability of referral to other specialists, informing the client of such judgment and communicating as requested or deemed appropriate to such referral sources;

(11) psychotherapy which utilizes interpersonal, cognitive, cognitive-behavioral, behavioral, psychodynamic, and affective methods and strategies to assist clients in their efforts to recover from mental or emotional illness;

(12) play therapy which utilizes play and play media as the child's natural medium of self-expression, and verbal tracking of the child's play behaviors as a part of the therapist's role in helping children overcome their social, emotional, and mental problems;

(13) hypnotherapy which utilizes the principles of hypnosis and post-hypnotic suggestion in the treatment of mental and emotional disorders and addictions;

(14) expressive therapies which utilize therapeutic modalities in the treatment of interpersonal, emotional or mental health issues, chemical dependency, or human developmental issues, including, but not limited to, music therapy, art therapy, dance or movement therapy, hippotherapy, or the use of other techniques employing animals in providing therapy as described previously;

(15) biofeedback which utilizes electronic equipment to monitor and provide feedback regarding an individual's physiological responses. The counselor who uses biofeedback must be able to prove academic preparation and supervision in the use of the equipment as a part of the counselor's academic program or the substantial equivalent provided through approved continuing education;

(16) assessing and appraising, in compliance with 681.43 of this title (relating to Testing), which utilizes formal and informal instruments and procedures, for which the counselor has received appropriate training and supervision, in individual and group settings for the purposes of determining the client's strengths and weaknesses, mental condition, emotional stability, intellectual ability, interests, aptitudes, achievement level and other personal characteristics for a better understanding of human behavior, and for diagnosing mental problems; but does not permit the diagnosis of a physical condition or disorder; and

(17) consulting which utlizes the application of specific principles and procedures in counseling to provide assistance in understanding and solving current or potential problems that the consultee may have in relation to a third party, whether individuals, groups, or organizations.

Michael Bradford, LPC, MA, MA
(817)726-8165
michael@michaelbradfordlpc.com

Michael Bradford, LPC, MA, MA

Licensed Professional Counselor