Counseling for seniors, at an unhurried pace

Changes that can come with later life

Some of the biggest adjustments in life can arrive later on. Work that gave the week its shape comes to an end. Health, your own or a partner's, starts to need more attention. Friends move away or pass on. Adult children build lives of their own, sometimes far away, and the balance of who looks after whom begins to shift. Each change might be manageable on its own. Together they can be a lot to absorb.

• Retirement: Finding purpose and structure when the working week ends.
• Health changes: Adjusting to new limits, ongoing appointments, or a partner's illness.
• Loss: Grieving a spouse, friends or siblings, sometimes more than once in a short span.
• Caregiving: Looking after someone you love while your own needs wait their turn.

An hour that is just for you

If you are used to being the steady one, the person everyone else leans on, it can feel unfamiliar to have an hour where the focus is entirely on you. That is what therapy offers: space to say what you have been carrying without worrying about burdening your family, and room to think about what you want the coming years to hold.

Sessions move at a pace that suits you. Some weeks are about practical decisions, others about memories, regrets or the people you miss. The grief and loss page describes how loss is held in the work, and life transitions covers bigger changes such as retirement or moving to a new home.

Mood, memory and your health

Low mood in later life is sometimes brushed off as a normal part of getting older. It deserves to be taken seriously, and depression therapy describes how that work goes. Worry about memory is another concern worth raising. Changes in memory are a medical question first, so a physician is the right place to start, and therapy can support you with the feelings and decisions that follow.

Diagnosis and medication sit with medical providers, and I am glad to work alongside your physician when that would help.

In person or by video

Sessions are available at the downtown Tampa office at 400 N. Ashley Drive, Suite 1900, and by secure video anywhere in Florida. If video is new to you, there is no special software to learn. I send a private link, you click it at the appointment time, and if you have never done a video session before, I will walk you through the first few minutes. A phone, tablet or computer with a camera is enough. The telehealth page has more detail.

Couples in later life are welcome too, whether you are adjusting to retirement together, facing a health change, or finding new routines in a long partnership. Couples therapy explains how those sessions work. Fees and insurance are covered on the rates page. Benefits are verified for each person before a first session, so tell us your plan when you get in touch.

Common questions