At Patricia Hakes LCSW the staff’s tries to listen carefully to the concerns patients have about their lives.
People speak to us about all manner of things that upset, frighten, confuse, thrill, sadden, or anger
them. As counselors, we do not seek to give specific advice or directions. Instead, in the process of
talking and listening with patients, we hope, together with the person, to find better understanding of
what factors contribute to their concerns. We have found that with the emergence of greater insight
into problems and concerns, patients see better what decisions they want to make in regulating their
own lives. Patients often appreciate the support they feel as they open themselves to talking about or thinking about painful situations with the counselor. We take the confidentiality of our talks with
people quite seriously. Patients come to us by their own free and private choice, and so if talking with us
is to be made more public in any way, that, too, we leave to the patients. We break confidentiality only
in situations that to us seem to be life-threatening, and usually, even in these situations, we do
everything we can to enlist the patient's agreement that we let others know of the troubles she or he is
facing.