Counseling in Fair Oaks Ranch and the Texas Hill CountryRalph Porter, LPC, LCDC, NCC

Expert counseling in the Texas Hill Country

I am a licensed professional counselor in Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas, seeing individuals and couples from across the Texas Hill Country — Boerne, San Antonio, Bulverde, and the surrounding towns. Sessions are available in my office, or by secure video anywhere in Texas.

Most people who call are somewhere they did not plan to be. Something is not working and the usual ways of handling it have stopped helping. The work starts there, with what is actually happening, rather than with a plan to become someone else.

What people come in for

There is no wrong reason to call, and you do not need a diagnosis or the right words for it. The concerns that come up most often are these:

• Anxiety, worry, and the sense of being permanently braced for something
• Depression, low mood, and loss of interest in things that used to matter
• Addiction and recovery, including the years after stopping
• Relationship and couples work, communication, and repair after a breach of trust
• Grief and loss, including losses that others expect you to be over
• Anger, and what sits underneath it
• Life transitions, work stress, and the question of what you actually want

What to expect from the first session

How I work

I practise Gestalt therapy. In plain terms, that means we pay attention to what is happening as it happens — in your life and in the room — rather than spending the hour analysing your history from a distance. Awareness comes first, and change tends to follow it rather than the other way round.

It is a conversation, not a questionnaire. You will not be handed a worksheet or told what your problem is in the first ten minutes.

More about Gestalt therapy and the ideas behind it

Sessions, fees, and payment

Sessions run about an hour, in my Fair Oaks Ranch office or by secure video for anyone located in Texas. An intake session is $165, individual sessions are $145, and couples sessions are $185.

I am no longer taking on new clients who want to use insurance, so if you are starting now, sessions are self-pay. There are real reasons for that, to do with what insurers require before they will pay, and I have set them out on the fees page rather than leave you guessing.

Fees, insurance, and payment in detail

Before you call

The first phone call is free and there is no obligation attached to it. It is a chance to describe what is going on, ask whatever you want to ask, and get a sense of whether I am the right person for it. If I am not, I will say so and point you somewhere better.

What other people have said about coming in