Services
Anxiety
In an anxiety-related disorder, your fear or worry does not go away and can get worse over time. It can influence your life to the extent that it can interfere with daily activities like school, work and/or relationships. Fear, stress, and anxiety are "normal feelings and experiences" but they are completely different than suffering from any of the seven diagnosable disorders plus substance-induced anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and trauma- or stressor-related disorders.
The different types of anxiety disorders can have different symptoms. But they all have a combination of:
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Anxious thoughts or beliefs are hard to control. They make you feel restless and tense and interfere with your daily life. They do not go away and can get worse over time.
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Physical symptoms, such as a pounding or rapid heartbeat, unexplained aches and pains, dizziness, and shortness of breath
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Changes in behavior, such as avoiding everyday activities you used to do.
* *The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 19% of the U.S. population experienced an anxiety disorder last year. That's pratically 1 in 5 people!
A helpful approach to distinguishing normal anxiety from an anxiety disorder is to identify the cause of the anxiety, and then assess whether the anxiety symptoms are a proportional response to it. Worries, fears, and intrusive thoughts that are extreme, unrealistic, or exaggerated and interfere with normal life and functioning could constitute an anxiety disorder.
If you feel that your anxiety has become unmanageable, come talk to us, and let us show you ways to get back to being you!
Anger Resolution
Anger resolution counseling is for anyone who believes their anger is having a negative impact on their life, relationship, job or others in the community. Has your spouse mentioned that your anger is out of control? Have you noticed intense road rage? Is your job on the line with because of your anger problem? Or have you simply noticed that you are not yourself? Although anger is a natural emotional response, it can ruin your professional and personal life. Anger can lead to some negative consequences such as divorce, jail or getting fired.
Anger can take on different forms of aggressive behavior such as physical abuse, verbal abuse, as well as passive aggressiveness. The goal of therapy is to find the source of your anger and constructive ways to handle your negative emotions without the negative consequences.
Children & Teenagers
What is Play Therapy?
A child’s most comfortable method of communication is most often not through talking (despite our best efforts as parents!), but rather they are more apt to communicate and share through play. Have you ever had the experience of trying to talk with your child about some important issue and after about 2 ½ minutes, their eyes start rolling up towards the sky, they start tapping their foot or messing with the buttons on their shirt, or just walk away? Then you have just seen why traditional “talk therapy” is not usually effective with children.
Child-Centered Play Therapy gives the young child an opportunity to “play through” any issues that may be concerning them, either consciously or subconsciously. The role of the play therapist is to provide a relationship and environment of empathy and unconditional positive regard, where the child can feel safe to work on whatever they need to. Specific toys are chosen to provide the child with opportunities to explore a variety of life themes.
“Play remains a child’s most powerful way of learning. She can test out many different situations and actions to find which one works for her. It is a child’s work, for she’s testing herself and her new ideas. Watching her play gives an adult a window into her mind. It is hard to overestimate the importance of play for a small child.” An excerpt from Touchpoints, by T. Berry Brazelton, M.D.
What about teenagers?
Adolescents and teenagers are experiencing a time in life that is exciting, chaotic, confusing, and full of important milestones. Remember back to your years in middle and high school…tough, huh! Therapy can be very beneficial for a teen, as it provides them with a safe, confidential place to share and a relationship with a healthy, non-judgmental adult who, most importantly, is not related to them!
Whether it’s shooting hoops or walking along the creek outside, painting or doing other creative activities, or just sitting and talking, I will strive to provide a comfortable environment for your adolescent and an opportunity for them to move forward towards self-realization, self-discipline, and balance.
The role of parents and caregivers
Although your child may be the “identified patient,” you (the parents/caregivers) are an important part of the therapeutic process and making changes at home can be key to the healing process. The first appointment will be with the parents only and then we will schedule subsequent parent consults frequently. While I will always respect your child’s privacy, I will share with you any concerns that I have and will work with you on tools to promote healthy changes at home.
Couples Counseling
Marriage/Couples Counseling provides the opportunity for couples at all stages of their relationship to deepen their commitment, enhance communication, and strengthen positive behaviors that will help partners cope with issues that frequently impact relationships.
Reasons Couples Seek Counseling:
Couples wait an average of six years after they notice they have a problem before seeking therapy. Triggers that commonly lead to scheduling the first appointment include:
-Communication problems
-Arguing and conflict
-Loss of intimacy
-Extramarital affairs
-Career pressures
-Sexual problems
-Infertility
-Job loss
-Financial and lifestyle changes
-Conflicts about raising and disciplining children
-Medical problem or chronic pain in one partner
Gottman Method Couples Therapy
Dr John Gottman and his colleagues at the University of Washington conducted extensive research on how real couples interact so they could better understand what causes problems in a marriage and what leads to marital happiness. Dr. Gottman identified key components to help relationships flourish. When couples become better friends, learn to manage conflict, and create ways to support each other’s hopes for the future, they protect their relationship from the inevitable stressors and transitions of life.
The seven components of healthy relationships that form the basis of the Gottman approach are:
Build Love Maps: How well do you know your partner’s inner psychological world, his or her history, worries, stresses, joys, and hopes?
Share Fondness and Admiration: The antidote for contempt, this component focuses on the amount of affection and respect within a relationship. (To strengthen fondness and admiration, express appreciation and respect.)
Turn Towards: State your needs. Be aware of bids for connection and turn towards them. The small moments of everyday life are actually the building blocks of relationship.
The Positive Perspective: A positive approach to problem-solving helps attempts to repair succeed. Negative perspective darkens our viewpoint. Positive perspective builds hope and good feeling.
Manage Conflict: We say “manage” conflict rather than “resolve” conflict, because relationship conflict is natural and has functional, positive aspects. Understand that there is a critical difference in handling problems that are perpetual (likely to persist) and those that are solvable (can be brought to closure).
Make Life Dreams Come True: Create an atmosphere that encourages each person to talk honestly about his or her hopes, values, convictions and aspirations.
Create Shared Meaning: Understand important visions, narratives, myths, and metaphors about your relationship.
Insomnia
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia
What Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia?
CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) is a method of addressing both the behaviors that prevent you from sleeping effectively as well as the thoughts that can interfere with sleep. The behavioral aspect of CBT-I focuses on stimulus control and sleep restriction and sleep hygiene.
CBT-I Research
CBT-I has consistently been proven to be the most effective first-line treatment for chronic insomnia. It improves sleep in 75-80% of insomnia patients and reduces or eliminates sleeping pill use in 90% of patients. And, in three major studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Archives of Internal Medicine that directly compared CBT to sleeping pills, CBT-I was more effective than sleeping pills. CBT-I also has no side effects and maintains improvements in sleep long-term, and new research shows that CBT-I doubles the improvement rates of depression compared to antidepressant medication alone in depressed patients with insomnia.
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CBT-I puts people to sleep faster than sleeping pills. American Journal of Psychiatry
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CBT-I works as well or better than sleeping pills. Journal of Family Practice
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CBT-I is the preferred treatment for chronic insomnia. National Institutes of Health, New England Journal of Medicine review, Lancet review, American Psychological Association, Consumer Reports
Goals of CBT-I
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Reduce the amount of time it takes to fall sleep at night
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Reduce the amount of time spent awake in the middle of the night
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Improve the quality of sleep
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Improve daytime level of alertness and quality of life
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Provide the knowledge and skills to help one manage sleep over the long-term without the need for ongoing professional help or medication
CBT-I Isn’t a Do-It-Yourself Project
Depending on your specific needs, CBT-I may involve more than sleep restriction and stimulus control, such as light therapy in conjunction with other techniques. Talk to a CBT-I provider and see if this process is a good option for you.
What do I look for in a CBT-I Therapist?
You want to make sure your therapist is specifically trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia. This is a very specific training that is very focused on insomnia. A CBT-I trained therapist knows what to screen for to make sure you are a good candidate for the treatment. A trained therapist will have a very detailed process to help get you to a fully restful night sleep. Ask if they are specifically trained to help you with your insomnia. If the provider can’t explain their specific training, then they are not a CBT-I provider.
Other Reasons for Counseling
There are many reasons that individuals come to counseling. Some are depressed, grieving, dealing with work stress, or they simply want to sit down and speak with someone who is not their family or friend. Life can knock us down sometimes and we need a supportive hand to get back up. No matter your reason, we put our best foot forward to help you get back to feeling like yourself again.
