Tom Coffin LCSW, LADC, CCS
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselor with a masters degree from the University of New England.
After years of watching people face challenges, I noticed that for some the result was crisis, suffering and set-backs. Others, however, responded differently and found opportunities to make choices that resulted in growth and satisfaction.
While doing my graduate work, I also began a personal quest that paralleled my development as a therapist and has since enabled me to simultaneously serve as a coach and guide. I’ve come to understand that my role as therapist and counselor encompasses not only all that I have learned, but all that I have become.
I have worked for the Cumberland county crisis response team, a psychiatric hospital, and a substance abuse/addiction recovery center, and I am comfortable working with a diverse range of clients using empathy, encouragement, imagination and humor to help people help themselves.
About my practice:
Motivational Enhancement Therapy is a client-centered method that stimulates the most genuine motivation for change because the goal and plan are identified and constructed, respectively, by building on the very real experiences of the client rather than the advice of the therapist.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ( CBT ) will allow us to explore and address your issues while simultaneously identifying any automatic thoughts associated with them. Often, these thoughts that once served as coping skills either no longer work or, worse yet, work against you. As Albert Einstein observed, insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result!
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a scientifically-based therapy that uses mind/body and mindfulness techniques and creative exercises to promote a fundamental shift in how you experience troublesome thoughts, feelings, and memories. Using these techniques, you can become empowered to change by ending your struggle with uncontrollable internal reactions, and by beginning to take action in the valued areas of life.
About therapy:
When you hear about someone “seeing a therapist” do you picture them lying on a couch for years talking about their childhood? Unfortunately, many people do. Another assumption about “being in therapy” is that the therapist will analyze you, figure out what’s “wrong” with you, and tell you how to “fix” your broken self. These old stereotypes generally aren’t the case these days, and certainly bear no resemblance to the way in which I engage clients in therapy.
I believe that the only people who belong in therapy are those who want to be there. I also believe that therapy is a partnership between the therapist and the client. If anything, it’s best when the client takes the lead. And while it can be very important to acknowledge and address the origins of troubling issues, my primary focus in the therapeutic process is to help clients identify their goals and the ways in which they can begin moving forward to achieve them. Together, we can emphasize what works, and challenge what doesn’t. You can find the motivation you need to take control of your life, and your future ...
What to expect:
Therapy can consist of many different things. We will first examine the challenges you have experienced. Next we will imagine a desired outcome. Then we will explore options, make choices, and look for changes that will let us know that we are on the right track.
Because I engage clients in “talk therapy,” you can expect to be talking more than listening. It’s all about you! We will work together and determine what works best… for you.
Life presents CHALLENGES
Together we seek CLARITY
You then make the CHOICE
And experience the CHANGE
