For Individuals & Couples

Are you frustrated with challenges and questions in your personal life, your work, or your relationships? Do you ever think, I want to make this better, I don't know how to deal with that, I'd like to feel better than I do?

If so, you're not alone! Many people and couples are asking the same questions. Over the years, I've helped hundreds of individuals and couples refocus on what's important to them and on how to create a fulfilling, interesting life.

Individual therapy might be for you if...

  • You want meaningful change in your life

  • You don't know how to handle conflict in your relationship

  • You're open to experiential work

  • You want more energy, more focus, or more fulfillment in your work

  • You have a sense that things could be "better" but you don't know how to change

  • You feel consumed by anxious thoughts

  • You aren't eating or sleeping well

  • You've experienced trauma


Couples therapy might be for you if…

  • Your fights are escalating

  • Your fights never get resolved

  • You avoid talking to your partner about things because it never ends well

  • You can't trust your partner

  • There was a betrayal that never healed

  • There is no intimacy anymore

  • You feel like roommates

  • You want to build your relationship on a solid base


Hypnosis therapy might be for you if...

  • You suffer from chronic or acute pain

  • You want to prepare for a surgery, childbirth, dentist, or medical procedure

  • You have insomnia

  • You have GI symptoms, or other physical symptoms that can get improved with the use of hypnosis

  • You have habits that you want to overcome: negative eating habits, screen time, or tobacco smoking

  • You want to learn and use self-hypnosis to improve performance, improve self-confidence, or deal with challenging situations

  • You want a tool that makes treatment briefer and gentler for depression and anxiety

Therapy Services



Couples Therapy

No matter what your relationship looks like, there are issues that arise for all couples—regardless of sexual orientation or marriage status. We all struggle with communication, expectations, disappointments, and crises, and I can provide the first step in understanding yourselves as a couple and getting more from your relationship. I help partners enhance communication, rebuild trust, manage external stressors, and navigate life's transitions.

We all know romantic relationships are hard work. Like cars, they require regular maintenance to keep them running well! If there is a problem, it’s best to have it repaired right away to avoid further complications down the road.

Often we can do some of the basic maintenance and repairs ourselves. Other times, couples’ therapy and the help of a licensed professional may be best for the relationship. This type of relationship counseling is focused on improving relationship satisfaction and conflict resolution. The ultimate goal for a counselor is to help build a healthy relationship and solve any issues that may be present.

I use several different approaches in my work with couples. I am one of a very few therapists who successfully use hypnosis as part of my couples work. You may not have considered it as an option before, but I've seen spectacular results and urge you to consider it as a part of our work together.

In addition, I practice Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy, or PACT.

It's important for you to know that I'm a therapist—not a referee! It's so easy to blame the other person; we all do it to some extent, but one of my goals is to help you each take responsibility for your role within the relationship.

Couples’ therapy tends to involve the following elements:

  • focus on a specific problem

  • active participation on the part of both individuals in treating the relationship

  • solution-focused, change-oriented interventions early on in treatment

  • clear establishment of a treatment strategy

Research conducted by the American Association of Marriage and Family concluded that over 97% of surveyed couples got the help they needed from couples’ therapy. In addition, 93% of couples said therapy gave them more effective tools for dealing with conflict!


Hypnosis

Hypnosis helps in therapy by inducing a deeply relaxed, focused state of attention, allowing you to become more receptive to suggestions that facilitate behavioral change, pain management, and emotional healing. It taps into your subconscious and is a tool you can use in everyday life.

Hypnosis uses mental imagery and soothing verbal repetition to move you into a trance-like state that helps you focus, concentrate, experience diminished peripheral awareness, and heighten suggestibility. This state is similar to being completely absorbed in a book, movie, music, or even your own thoughts or meditations! In it, you are unusually responsive to an idea or image, but you're never under anyone’s “control.” Instead, I help clients in this state relax and turn their attention inward to discover and utilize resources within themselves that can help them achieve desired behavioral changes or better manage pain. Eventually, you'll learn how to address your states of awareness on your own and gain greater control of your physical and psychological responses.

The American Psychological Association and American Medical Association have recognized hypnotherapy as a valid procedure since 1958, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recommended it as a treatment for chronic pain since 1995.


Workshops & Groups

This service comprises a group of roughly five to 15 clients which typically meets for an hour or two on a weekly basis. Many target a specific issue (depression, addiction, anxiety, anger management, etc.) while others address more generalized topics like improving social skills, self-esteem, or loneliness.

I've found that groups can provide a support network and a sounding board for clients. Other members of the group often help you come up with specific ideas for improving a difficult situation or life challenge, and hold you accountable along the way.

Many of my clients report that groups help them feel seen and understood by "regular" people. I find it a rewarding opportunity to teach clients strategies for managing problems and issues.

In particular, I offer groups for couples therapy (sometimes in conjunction with my colleague Rick Miller, LICSW) that are immensely helpful in demonstrating that many of the issues couples encounter are shared by others.

Individual Therapy

Individual therapy can help you overcome obstacles to well-being, manage symptoms of anxiety or depression, develop healthy coping mechanisms, and improve quality of life. This is a joint process between the therapist and the client: I want you to learn skills that will stay with you going forward. I can help you make lifestyle changes, identify and replace behaviors that may have served you well in the past but don't any longer, and manage difficult situations.

Many people think of turning to therapy only when they're deeply distressed, and that's simply not true. While this may describe you, you may also be looking for personal growth and need someone to help you find the right direction. Either way, therapy is an amazing tool for building a future that you want to step into.

Individual therapy can offer you increased self-awareness, better stress management, improved relationships, enhanced coping skills, and a sense of agency and self-empowerment

Rising above obstacles isn't always simple, and it may take some time, but it's my experience that people are resilient and capable of addressing their challenges given the right support. Human connection is essential to your physical and mental health, and therapy represents a safe space where you can explore issues, concerns, ideas, and even dreams with someone who cares.

  • I am genuinely delighted when I know I will have an opportunity to teach or consult with Lilian. She is a warm, authentic person. She is also a highly experienced, skilled teacher, therapist and consultant. I enthusiastically endorse Lilian!

    —Shawn Criswell, PhD, LPC

  • Lilian’s super power of warmth combined with grit can help a couple break free from old stories and create a new one. She brings this same dynamic energy to her teaching and podcasting. She is an accessible expert and collaborator whose knowing smile lights the path forward.

    —Allison Howe

  • I truly consider Lillian to be one of the best couples therapists in Arizona. She brings an incredibly warm, genuine presence that makes even the most devastating challenges feel resolvable. Her skill, expertise, and personability make her a phenomenal therapist, and working with her is an absolute privilege. This valley is lucky to have such an authentic, effective therapist in its midst.

    —Kathy Gusenkov MS, LMFT 

  • Lilian Borges is a highly skilled therapist who brings a myriad of skills to her private practice. Lilian has always made me feel comfortable even when working on delicate issues. Lilian’s creativity as a clinician has helped me achieve my therapeutic goals. The work I have done with Lilian has been life changing. Her talents using Ericksonian hypnosis are in a class of their own. I recommend Lilian to anyone seeking therapy in a creative and safe environment.

    -Suzan Patalano

  • I’ve been fortunate to have Lilian help me navigate several big life transitions, always with her compassion, creativity, authenticity, and very diverse set of therapeutic skills. What I value most in my work with her is how she has guided me to tap into my inner wisdom and to work with my higher self in very practical ways. This adds a dimension to therapy that goes beyond just problem-solving and situational solutions, although she is great at those things, too! This practice, and the relationship with myself that I’ve developed with her help, is enduring and essential to the trust I feel to move forward in life.

    -Elise B

HOW THIS WORK IS DIFFERENT

This is not just talk-therapy

Talk therapy uses verbal communication to analyze thoughts and past experiences, while experiential therapy uses activity to access and process emotions in the present moment. Experiential therapy will give you faster, deeper breakthroughs for trauma, anxiety, or "blocked" feelings by engaging the body and emotions directly rather than just analyzing them.

  • Experiential, hands-on sessions

  • Structured assessments & tools

  • Compatibility & feedback reports

  • Clear direction before & after sessions

  • depression

  • problems communicating with your partner or others

  • anxiety

  • trauma

  • sadness or helplessness

  • use of unhealthy coping mechanisms

  • chronic health conditions

  • overwhelming changes in your life

  • bereavement

  • loss of control

  • family issues

  • uncertainty about life goals

  • lack of confidence

Are you experiencing…

Then you are in the right place.

Late Cancellation / No-Show Policy

Appointments canceled with less than 24 hours’ notice may be charged the full fee. We understand that life happens, and will do our best to be flexible when possible.

Insurance

We are a private-pay practice and do not bill insurance directly. However, we are happy to provide a detailed invoice for out-of-network reimbursement.

Frequently Asked Questions

REACH OUT

Ready to begin?

Have questions or feel ready to get started? Reach out using the links below or book your first consultation call. I’ll guide you through the next steps with care and clarity.