VALUE: We believe in saving marriages, and in the restoration of relationships
We know when you come to see a therapist for a struggling or dying relationship, you might be on your last and final ounce of strength. It is not just "another day at the office" for us. Theravive believes in saving marriages and relationships, and although it does take a strong commitment from both people and a willingness to work to make changes, if there is a way, our heart is to help you discover it. We do know that not all relationships can be saved, and some are even destructive. So where a relationship cannot be healed, we work to restore individuals so that they can move forward and still have a bright future ahead. Counseling will give you tools that will help you navigate not only current relationships, but prepare for future ones as well.

VALUE: We believe in the rights and dignity of human beings, that all people have meaning and purpose, and that no individual is without value regardless of who you are or where you've been.
We believe that each individual has purpose, meaning, and objective value. People are not born as merely empty vessels upon which a society or government grants rights and value to. Instead, simply by virtue of being a human being, you have inherent value, purpose, and meaning. The worth and unique value of a human being is objective. With Theravive, this means your counselor will treat you with dignity, respect, and with genuine concern for your well-being.

VALUE: Our heart is that all children would be loved and raised by their mothers and fathers, even though in reality we know this often is not the case.
Theravive was founded by foster parents, who have seen the devastating effects of abused and neglected children. We wish that all men who father children would be loving and involved parents, and we have the same wish for women. Children are so often the innocent victims when a relationship is ripped apart. Theravive believes that counseling where children are involved should always be sensitive to the emotional needs of those children and strive for a healthy relationship with their parents, if possible. For more information, and an in-depth discussion on this value, please click here..

VALUE: We affirm individual responsibility and the need and power of forgiveness, acknowledging that right and wrong exist.
Counseling is not about simply erasing guilt. Guilt can be a healthy emotion, meaning we have a conscience, and as people, it is in our nature to sometimes do things we regret. We hurt others, we hurt ourselves...and in order to accept forgiveness, we must first acknowledge wrongdoing. Of course we know that sometimes guilt is unhealthy, as in a battered spouse who blames herself, or a child who thinks he is at fault for his parent's divorce. But what we mean here is that counseling is a difficult journey (not easy, but highly rewarding). It can require a serious gut check. We identify failures as well as successes, and make the necessary changes to a more fulfilled and purposeful future.

PRINCIPLE: Naturopathic Philosophy
We 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, we work to free the client from the problems that medication has been prescribed to address. This results in the client requiring less or no medication and not becoming dependent on counselling. To put simply, medications are a last resort, not a first resort (especially with children). Far too many times, pharmaceutical drugs are rapidly prescribed as a quick way to treat a client when they are not always necessary. We do not want to resort to drugs as an easy way out of dealing with a problem, yet at the same time we acknowledge that medications are an important component of mental health. At all times, we work with, not against, the professional medical care given to our clients. 

PRINCIPLE: Guide Not a Judge
While our counselors share common values, our clients need not. A client may live a life of different values, and is still wholeheartedly welcomed. Clients are accepted by us, exactly as they are. Even though we believe in a set of common values, it is not our place to be judgmental, dictate, or impose on a client. Our values steer therapy. They do not condemn, but instead they guide. No matter what the values of a client are, a good counselor will accept that client, and be a listener first. A counselor can never "fix" a problem or change someone, only the client can do that. A counselor that spends more time talking in sessions than his or her clients is probably missing out on important opportunities to understand and lead the client into a path of discovery. While there are certainly times that it may be appropriate to spend a lot of time advising a client, a good counselor is first a listener before being a speaker. A good counselor establishes a safe, collaborative relationship with the client and it is within the safety of this container that effective therapy takes place. A good counselor will guide, rather than judge. A good counselor will listen, rather than lecture. It is always the client, not the therapist, who must make the decisions regarding their life. The grounded counselor shows the way and provides the tools; the client must then make the choice and walk the path.

Theravive also believes in promoting diversity and is actively involved in helping to end stigma around mental illness.

Have feedback about our values? Please Let Us Know Here - We are very interested in what clients and counselors both think of our values and mission.

To learn more about our approach to counseling, read about the road of therapy-discovery-results-life

For those who want to learn more, here is and in-depth discussion of our values, including a real world example.

On Values and Ethics: The field of counseling and psychology is regulated by official bodies, including the regulation of ethics in practice. Values counseling is not a replacement of professional ethics and is something different entirely. Learn more about ethics and values here.