Client Testimony

Client #1

“Adam's work with our family was life-changing! Our son was struggling with anxiety that prevented him from feeling safe and comfortable at school, and kept him from living life to its fullest. He dreaded going to school most mornings and constantly avoided friends' birthday parties, swim lessons, and after-school activities, despite his inner desire to attend. He lost sleep and the stress often led to tears and anger. We, as his parents, were sad to see how anxiety affected him, were often frustrated by resulting behaviors, and were confused about how to best respond and help him. Adam came into our home and, through thoughtful questioning and active listening, learned about our son and our family dynamic so he could tailor counseling sessions to meet our needs. He worked with our son to create personalized goals and taught each of us useful strategies to use in order to identify, work through, and ease anxiety. Our son looked forward to each and every meeting with Adam from the onset. Adam's enthusiasm and empathetic nature made our son feel comfortable. Our son loved that he could trust Adam and chat about concerns, goals, and progress through play. This allowed our son to open up and be an active participant in counseling. Our son even began to recognize his own growth as we reflected together during sessions. Over months we saw his confidence build and he began to take more risks resulting in the ultimate reward - he developed into a happy, more care-free six-year-old who arrives at school with a smile on his face and gladly engages in age-appropriate activities with friends and family that once made him worry excessively. He now recognizes the benefits of addressing his own anxiety head-on, rather than giving in to it or trying to hide it. As his parents, we learned valuable tools to help us be more aware and tolerant of how anxiety may present so we can best support our son, and one another. We are so grateful we had the opportunity to work with Adam. Anxiety may always be a part of our lives, but it is no longer in control. Our family is closer than ever and enjoying more of the beautiful moments in life together.”

Client #2

“Our family reached out to Adam in order to help our daughter recover from a recently occurred trauma. His open, kind, and caring manner has helped our daughter to feel safe and understood. Adam has supported our family in ways very much beyond our expectations or even hopes; from offering crisis intervention to helping us formulating and presenting a 504 Intervention Plan to the school. His approach to counseling our daughter has been gentle and almost playful, with them engaging in conversations while playing video games or discussing music. This has helped our shy child to open up about her problems. He usually meets with our daughter privately in our living room but will include us parents as need be.

We are very grateful for all the help and care we have received from and through Adam. After three months with our daughter, we can really see the changes for the better in her. And we will never be able to really express the gratefulness and joy of hearing our daughter laugh again!”

Client #3

“I appreciated the calm and cozy atmosphere, openness to discussing whatever is on my mind, and also the willingness to bring in my sister to a session which was great for both of us. Karen was very flexible with my schedule, I never felt bad about being late or having to cancel/switch which is HUGE for me as someone with ADHD. Overall, it really helped me through this time and the growth I see is way more than I expected looking back - helping me process what has happened, offering just the right amount of personal insight/conversational moments, asking great questions and letting me talk through things.”

Client #4

“Adam never interrupted me or made me feel stifled, which many other clinicians made me feel in the past. Adam never told me what to do, but he always helped me see potential outcomes for different paths. He was kind, considerate, and a huge supporter. He helped me make healthy choices in all aspects of my life, and he helped me build confidence. He's the Jiminy Cricket I never knew I needed. In my darkest times, he helped me stay afloat. He's professional but personal. He's serious yet has a great sense of humor. Adam saw me through my dark times and helped me get to and maintain a happy and emotionally stable life. I hope my exit from his practice allows someone else to experience the benefits of therapy with Tompkins Community Counseling.”

Client #5

“I had a wonderful experience with TCC, very helpful, flexible, and understanding. I always felt comfortable in the space and with my provider. Scheduling and being on time is especially hard as someone with ADD, and I never felt judged or penalized when I struggled with these things. In each session, sometimes I felt like I was just venting and it wasn't going anywhere on particular, but looking back on my time here as a whole (a little over a year), I know that the questions asked, insights and space given really helped me grow and process difficult things in my time of transition. Thank you!”

Client #6

“I felt very comfortable working with Deborah. She is a patient and supportive therapist!”

Client #7

“Adam Scholl is an experienced and caring therapist offering in-home family counseling. This is a wonderful service for busy families with small children. Families can work with Adam in the comfort of their own home without having to subject them to traveling to an unfamiliar office in inclement weather. Adam worked with my granddaughter and me to reconnect and regain a truly loving relationship. I am so thankful he was able to help us.”

Client #8

“I saw Adam for about 8 months, for both individual and couples counseling. My husband and I are both white, heterosexual, middle income individuals in our early sixties. We found Adam to be professional, caring and dedicated. I think the one unique thing I found most helpful was when we tried EMDR. I didn't have much faith in the process, but I was willing to give it a try. Surprisingly, I found it helpful. To any prospective clients who are wondering if they should see Adam, I would say give it a try. Adam is easy to talk to and he is not afraid to ask the difficult questions to get you to delve into what is going on. Even my husband, who is not a believer in counseling, got a lot out of the sessions. I would not hesitate to see Adam again if the need arose.”

Client #9

Client #10

“It was most helpful "being able to have someone to listen to you without fear!"

Client #11

Paul is “Very interactive and a great listener”

Client #12

“Adam was an excellent and impartial couple’s counselor who made both sides feel comfortable and understood. Although the marriage ended, he was very helpful in offering guidance and support through the process and was instrumental in the honesty and amicability of the breakup.”

Client #13

"The location was super convenient for me. I liked that Deborah had some working knowledge about academia and the challenges that come with that."

Client #14

“We highly recommend Adam. He has a way of engaging with people that help them trust him and feel confident that things can get better. He is forthright, caring and is able to help people work through their issues with grace and a sense of humor. Adam has extensive experience that allows him to help people think through the best treatment options. Adam provided individual counseling for our teenage son who was very depressed and struggling with suicidal thoughts. He also included us as parents and helped us create strategies to keep our son safe and work through the issues he was experiencing. It was incredibly helpful to us to have Adam join us in meetings with school staff as our son's issues were triggered by and centered around the school course load and stress it created. Adam's participation in these meetings helped the staff take our issues seriously and supported our efforts to have the school load reduced in a way that kept our son attending and participating. Adam helped our son develop tools to work through some of his negative thinking patterns. On at least one occasion, Adam was willing to come to our home, since we couldn't get our son out of bed to go to a scheduled appointment. It felt like we got our son back once he had started to work with Adam. If issues come up again, we plan to reconnect with Adam, since he developed a strong connection with our son and really helped him find a new direction.”

Client #15

“I sought Individual counseling through Adam. I am a Middle-aged, white, single-parent, woman. Adam was flexible, available, and open to feedback. I also appreciated his stance that he is there to help you with your problems so you can move forward in life vs. therapy that never seems to end (my experience with other therapists in the past). Adam did a great job molding to my needs/communication style, he let me lead where I wanted to go but also nudged me if I got off-course. He was patient to let me come to my own understanding in my own time but there was also a good balance of not letting me ‘coast’ in one spot for too long either. He encouraged me to try EMDR therapy which pushed me forward by being able to more objectively look at the facts. Adam also briefly saw my teenage son. I was impressed with the way he managed him as well. Again, he molded his style to meet the needs of my son. It is important to find the right fit when establishing a counseling partnership. I’m guessing Adam feels the same way. I am super grateful for all the support Adam gave me, I’d highly recommend you give him a try.”

Client #16

“Karen clearly cared so much about my wellbeing and was there for some of the hardest moments of my life. She was attentive, consistent, thoughtful, and creative. I cannot begin to express the amount of gratitude I have for her.”

Client #17

“I sought individual counseling to address issues of mood disorder and anxiety. I found that Adam always remembered my past and what we talked about. Adam really helped me get my thoughts in line and helped me realize my thinking errors. He was very communicative and easy to talk to. Unlike with other therapists, I felt very comfortable speaking to him. I enjoyed the activities we did and how we took some of my thoughts and went through them and saw my thinking errors. It was really helpful dissecting my own thoughts, instead just telling me to do it. Adam is very outgoing and wants to help you. He is there to help you and think your thoughts through. Would definitely recommend!”

Client #18

“Christine gave me a lot of scheduling flexibility, which I really appreciated.”

Client #19

“Paul was extremely helpful in a process of raising awareness about myself. I realized that my stress could create less coherent communication. That some of my ruminations were normal and understandable- and in that, I realized that these ruminations were becoming heavier as part of mental health stress. I realized deeper self-care was necessary through my sessions with Paul, which influenced my choice to take a leave from school, and was open and thoughtful when I was discussing couples counselors and suggesting alternative individual counselors. Paul was gracious, kind, and very dedicated. He introduced mt to certain methods of treatment (like ACT) and other ways of thinking about health and optimal health that others haven't always expressed so succinctly and clearly. In all of this, I learned more about myself and the nature of how my brain and physical health conditions can get worse, and what I need to do personally in life to make sure they are treated both deeply, but also daily with hardened self-care routines and self-discipline. To me, Paul was a important person on my journey of life, self-care, and love. I realized some deeper problems internally that I had trouble talking about with Paul, but did find an environment where I can more comfortably address these issues. And it was not Paul who led to my inability to mention certain things; it was myself. And thus realized a different space or nature of therapy was required for myself. I'm quite thankful that Paul is a member of the healing community here in Ithaca. I think back to a tough few months and my relationship with Paul with deep compassion for how committed, open, and caring he was as a therapist and person.”

From the billing, to the communication, to Liz, and to Paul. A really top notch operation!

Client #20

“Paul was an excellent counselor, and everything was pretty smooth as far as setting up appointments”.

Client #21

“The EMDR sessions seemed to help greatly. In a matter of only two months my perspective on who I am— namely how I relate to the military and my parents—changed significantly. The sessions helped me untangle traumas, relationship problems, memories, and social anxiety responses, allowing me to look at these issues from a new, healthier perspective. Beyond that, Karen was easy to talk to, down to earth, and caring in a way that encouraged me to be vulnerable and honest.”

Client #22 - Adam Scholl, LCSW-R

“While our issues are likely common, I felt like our treatment was tailored to suit us and not filled with generalizations or a sense of inauthenticity. We were able to look at the things we were having trouble with and guided along the way with compassion and skills to build upon. Our practice of these skills was evaluated and honed until we felt we could mange it all enough on our own. It is reassuring to know that the door is open to us if we need some help along the way or if we need to receive help with future needs.”

Client #23

“Karen helped me realize that my childhood memories do not have to dictate my life now. She taught me radical acceptance, and that I can live my life with these memories and be OK. Karen also knew that EMDR would benefit me, and it did. I cannot thank her enough for understanding, and knowing how to handle the intense events that I am dealing with. I know if I need to reach out to her again, that I can. And that is very comforting.”

Client #24

“When I joined Adam, it was for couples therapy. Not only did he quickly became my primary therapist, he was the first ever I stuck with until being successfully discharged. He's friendly, patient, and knowledgeable. I would certainly recommend.”

Client #25

“I really felt like Karen tailored each session to what I needed that day. Whether I saw her weekly or more sparingly toward the end, I always left feeling excited to implement what we discussed and come back for an update and further clarification. She was an expert at listening to my rambling, teasing out what I was actually feeling with guided questions, and helping me make realizations that has huge impacts on my life.”

Client #26

“Tompkins Community Counseling and Karen provided me with a safe place to explore my feelings and grow into the person I was meant to be.”

Client #27 Kristiana Bowman, LMFT

“Communication about what was working well or not at end of sessions. Lending of IFS book to me and incorporating that language into sessions. Being able to talk through relationships and realize I had needs. Also talking about 'bad habits' in a depathologizing way”.

Client#28

“Jill was willing to collaborate and respect my plans for moving forward with my goals.”

Client #29

“Gabriel was very good at guiding me with questions to find the places I needed to explore and expose. When a particular line of inquiry didn't work, he'd pause, step back, and try a different approach.”

Client #30

“Adam has a gift for working with anxiety. I felt that he was able to validate my emotions but still help me to use my cognition and tackle my fears in a productive and safe way. I greatly enjoyed my sessions, even when we were addressing difficult topics and always appreciated that Adam could find humor in a given situation. There were so many difficult things we addressed during our sessions, but Adam’s demeanor eased a lot of the apprehension and anxiety I had and I was able to learn to trust him because of his ever-present kindness. I am so grateful I worked with him.”

Client # 31

Justin Miller, LMSW

“Accessible, and easy to start off with as someone who’s never received any therapy before.”

Client #32

“I liked that Gabriel created an environment that felt safe to share every emotion in.”