We are a highly skilled panel of experienced mental health practitioners who treat mental and emotional disorders as well as help people deal with difficult and challenging life problems.
(Click on the term to see the definition.)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a cognitive-behavioral model of psychotherapy that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, along with behavior-change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility. The aim of ACT is to maximize one’s ability to have a full and meaningful life. Symptom reduction is not a goal of ACT. Instead, ACT teaches psychological skills to help the client deal with painful thoughts and feelings effectively, in such a way that they have much less impact and influence, and helps the client clarify what is truly important, then use that knowledge to motivate change.
Source: Phyllis O’Neill
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is based on the idea that our behaviors and emotions spring from our thoughts. Treatment is based on an educational model, i.e., it is possible to unlearn negative thoughts and behaviors and replace them with positive ones. The client and therapist set goals for change and together they decide how to proceed to reach those goals.
This is an active therapy in which the client tries new strategies to change his behaviors and emotions. This often involves homework or journaling. It tends to be relatively brief, taking weeks or months rather than years.
Source: Claudia Hardwick
Coherence Therapy
Coherence Therapy maintains that an individual's seemingly irrational, out-of-control symptoms are actually sensible, cogent, orderly expressions of the person’s existing felt sense of self and the world, rather than a disorder or pathology.
The aim is for the client to directly feel the personal constructs that are producing an unwanted symptom and then revise or dissolve these constructs, ending the existence of the symptom. Practitioners claim that the entire process often requires a dozen sessions or fewer, although it can take longer when the themes and emotions underlying the symptom are particularly complex or intense. www.coherencetherapy.org.
Source: Galyn Forster
Contemplative psychotherapy
Contemplative psychotherapy is the blending of Western psychotherapy with Buddhist mindfulness and awareness practices. Rather than viewing the client’s emotional pain as a pathology, the client is viewed as intrinsically healthy and whole. Therapeutic process focuses on uncovering this fully awake and aware state, and developing the ability to be present with whatever arises in the moment and using the experience as a doorway to self-acceptance and authentic change. While it is derived from Buddhist teachings, it does not require any knowledge, interest or participation in meditation or Buddhism.
Source: Phyllis O’Neill
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) maintains that some people, due to invalidating environments and biological factors as yet unknown, react abnormally to emotional stimulation. Because of their past invalidation, they don't have any methods for coping with these sudden, intense surges of emotion. DBT is a method for teaching skills that will help in this task,combining standard cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing with concepts of distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindful awareness.
DBT consists of two parts:
1) Once-weekly psychotherapy sessions to explore an event or problem behavior from the past week to understand the events leading up to the behavior, and explore alternate solutions that could have been used. During and between sessions, the DBT therapist teaches adaptive behaviors, emphasizing on learning to manage emotional trauma.
2) Weekly 2 ½ hour group therapy sessions focused on interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation and mindfulness skills. Group therapists are not available over the phone between sessions; they refer patients in crisis to the individual therapist.
Source: Phyllis O’Neill
Ego State Therapy
Ego State Therapy assumes that when we experience an intense event our unconscious mind creates an “ego state” that has two jobs. First it holds the memory of the event and second it does its best to protect us from something like it happening again. So at age four you accidentally wet your pants at preschool and everyone noticed. The good news is that the resulting ego state is going to keep that from happening again. The bad news is that the ego state remains at age four with all the behaviors and views of the world of a four year old. So, for instance, you might have an intense need to use the restroom every time you even think about attending a class no matter the state of your bladder. (Or you might have a sudden debilitating headache). The Ego State Therapist’s task is to help you discover if an ego state is triggering the excessive need to use the restroom or the headaches. If so, you and the therapist will help that four-year-old Ego State let go of its duty.
Source: David Thompson
EMDR
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on relieving the ouch in traumatic memories. As the memories release their emotional hold, symptoms resulting from those traumas such as nightmares, startle reflex, generalized fear or panic often resolve.
Therapists trained in EMDR address anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and other issues by helping their clients find memories that may be triggering these behaviors. Then using eye movements or other bilateral stimulation they will help clients release the emotional trauma attached to the memories.
For single-event trauma in an otherwise emotionally healthy individual, progress is often very rapid with remission of the symptoms in a few sessions. For more complex or intense trauma such as abuse that occurred over a significant period of time or for individuals who have multiple symptoms, the work generally takes more time for preparation and processing.
Source: David Thompson
Emotionally Focused Therapy
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) originated by Susan Johnson, PhD is a treatment for couples and families whose focus is the strengthening of the couples' emotional attachment, working through the walls of protection and hurt and reviving the connection which brought the couple together. EFT is a short term therapy model backed by research which has proven its effectiveness. Trained and certified therapists can be found at http://www.iceeft.com
Source: Dorothy Abelson
Existentialism
Existentialism suggests that people face the anxieties and realities of life directly, including the fact that we are alone in this world, while taking full advantage of our unique freedom to choose, as well as take full responsibility for our decisions. The therapist does not dwell on the client's past but rather the choices to be made in the present and future.
Source: Peter Powers
Family Therapy
Family therapy, also referred to as couple and family therapy and family systems therapy works with families and couples to encourage change and growth. The therapist sees change in terms of the systems of interaction between family members and emphasizes family relationships as a critical factor in psychological health, even if only working with one person in the system. A number of variations target change in the structure as well as interactional patterns within the couple or family system.
Source: Peter Powers
Hakomi
Hakomi is an experiential, body-centered psychotherapy. In Hakomi work, the body's habitual patterns become doorways into core beliefs. When combined with mindfulness,
Hakomi brings core beliefs safely into awareness to be re-evaluated, and where
appropriate, transformed. There is often a deep level of attunement between practitioner and client.
Source: Denise Jessup
Humanistic Therapy
Humanistic Therapy is based on work by Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. This therapy focuses on the potential of the individual and stresses growth and self-actualization. It emphasizes self-improvement and self-understanding as well as taking responsibility for one's actions.
This therapy is often used in conjunction with other types of therapy and is generally not used with mentally ill or severely impaired individuals.
Source: Claudia Hardwick
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy involves using trance as an adjunct to psychotherapy or other mental health treatment. Trance is a state of focus in which we are less aware of our surroundings because we’re intently focused on something. That something could be a novel or movie (light to medium trance) or a video game (medium to deep trance). One sign of a trance is that an hour or two feels more like fifteen or twenty minutes. It turns out that we are all popping into and out of trance during our day. We pop in when we’re focusing on a project or when we’re daydreaming. We pop out when someone interrupts us. The benefit of using trance as part of therapy is that during trance people have access to their unconscious: the storehouse of forgotten memories and of the hurt-child parts of us. And it’s in these memories and in these child parts that we can find and change the feelings and behaviors that force us to make appointments with therapists.
Source: David Thompson
Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is based on the belief that interpersonal factors contribute heavily to psychological problems. It is an empirically supported and highly effective, time-limited therapy that focuses on the interpersonal relationships and on building interpersonal skills. It is much different from other therapies that emphasize internal or intrapsychic processes.
By helping client’s change their behavior in relation to others it allows them to resolve
interpersonal conflicts, role transitions, grief, and social problems fostering health adaptation and growth. Though best known for the treatment of depression, it has been adapted to treat a variety of other conditions, including anxiety. In addition, a specific variation called Interpersonal Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) has been empirically validated as a primary treatment for Bipolar Disorder.
Source: Peter Powers
Lifespan Integration
Lifespan Integration works on a deep neural level to change responses learned earlier in life. Sometimes our adult behaviors feel very young and that’s because we were very young when we learned them. For instance, we froze as a child when we were accosted by a barking dog and now we still freeze though the dog is no longer as big a threat. In Lifespan Integration our therapist might have us go back and imagine rescuing our child self from that experience and help that child understand that we’ve grown up. When we repeat this experience over and over it resets our neural system. That young self grows up and is able to act in a more age appropriate way.
Source: Galyn Forster
Mindfulness
Mindfulness means paying attention, without judgment, to our experience in the present
moment. It is a way of “coming to our senses” and being
more aware of our thoughts, feelings, body sensations, images, and impulses.
Mindfulness encourages us to slow down and
experience who we are and what we are doing and in this awareness we find that problem behaviors and difficult feelings often release.
Source: Denise Jessup
Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy focuses on the stories of people’s lives and is based on the idea that problems are manufactured in social, cultural and political contexts. This therapeutic approach is not about ‘experts’ solving problems. Instead, the client’s “stories” about self and life are deconstructed, the client’s strengths or positive attributes are externalized, and the preferred and perhaps unrecognized possibilities are identified.
Source: Phyllis O’Neill
Neuro-Linguistic Programming NLP
NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) studies the structure of language - both its content and how that content is presented. Through our brains (neuro), linguistics (content of the communication), and programming, our brains convert the content of a message, together with its presentation, into something meaningful. Often people’s struggles result from the misreading of other people’s communications or being misread by others. And NLP helps clients understand the effects of their own (internal) messages. NLP offers a collection of tools for understanding and resolving these misunderstandings quickly and effectively. NLP can be used alone or as an adjunct by therapists practicing other therapeutic disciplines.
Source: Wendy Doran
Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology involves the interaction between the brain and behavior. It is a scientifically based therapy that attempts to change negative behaviors by utilizing the plasticity of the brain. It is often used in the rehabilitation of individuals with brain injuries or severe mental illnesses.
Psychological testing for the purpose of determining the exact nature of the deficiencies is often a component of this therapy. The therapy tends to be structured and the client is expected to take an active role to achieve behavioral change.
Source: Claudia Hardwick
Psychodynamic and Object Relations
Psychodynamic and Object Relations therapies pay particular attention to the relationship between the therapist and client. They place emphasis on individual development across the life cycle in relationship to the client’s personal and/or family history. They may also be interested in childhood experiences which have contributed obstacles to maturation and/or resolution of trauma.
In addition psychodynamic therapists may be interested in the unconscious as it is manifested in dreams, problematic behaviors, depression and anxiety. Both approaches utilize techniques from a variety of sources rather than a single system or theory.
Source: Mary Hinman
Schema Therapy
Schema Therapy is intended for use when patients fail to respond or improve after having been through other therapies. It is a combination of many different therapy techniques, such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Object Relations, Psychoanalysis, Mindfulness, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), etc. Schema therapy emphasizes collaboration, building bonds of trust between clients and therapists and examining and changing fixed ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving in the world that keeps individuals “stuck” in self-defeating or unproductive patterns.
Source: Peter Powers
Solution Focused Therapy
Solution Focused Therapy focuses on what clients want to make happen (their preferred future) in their lives versus simply the things that are a problem for them. Rather than focusing on the past, the present and future are emphasized. Together the therapist and client respectfully explore the preferred future and attend to any movement toward it, no matter how small. To support this movement the therapist helps the client detail “miracle” day, identify strengths and resources, and look for times when the “problem” is not present (exceptions) as well as when the preferred differences are already happening.
Source: Peter Powers
Somatic Therapies
Somatic therapies focus on physical sensations in the moment and physical symptoms (usually illness) over time. Either the sensations or the symptoms are considered doorways into the sources of psychological struggles. And the client may be asked to focus on sensations, such as tightness in the chest or nausea in the stomach, in an accepting way, to begin understanding and relieving the underlying issue. In many ways this is a body centered version of mindfulness.
Source: David Thompson
Spiritual Therapy
There are as many definitions of Spiritual Therapy as there are definitions of spirituality. This type of therapy could begin by addressing the effects on your life of your spiritual or religious beliefs. Then it could become an existential exploration of meaning followed by a search for ways that your spiritual practice could better support this meaning. Your therapist may be able to help you in developing or fine tuning your spiritual practice. For more information see Mindfulness, Hypnosis, and Transpersonal Therapy.
Source: David Thompson
Transpersonal Therapy
Transpersonal Therapy focuses on the idea that we are all one energy or being masquerading as a group of separate individuals. This work focuses on transcendent states of consciousness, on knowing self and others at the level of spirit. Issues addressed in this therapy include: spiritual self development, mystical experiences, self beyond ego, and systemic trance.
Source: David Thompson
Anxiety and related conditions
Symptoms of Anxiety:
· Worry or fear that something bad will happen
· Trembling, twitching or feeling shaky
· Fatigue or restlessness
· Muscle tension or jitteriness
· Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
· Fast heartbeat or breathing rate
· Sweating, or cold or clammy hands
· Dry mouth, nausea or diarrhea
· Irritability, impatience, easily distracted
Some anxiety symptoms may occur in anyone experiencing a difficult situation.
The line between such "normal" anxiety and an anxiety disorder occurs if overwhelming tension happens even when there is no real danger. People with an anxiety disorder may often take extreme actions to avoid the anxiety source.
Some Anxiety Disorders:
GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER
· This means persistent and overblown worry about two or more things, without good reason.
PHOBIAS
· These are unrealistic fears of certain objects or situations. Examples: Simple phobias, such as snakes; Social phobias, such as fear of meeting new people; Agoraphobia, such as being afraid to go outside alone.
PANIC DISORDERS
· A sudden and unexpected sense of terror and feelings of approaching death characterize panic disorders. Accompanying physical signs include rapid pulse, nausea and shallow breathing.
OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDERS
· This disorder is characterized byrepeated, unwanted thoughts or compulsive behaviors. Examples include repetitive cleaning, checking or counting. Obsessions mean persistent, senseless ideas, such as a repeated impulse to kill a loved one.
Deciding to Seek Help:
When people feel uncomfortable about a certain situation, they begin to avoid it. This avoidance can interfere with a normal and productive life.
Anxiety disorders often interfere with jobs, family and social responsibilities. For example, people with these disorders may lose their jobs because they are afraid to travel or go to business lunches; they might refuse a job in a high-rise building, fearing elevators.
The prognosis for therapy of most anxiety disorders is quite good. By learning to confront the feared situations in therapy, patients can gradually reduce their anxiety.
The goal of therapy for anxiety disorders is to resolve any emotional conflicts that may have led to the disorder, to express feelings, and to permit confronting, slowly, the feared situation or objects.
You should emerge from treatment free from anxiety-based limitations and able to function fully both with friends and at work.
David Baldwin, PhD
Depression
Depression can be in response to a major negative life event or other external factors, but it may also result from biological or seasonal factors.
Depressive Symptoms:
· Feeling helpless, hopeless or despair
· Crying (or feeling like crying)
· Loss of concentration, poor memory
· Feelings of worthlessness
· Lack of joy or laughter in your life
· Disrupted sleep, lethargy
· Irritability, restlessness
· Weight change (loss or gain)
· Loss of sexual desire
· Thoughts of death or suicide
If several of the above symptoms persist over time, you may need to seek help from a professional therapist.
Some Depressive Disorders:
ADJUSTMENT DISORDER WITH DEPRESSED MOOD
· These are relatively brief depressive reactions to a specific event that would make anyone feel depressed.
DYSTHYMIA
· These symptoms of melancholy and lack of energy, joy or interest are more severe and long-lasting than above. They may not seem connected to any specific upsetting event. Without treatment, they can last so long that a person may forget how it feels to relish life.
MAJOR DEPRESSION
· These symptoms generally come and go suddenly, are often severe, and may not be in response to an obvious setback or negative life event. Without treatment, the symptoms may continue for months or even years. They may recur throughout life.
Treatments for Depression:
There are several forms of depression and each may respond best to a specific mode of treatment. Some depressive disorders appear mainly in response to loss of previous abilities or to external circumstances.
Effective treatment of clinical depression commonly involves correcting the faulty thinking patterns that underlie unrealistic negative beliefs.
This can include setting realistic goals that you can actually accomplish quickly, and breaking large tasks into smaller ones, to build a sense of success.
Other forms, such as bipolar depression, seem more biologically based. Seasonal affective depression may be a cyclical response to the dreary winter rains and lack of sunlight in this region.
For some forms of depression, medications may be necessary or helpful in conjunction with therapy.
Deciding to Seek Help:
Depression is one of the most treatable mental health disorders - perhaps 80% to 90% of all depressed people respond to treatment. Seeking early treatment can reduce the time needed for recovery.
Depending on the type of depression, the patient may expect to feel some relief of symptoms within three or four weeks and long-lasting relief within three to six months of treatment.
In any case, patients should emerge from treatment with increased energy, resiliency and skills to handle the inevitable setbacks in life. The need for continued medication depends on a number of factors, but successful psychotherapy may eliminate or reduce the dosage needed for some forms of depression.
If you know someone who appears depressed, the most important thing you can do is to encourage that they seek treatment and stick with it until the depressive symptoms begin to lift (or to seek different therapy if no improvement occurs after several weeks).
Stress Management
What is Stress?
Stress happens to everyone. It's part of life.
Some stress can be challenging and actually helpful - pushing us to reach beyond usual limits. That's good. But too much stress (or too many stressors) - stress that happens all at once, or never seems to let up - can lead to both physical and mental disorders.
People often discount the stressful nature of good changes, and admit feeling stressed only when things are going badly. Actually, both good and bad changes can be stressful. For example, being promoted to a more demanding job is stressful. So is getting married.
Some Stressful Experiences:
· Injury or illness
· Personal loss (separation, or death of a friend)
· Changes at home or work
· Financial problems
Stress Symptoms:
Severe traumatic stress can produce Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Too much non-traumatic stress for too long will usually produce internal tension that may appear as either anxiety or depression.
ANXIETY
· Fear that something bad will happen
· Nervousness or worry
· Can't relax or slow down; impatience
DEPRESSION
· Feeling helpless, hopeless or despair
· Disrupted sleep, lethargy
· Loss of concentration, poor memory
Some people try to self-medicate these unpleasant feelings with alcohol or drugs. In the long run, this makes things worse.
If several symptoms from either category persist over time, or if you notice yourself using alcohol or drugs to escape from stress, you may need to seek help from a professional therapist.
Things you can do to lessen the stress:
· Regular physical exercise
· Learn to relax (meditate or pray)
· Change your routine
· Play, or take up a new hobby
· Talk things over with a good friend
· Set realistic goals at work or home
· Plan your work most efficiently
· Avoid several big changes at once.
If you know someone who is stressed and needs help:
· Listen to them. Just hearing their problems is likely more helpful than trying to solve them.
· Employers should attend to signs of stress related symptoms in all employees.
· Encourage friends or employees showing symptoms of too much stress - either at home or at work - to reduce their stress.
Source: David Baldwin, PhD