Individual Counseling

The Oikos Institute

What does Oikos mean?

oiåkov: Pronounced--oy'-kos

Oikos is an ancient Greek term that refers to the relationship one has with one's family, friends, and associates.

At its essence, to be in balance means to be a whole person in a relationship. That's because life is relationships - relationships between the many subtle fields and flows of energy that weave the fabric of our being; relationships with other people and with other living beings; relationships between ourselves and the rest of the universe. If you look deeply into any living being, a universe of intricate interrelationships will be revealed. Life is all about relationships.
Balance in relationships can mean many things: the balance of giving and receiving; of speaking and listening; of being alone and being together; the balance realized by resolving tensions or extending love and caring. As paradoxical as it seems at times, the more deeply balanced we are within ourselves, the more sensitive, objective, empathetically attuned we can be with others, and the more we can help others move toward, rather than away from balance in their own lives.At The Oikos Institute, we provide sensitive, affordable, and expert mental health care in Louisville, Kentucky. Our unique approach blends empathic, client-centered counseling with the latest advances of brain science and alternative health techniques. We treat individuals, couples, families, and children with a variety of problems including depression, addictions, anger management, AD/HD, and many others. All clients are seen in our private offices, where strict confidentiality is maintained. The majority of our referrals are word of mouth, but our clients may be referred by their insurance companies, or by other professionals. We are convenient to most of the Louisville Metropolitan Area.

What Makes Us Different
We have a tradition of serving groups of people who frequently cannot get quality health care elsewhere. But that is not the only thing that makes us unique. As a group we share a commitment to social justice, which in health care means that all people regardless of background or lifestyle or beliefs, are entitled to state-of-the-art medical and psychological services. Finally, we believe that the most important thing a therapist can offer you is their compassion and empathy for you, and their honesty and openness as a fellow human being.
 
The Oikos Institute Approach
Our reputation has grown because we offer something that most people want, but which few therapists are trained to provide: expert help, delivered from the heart. We view our clients as our peers. Each of us at The Oikos Institute has had our share of life problems, and we've all needed to ask someone else for help at times. So we know how much courage it takes to be a client-to own up to one's issues, to seek help from another person. We've used our own difficulties for self-growth, and we're not afraid to share our personal experiences with our clients when it is appropriate.
 
We develop a "program of treatment" for each individual that weaves together emotional, intellectual, scientific, humanistic, and at times spiritual perspectives. We are "solution focused": it's often more important for you to solve your problem than it is to talk about what led up to it.
 
We begin by making a person-to-person connection with each of our clients. We see the people we counsel as members of our extended family, not just "patients" and certainly not "customers." We know that for therapy to work, we must hold our clients in positive, unconditional regard... and that they must feel the compassion and sensitivity we try to give. So we immediately set out to learn the uniqueness of each person, not only the problems that bring them to us but also their strengths, skills, and inherent worthiness.
 
But though we are informed by our hearts, we also know there is a technical side to quality counseling as well. We diligently follow the discoveries of the exciting new field of brain science, including neuropsychology, research on "emotional intelligence", and pharmacology, and we keep current on the research in different methods of psychotherapy. We are students of "mind/body" techniques as well, and incorporate holistic methods into treatment: methods that combine high-tech and simple, intuitive wisdom.
 
Our primary priority is that you guide your own journey. It has been said that the expert therapist "follows their client, one step ahead." The core of our job is to help you define your deepest needs and wishes, and then to offer you methods that will help you reach your own goals. We have humility: we know that change is 90% about you, and only 10% about us.
 
In the process of doing all this, we're not like most therapists. We talk plenty in sessions, giving you honest, direct, feedback, and both technical and practical advice (yes, some counselors think it's just fine to give advice!). In some sense we walk as fellow humans with you on your journey, and your pains and joys become ours. That's why many of our clients stay in contact with us, and continue to refer their friends and families to us long after they've left our doors. 

Confidentiality
 Licensed psychologists, social workers, and counselors have, by law, a privileged position regarding confidentiality. We are prohibited even from telling anyone that you are in treatment, and our records cannot be subpoenaed without a special court order. So it goes without saying that we will not speak to anyone regarding you or your treatment without your consent. We are also sensitive about what information we provide to insurance companies; we only give the most basic information necessary, and we avoid stigmatizing diagnoses, such as any diagnosis referring to sexuality or substance/alcohol abuse, because they may prevent you from getting life or health insurance in the future.

Serving Minorities
The Oikos Institute's philosophy is rooted in a commitment to serve all people, especially those who are unable to get high quality care from "mainstream" psychology. In addition, all our staff is trained to understand the issues faced by African-Americans, blacks with Caribbean or Latin American background, Hispanics, and East Indians.  You will definitely find a therapist who is free of conscious prejudice and working on his or her own unconscious biases.

Your Treatment
If you come to The Oikos Institute through word of our reputation, you come expecting that we will be current on the best methods to solve your problems. We believe we can give you the best treatment by keeping ourselves abreast of "state of the art" developments in technique and styles of therapeutic approach. Every month our staff meets with experts from different specialized areas: e.g., AD/HD in children and adults; treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and other anxieties; the latest advances in treatment of depression; issues facing sexual minorities and ethnic minorities.

We have a background in a dozen or more specific treatment theories and methods. Some of these are methods that empha