Practice

I have a general psychology practice working with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families. I am trained and experienced in providing: * Psychological and Behavioral Assessment * Individual Psychotherapy * Couples and Marital Therapy I follow a Cognitive-Behavioral orientation to therapy, which focuses on how thoughts affect the way people feel and act. It involves recognizing negative patterns of thinking and reacting, then modifying or replacing these with more realistic or helpful ones. I approach therapy in an active, collaborative manner. With your collaboration, I will tailor the therapy process to meet the goals and needs of each individual. I believe that the ultimate goal for the therapy process is to become healthier and experience a more satisfying, fulfilling lifestyle. Life is a process of growth and change that may lead to challeges and difficulties. Individuals seek therapy for a variety of reasons, ranging from trying to cope with everyday life stressors to chronic mental illness. I have a broad range of experience and concentrate on the following areas: DEPRESSION Depression can present in many different ways including depressed mood, tearfulness, sleep problems, appetite problems, poor concentration and suicidal ideation. It often produces a general negative view towards life and all that is associated with it. Depression can be very overwhelming and scary. Therapy can reduce your symptoms, change your thought process and help you develop more effective coping skills. ANXIETY Some people say they have butterflies in their stomach, lay awake at night worrying, are afraid to go outside, are doing something a certain way everytime to avoid anxiety or have an overwhelming feeling of panic. Therapy can identify and treat symptoms to reduce and control anxiety. STRESS Many life events may produce stress. Some of these events include marriage, divorce, pregnancy, job change/loss, death and dying, disabilty and trauma. Therapy can help you cope with thse changes, preserve your quality of life, and enhance problem solving skills. MEDICAL ILLNESS I believe in a strong mind-body connection. In many cases, stress and depression can worsen physical illness. Stress management and treatment of psychological symptoms have been shown to reduce hypertension, chronic pain blood sugar difficulties, respiratory problems and cardiac symptoms. RELATIONSHIPS Relationship stress can seriously threaten the well-being of the relationships and the individuals in it. Couples therapy can be helpful to mend differences or to assist in an amicable separation process. In therapy, your needs will be assessed and goals collaboratively identified. Most relationships can be enhanced through learning effective communication skills. WOMENS/COUPLES ISSUES Women tend to take on many responsibilities that come with a great deal of stress. Some issues that are difficult on women and couples are pregnancy, motherhood, parenting issues and infertility. Therapy can develop you coping skills, enhance problem solving skills and provide suport for these events. CHILDREN/ADOLESCENT ISSUES Depression, self-esteem, ADHD, behavior problems, divorce, identity, relationships and fitting in and school problems are all some of the common issues for this age group. These problems can seriously jeopardize the child and the family unit. In therapy, I can effectively evaluate and treat these concerns. EATING DISORDERS Eating disorders affect so many people in so many ways. In therapy, your motivation to change, eating issues and underlying issues will be assessed and treated.