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CJ Webster LMFT

  • Are you ready to take the next step but perhaps don't quite know where to start?

  • Are you overwhelmed and looking for a safe space to find your footing?

  • Does it feel like you've been going around in circles?

  • Have you found therapy unhelpful in the past and so are ready for a different approach?

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A little about my approach to therapy...

Adaptive systems: I believe that you are a complex, ever-changing, organization of intellectual, biological, and emotional processes which have both conscious and unconscious dimensions.

Engaged and Compassionate: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines compassion as the "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it."

Systemic wholeness: Sometimes people come to therapy due to the symptom of the problem, not the problem itself. If someone breaks their arm you wouldn’t expect a competent doctor to address only the pain and ignore the broken bone.

Creativity: Often, attempted solutions are unsuccessful because they are on the same level as the concern that created them. What is often needed is a creative, and sometimes indirect, shift.

Individualized: Set/formulaic approaches are really great for research and gaining information, but hold the danger of minimizing the complexity of a person's concerns and abilities.

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Picture of CJ Webster LMFT

“Every person’s map of the world is as unique as their thumbprint. There are no two people alike… So in dealing with people, you try not to fit them to your concept of what they should be.”- Milton Erickson

Professional organizations and affiliations...

  • Wisconsin Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

  • Adjunct Instructor Edgewood College MFT Masters Program (Foundations of Systemic Practice, Clinical Treatment: Couples)

  • Clinical Fellow of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) 

  • Approved AAMFT supervisor

  • Member and certification with American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH)

  • Approved Consultant (Required to supervise professionals seeking certification) in Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH)

  • Clinical member and certification with the Society of Clinical Experimental Hypnosis (SCEH/CCH)

  • Board member of Marriage and Family Therapy for Department of Safety and Professional Services (Governor appointed, Senate confirmed)

  • Member of Wisconsin Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (WAMFT)

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“Great,” Conor said. “Another story when there are more important things going on.”

"Stories are important... They can be more important than anything. If they carry the truth.”

- Patrick Ness; Siobhan Dowd. A Monster Calls

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Common Questions...

When are you available?

My availability for client sessions is Monday to Friday: 11:30am to 7:30pm. Outside hours sessions and supervision are occasionally available for a fee. Sessions for current clients can be booked online (stonetree.clientsecure.me) up to 2 months ahead.

How often do you recommend meeting?

If schedules allow, I ideally recommend having three weekly sessions to get started. At the third session we often discuss the timing of sessions based on your individual goals and needs. I like sessions to be far enough apart that what we talk about in session has time to be put into action but not so far apart that we’re just repeating previous sessions because there is no forward momentum.

How many sessions will I need?

The answer to that is different for different people as the most effective route in therapy is not always a straight line. Some people are best matched for a single session, others are on a long term growth journey and yet others are best matched with short bursts of multiple sessions with extended gaps. 

You have to say that cause I’m paying you, right?  

There’s a strong place for affirmation in therapy, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t challenge you when necessary.

What will the first few sessions look like?

Typically, at the first session we’ll discuss all the administrative factors we need to cover and I’ll be looking for a big picture understanding of your concerns and goals. The second session is a chance for me to dig into specific areas in more detail. It’s not unusual for change to occur from day one but this outline can help people understand why I’m asking the questions that I am.

Can you make….?

A thorough knowledge of psychology enables an individual to shape and influence others but in many cases taking this influence to the level of “making” an individual do or think something is often short lived success and often ultimately unhealthy.

You mention creativity in therapy but I'm not sure what that looks like for me?

I also don't know what it looks like for you...yet. However, looking at the research on therapy outcomes over the last few decades, I believe that the effectiveness of psychotherapy on the whole stagnated when two key things occurred. Firstly, the profession ceased to individualize treatment and aimed to fit within a training manual, and secondly we tried to create solutions on the same level as the problem (which most people are already able to do on their own). If you've found therapy unhelpful in the past you may benefit from a different approach, not more of the same from a different person.

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"As none by traveling over known lands can find out the unknown.

So from already acquired knowledge [people] could not acquire more.” - William Blake

 

I was referred to you but you're not accepting clients. What gives?

I went into private practice with the clear decision to prioritize care and ethics over profits or quantity. While there are certain business realities that can't be avoided, I constantly balance the amount of need and requests with providing quality service. Even though the amount of sessions I hold in a week is above average, providing more options for sessions when you are a client means I have to see less people overall.

Can you add me to your waitlist?

The standard practice regarding waitlists is great for businesses, good for therapists (mostly) but not the best method for clients. Waitlists often mean signing up for a first appointment months in advance, being limited to infrequent sessions (if you do get in quickly), or in the worst cases being ghosted after a few sessions because the therapist is overcommitted. At Stonetree, if we have space we make it available and that way we can provide access more quickly (normally within the week), reliably, and frequently.

In my personal time…

Outside of the office I look forward to getting out of town and going camping with my wife and two dogs. I enjoy reading and, when time permits, I play a little piano or guitar. If I had to change jobs I’d probably look into audio engineering.

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"They say he wandered very far, very far, over land and sea."- Eden Ahbez

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