Specializing in Anxiety Treatment, Depression and Couples Therapy
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders can be summarized as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, social anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress disorder. I treat these disorders utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which seeks to change thought patterns to reduce the likelihood and intensity of symptoms. When I am working with a child, I usually employ a combination of individual sessions and family sessions in my process. As i do in all my treatments, I like a collaborative approach with my patients. I like to explain the physiology of the processes that people go through so they are better informed. An important component of anxiety work is to create safety and trust so individuals feel capable of taking the risk to confront their anxiety rather than avoiding experiences that would create anxiety.
Depression
Depression is more than just feeling sad or down. It is a more common experience than people would think and people can't just snap out of it. Depression can have organic origins or be caused by difficult environmental experiences. I treat these mood disorders with a variation on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) known as Rational Emotive Therapy (RET). There are periods of the treatment when a person is low where therapy is more supportive until the crisis passes and then shifts to more psycho-educational components. When working with children, I collaborate with the parents and always have an eye on the issue of safety. Depression can be very frustrating for a person because it is cyclical in nature. You will feel you are doing better for a period of time and then for no apparent reason your mood dips once again. This is a natural aspect of the biochemical aspect of the disorder. I work to help individuals understand the nature of this disorder, so the course of treatment and movement towards management feels understandable.
Relationships
In the words of Jimmy Buffett, Relationships we all want them, we all have them. Now what are we going to do with them? Relationships that are struggling can increase our anxiety or worsen our depression and conversely those issues can negatively affect our relationships. This is true whether we are talking about friendships between children, family relationships or dating couples. I include in all my work examination of whether an issue is relational or individual and help individuals to understand how to identify the difference in themselves. It is one of my priorities to assist you in having more fulfilling and healthy relationships through your work with me.
Couples Therapy
I believe one of the greatest mistakes couples make is taking too long to address issues in their relationships. Rarely have I seen a couple come in to work on their relationship at the outset of the relationship. Yet we can all understand that two people navigating which habits represent an individual issue and which ones are challenges in the relationship itself is a complex task. I encourage couples to actively examine and discuss misunderstandings in their communication and behaviors before they become a source of friction and distrust or worse yet hardened indictments of a persons' character. There are many tools to assist with healthy improved communication which can be applied in the safe setting of a therapy session. The tools are often easy to understand and challenging to apply if feeling heated and vulnerable. In sessions, we are trying to slow down the pace of discussions to decrease the misunderstandings, to amplify the positive intentions of both people and to improve mutual support of each person's desires. In simpler terms, remember that we want to trust and be trusted by our partner and keep our excitement and satisfaction in the relationship going strong.
Traumatic Events
I wish that no one faced traumatic events that rattled their world, unfortunately many of us will face unexpected death of loved ones, divorce, bullying, medical challenges and many other life changing events. We don't feel like our normal selves, are uncertain how to cope and what steps we should take. If you find that you are experiencing numbness, disorientation, sleep disruption, emotional volatility, hopelessness, detachment, concentration difficulties, among other surprising changes to your usual sense of well being, it is time to get some support and assistance. There are methods to help you get through this difficult time and get your life back on course. Recovery is an ongoing gradual process, so be gentle with yourself. I will work to help establish safety and stability both in your session with me and in your life. We will use grounding techniques along with multi-sensory methods to allow you to regain calm in moments of distress. I also will help you to identify critical support systems and to coordinate with these supports to help you provide a net under you as you work on these changes.
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Adolescent Therapy
Adolescents bring a certain specific complexity to therapy. I have been working with adolescents since the start of my career administering psychological and academic testing in the 1980's. Beyond issues with anxiety or mood, adolescents face tremendous pressure relating to academics, athletics and social dynamics. There are the issues of substance abuse, bullying and family crises. I work with adolescents in a direct, concrete transparent way to address both their growing skepticism and distrust of authority figures. I like to develop strong relationships with the family to develop a clear comprehensive plan that will address both the concerns of the adolescent and desires of the parents. This is especially important in families that are going through a divorce, which creates additional strains on trust. I utilize a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and attachment theory.