Steve Hammil Counseling

I believe in the sanctity and dignity of human life, that all people have meaning and purpose, and that no individual is without true value regardless of age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, socioeconomic status, choices made in life, or religion. This means you will be treated with dignity, respect and genuine concern for your well being.

I believe that my clients live a life of many different values, and all are wholeheartedly welcomed. Clients are accepted exactly as they are. Like you, I have values. However, it is not my place to be judgmental, dictate, or impose on you. I am a listener first. As your counselor I seek to establish a safe, collaborative relationship with you and it is within the safety of this container that effective therapy takes place. I am a guide, rather than a judge. It is always the client, not the therapist, who must make the decisions regarding their life. The grounded counselor shows the ways and provides the tools; the client must then make the choice and walk the path of their choice.

I believe in the power of compassion and kindness. I believe in holding you with unconditional positive regard and encourage you to hold yourself in similar fashion. I believe the greatest gift we can receive is the ability to forgive ourselves and accept ourselves as whole just as we are, even as we acknowledge our desire or need for change. We often simultaneously want to change and remain the same. There is much paradox in life and so it is in counseling as well.

I believe in individual autonomy, personal responsibility and the right to self-determination in the context of mutual interdependence. I believe that the development of the self is always as self-in-relationship. I believe that we are all dependent and the real question is whether or not our dependence is healthy or unhealthy. This means we cannot just think of ourselves. I believe in community, being of service, and helping our fellow human beings. I acknowledge the various and equally valid ways other cultures hold the value of the individual versus the group and community and strive to practice with multicultural sensitivity.

I believe in the value of relationship and the right to marry for all. When working with couples, same sex and different sex, I am guided by this value to work to save the relationship and enrich it. This is my initial orientation, not a rigid, inflexible commandment. In some cases the best thing is to end the relationship. That is your decision. I will then work to maintain the dignity of both partners and, if at all possible, to work in a collaborative way to maintain whatever level of healthy connection is possible, especially if co-parenting of children is involved. Though not specifically trained, I believe in the spirit of collaborative divorce.

My dearest wish for every child is that they have caregivers and family who are loving, caring, emotionally present and who treat  them as the most precious child in the universe. I believe in the importance of fathers being responsibly involved in the nurture and care of their children. I believe in the value of family in its broadest sense which goes beyond the narrow definition of a heterosexual husband and wife. I believe children are best served by loving, committed caregivers living in a healthy relationship, and I also believe that a child can be raised successfully by a single caregiver as well, either man or woman.   

I believe in a positive psychology and the "virtues" of wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence. I believe that the practice and cultivation of these "virtues" promotes lasting and authentic happiness.

See http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx

I believe in resolving the underlying problems that lead to depression, anxiety, and other emotional and physiological issues. While medication may be a necessary part of an individual’s process to wellness, where possible, I hope to free you from the problems that medication has been prescribed to address. This results in requiring less or no medication as well as not becoming dependent on counseling. At the same time I acknowledge that medication can be an important component of mental health. In certain cases, such as Bipolar-I and Schizophrenia it is considered irresponsible to not recommend medication to control the symptoms. In other cases medication is needed to stabilize a client so that therapy can begin. At all times, I work with, not against, the professional medical care given to my clients. If medication is indicated in your case I will refer you to a qualified psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse for evaluation.