POULSBO — Clinical social worker Peggy Aronson realizes that often the only barrier keeping people from seeking help lies in the word “psychotherapy.”

With her first private practice underway in downtown Poulsbo, Aronson said she first wants to dispel the myths and fears behind what her business is all about.

“Psychotherapy and counseling are just big words for talking,” Aronson said. “I just listen to people and make them feel comfortable sharing with me. One, a lot of times just that process of talking is cleansing. Two, that another person is listening, they’re telling you your viewpoint is valued because they are listening. And three I might be able to offer some different options to the person.”

After graduating from the University of Hawaii with a master’s degree in social work in 1996, Aronson had until this point worked in hospitals and community mental health facilities. She said she was drawn to social work because she’d always been the person with which her friends and family wanted to talk out their troubles.

“It’s a fun field,” Aronson said. “Nothing is the same thing twice, people come in with different problems and they all come up with different solutions. It’s amazing to see how resilient people are and they not just come out okay, they triumph.”

Locally, she worked for Kitsap Mental Health in an in-patient setting and in hospitals with people having extensive symptoms of depression or psychosis. She also worked with Easter Seals, during which she often got to visit clients in their homes to talk about coping with their illnesses.

“That was really nice setting to see them in because it was much less clinical,” Aronson remembered.

Aronson said she’d always wanted to go into practice on her own, and this year she decided to make that dream a reality. Taking snippets from her best experiences in social work, Aronson said she first and foremost tries to make all of her clients feel comfortable coming to her.

“(My) school’s focus was on getting to know people individually and not making assumptions — asking a lot of questions and very much accepting people and what they say, which is really the foundation of social work,” Aronson explained. “More than anything in social work we try not to put our own goals on our clients. I don’t give advice to my clients, it’s the person who comes in, what they feel, that’s important.”

Aronson offers both individual and couple sessions for clients ages 13 to adult and said she’s open to the possibility of family or group sessions. Her specialty is helping people move through emotional distress caused by a life-changing event or a loss.

“Things like divorce or the death of a loved one or changing jobs, all these things can be monumental,” Aronson said. “If they notice that they’re not adjusting well, not sleeping, irritable, they’re crying, those are all signs that there is more stress than is healthy. They come in and they talk, they let that stuff out and they find they may be sleeping better. They notice things are different when they have an outlet for their emotions.”

Aronson also works with clients in developing healthy problem-solving and social skills.

Sessions are typically one hour and Aronson said most clients visit her weekly, but there is no rule of thumb for how long and how frequently sessions must take place. Though her practice was set up in December, Aronson said she’s still working through the paperwork for some insurance providers. She offers some sliding scale rates for those without insurance or for whose insurance companies she does not apply.