Therapy Group of Charleston
Sometimes what you need most is time that belongs only to you. Work is demanding, the people you love depend on you, and somewhere in the middle of it you’ve stopped feeling like yourself. Individual therapy is a place to set all of that down and look at it with someone trained to help.
Adults come to individual therapy for many reasons. Some are in a hard season: a breakup, a loss, a new job that isn’t working out, a move that left them lonely. Others have carried the same worry, low mood, or self-doubt for years and are ready to understand where it comes from. Plenty arrive without a name for what’s wrong, only a sense that life could feel steadier than it does.
Therapy Group of Charleston offers individual therapy for adults at our Mount Pleasant office and by secure video anywhere in South Carolina. Clients come to us from Mount Pleasant, downtown Charleston, Daniel Island, West Ashley, North Charleston, and Summerville. Our Mount Pleasant therapists are marriage and family therapists, so even one-on-one, they pay attention to the relationships and history that shape how you feel now.
However long you’ve been thinking about it, there’s no wrong time to begin. Many people find therapy most useful while they still have the energy to put into it.
A first session often begins with “I’m not sure this is a big enough problem for therapy.” If it’s taking up space in your mind most days, it’s big enough to talk about.
What Is Individual Therapy?
Individual therapy, also called individual counseling or psychotherapy, is one-on-one talk therapy between you and a licensed therapist. Sessions are confidential and built around your goals, whether that’s easing anxiety, working through a loss, changing a pattern in your relationships, or getting through a major life transition with your footing intact.
Most individual therapy works on four things:
- Understanding what’s happening. Putting words to what you feel and noticing the thoughts, habits, and past experiences that keep it going.
- Building practical skills. Ways to manage stress, calm a racing mind, and handle hard conversations as they come up.
- Changing old patterns. The people-pleasing, the harsh inner critic, the way you shut down or blow up when you feel cornered.
- Moving toward a fuller life. Clarifying what matters to you and taking steps toward it, at a pace that feels doable.
Many kinds of therapy help, and the connection with your therapist is one of the most consistent ingredients in how well it goes. That’s why we put so much care into matching you with the right person.
Jan
Savannah
What Adults Bring to Individual Therapy
Individual therapy can help with a single concern or with several that overlap. Here are the concerns adults bring to us most.
Anxiety and stress
Constant worry, a body that won’t settle, or stress you’ve been treating as normal for so long you’ve stopped noticing it.
Anxiety therapy →Depression and low mood
Feeling flat, tired, or hopeless, or getting through the days without really living them.
Depression therapy →Life transitions
A new job, a move, a divorce, retirement, becoming a parent, or an empty house. Even welcome changes can knock you off balance.
Navigating life transitions →Grief and loss
The death of someone you love, or a loss other people may not recognize: a relationship, a career, a version of your future.
Grief and loss counseling →Trauma and painful experiences
Something from the past that still shows up as nightmares, tension, or trouble trusting people.
Trauma and PTSD therapy →Self-esteem and relationship patterns
A harsh inner critic, difficulty setting boundaries, or the same relationship problems showing up with different people.
Not sure which of these fits?
Most people's concerns overlap. Describe what you're noticing, and we'll suggest where to begin.
Individual Therapy With a Family Therapist’s Perspective
Both of our Mount Pleasant therapists are trained in marriage and family therapy. In individual sessions, that training shows up as curiosity about the people and experiences around you, because so much of what we feel takes shape in our relationships.
The People in Your Life
How you get along with a partner, a parent, a boss, or friends often holds clues to what’s hard right now, and to what might help.
Where Patterns Started
Roles you learned growing up, like the peacekeeper or the one who never asks for help, can follow you into adulthood until you notice them.
Room to Bring Someone In
Your sessions stay yours. If it would help, a partner or family member can join for a session, and couples or family therapy is available when the work calls for it.
Family therapy →
Is Individual Therapy Right for You?
Individual therapy may help if:
What to know
- In a review of more than 1,000 studies, therapy produced large benefits for depression and for anxiety disorders.
- Across 31 randomized trials, psychological treatment reduced loneliness in people of all ages.
- In long-term studies, low self-esteem predicted later depression and anxiety, so it’s worth addressing on its own.
If you’re having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 any time of day. The Suicide & Crisis Lifeline connects South Carolina callers with trained crisis counselors, and 911 is there for emergencies.
How Our Therapists Work
Your therapist will shape a plan around your goals, drawing on a few well-established approaches and adjusting as you go.
A Person-Centered Foundation
You set the agenda. Sessions start from your experience and your goals, with a therapist who listens closely and takes you seriously.
Cognitive Behavioral Tools
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) offers practical ways to catch unhelpful thoughts, test them against the facts, and try new responses between sessions.
Family Systems Thinking
Your therapist looks at how relationships and family history shape your feelings and choices, so the changes you make fit the life you actually live.
Meet Our Therapists →
What to Expect in Individual Therapy
Your First Session
You’ll talk about what brings you in, what you’ve already tried, and what you’d like to be different. It’s also a chance to see whether this therapist feels like a good fit.
Setting Direction
Together you name a few goals in plain language and agree on how often to meet. Most people start weekly.
Doing the Work
Sessions mix understanding with practice. You try new skills and responses in daily life and bring back what happened.
Wrapping Up
As your goals come within reach, sessions space out. You leave knowing what helped and what to do if an old pattern returns.
Individual Therapy in Charleston, SC
In person in Mount Pleasant
Our office is at 913 Bowman Road in Mount Pleasant, with parking at the building. It’s a short drive from downtown Charleston over the Ravenel Bridge and from Daniel Island, Isle of Palms, and Sullivan’s Island.
Online anywhere in South Carolina
For clients in North Charleston, Summerville, Goose Creek, or farther away, secure online therapy saves the drive. Many people mix the two, meeting in person when they can and by video when the week gets busy.
Insurance coverage and payment
We’re an out-of-network practice. You pay at each session, and we file the claim with your insurance company so you can be reimbursed through your out-of-network benefits. We also accept HSA and FSA cards. Our payment page walks through what to ask your insurer.
Before your first session, it can help to jot down two or three things you’d like to be different six months from now. They don’t need to be polished, and they often change once the work begins.
Your Mount Pleasant Individual Therapists
Both therapists see adults in person in Mount Pleasant and by secure video anywhere in South Carolina. Choose either one, or tell us a little about yourself and we’ll suggest the better fit.
Prefer to compare profiles first? Browse our therapist directory.