DEPRESSION
Depression is a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It can affect how you think, feel, interact with others, and tackle normal day to day activities. This mood disorder can express itself emotionally and physically and can be caused by a wide variety of factors. Biological changes, brain chemistry, hormones, and inherited traits are all believed to be factors that may contribute towards depression.
Depression affects children and adults. There are different types of depression that range in severity, the length of time symptoms are expressed, and/or the triggers that invoke symptoms.
If you've been experiencing a persistently low mood for two weeks or more and express symptoms including (but not limited to) symptoms listed at the link below it is advised you seek treatment. Symptoms
ANXIETY
Anxiety disorders are characterized by excessive worrying, fearfulness, uncertainty, and/or irrational fear and dread.They are extremely common, exist to varying degrees, and may get worse if they are not treated.
You should seek help if your persistent worry is interfering with day to day activities and your stress becomes irrational or non-localized. Public speaking makes many of us nervous, but if this nervousness extends well beyond a speaking engagement or lead to unhealthy behaviors or avoidance, this would be an example of something we would want to examine further.
You may find you are not taking action in your life, feel stuck in certain relationships or your career, and be fearful to let those around you in because you might hurt or lose them. Physical symptoms may include trouble sleeping, fatigue, muscle tension, digestive issues, irritability, and difficulty concentrating.
Anxiety disorders include: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Phobias, Panic Disorder, and Social
It is common for anxiety to exist with other illnesses, including substance abuse and depression. It is important you work with a professional to evaluate your condition and receive proper treatment.
GRIEF
Sadness and grief are part of the human condition and necessary to our experience and growth. A loss of a loved one, an unexpected end to a relationship, and unsettling news are examples of what can present itself on our journey through life. When we are unable to process certain trauma and this grief does not lessen in intensity we can enter into something known as Complicated Grief.
Complicated Grief is characterized when grieving does not subside and becomes debilitating. Feelings of guilt, blame, helplessness, detachment can become overwhelming and often times coexist with major depression.
Our goal is not to devalue the feelings and event that has triggered grief but explore more positive ways to process certain thoughts and emotions and improve your coping skills.
RELATIONSHIP
The relationships we have with ourselves, family, significant others, friends and co-workers have a tremendous impact on our wellbeing and happiness. Unhealthy dependencies, inability to communicate effectively, unaccepted transition, and/or unresolved conflict can damage these relationships, our relationships with others, and prevent us from moving forward.
The majority of my patients seeking relationship counseling are married couples that are looking for a supportive space to examine a crisis of trust, breakdown of communication, or loss or intimacy. I see both patients separately and together, depending on what is preferred and whether both parties are willing to commit to therapy. If your partner is not ready or comfortable with treatment, it is still very beneficial to take the first steps towards change yourself.
During our time together we will identify destructive patterns, practice better communication techniques, and find new ways to approach conflict.
My treatment focus also touches upon relationship counseling beyond active relationships. Counterproductive behavior to forming new relationships or inability to cope with a relationship that has ended (divorce, separation) or transitioned are also areas of focus.
TRAUMA
Trauma often feels overwhelming. It can be tied to an isolated, jarring event or a state we become trapped in unknowingly as a means to cope. It is unwanted and it can be excruciating.
We know now that trauma physically changes our brains. Overstimulating the amygdala changes pathways and affects both our body's response and how information is processed and stored.
It is imperative to seek treatment for trauma and process your experience and emotions in a safe, professional setting.
My work with trauma patients has touched on all three types of trauma-- acute, chronic, and complex. I have worked with abuse victims and those suffering with PTSD.
ADOLESCENCE
Our teenage years can be difficult. Trying to navigate life while our bodies are changing, we are forming our identity, and we are growing closer to adulthood can be stressful. There are common growing pains and challenges we must overcome, but when pain presents itself in destructive behavior or habits a larger issue can be at play.
A teenager's struggles should be taken seriously. Failure to address these issue can spill unhealthy practices into adulthood and make treatment much harder to overcome.
A neutral third party is often most helpful when establishing trust with an adolescent in therapy. I work with teenagers confronting depression, anxiety, bullying, achievement stress, sexual orientation, gender identity, family conflict, self harm, substance abuse, and trauma.
Issues affecting your teen have the ability to affect the whole family unit. My adolescent therapy is not meant to be a lesson in morals, but rather a confrontation with emotional distress and analysis of behaviors, reactions, and coping mechanisms.
FAMILY
Sometimes our closest relationships are the most complex. Family therapy works to help family members improve communication, resolve conflict, create healthy boundaries, and strengthen bonds.
Often times conflict brings families to me, but a family on the precipice of large change can benefit by preemptively seeking counseling. Individual circumstances and conditions have the ability to affect the entire family unit and sometimes it can be helpful to address this impact in a therapeutic environment. Family members near substance abuse, financial distress, marital conflict, mental illness, trauma, etc. can benefit through family therapy by developing coping mechanisms, greater empathy for the afflicted, and healthy ways to support while maintaining important boundaries.
Family therapy is often times short term and only for those willing to participate. I cannot force a family member to seek treatment but am happy to extend an invitation.
PHOBIA
Phobias are a specific type of anxiety disorder I have experience treating. In the case of phobia an individual experiences an extreme, irrational fear about a situation, living creature, place, or object. A phobia is more than a fear sensation and is often accompanied by drastic avoidant behavior that may dictate a person's whole way of life (employment, job location, home environment, recreational and social activities, driving route, etc.).
I use both exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to treat phobias. In extreme cases I may also make recommendations to see a psychiatrist for medicative support. It is my goal to limit chemical dependencies though.
Childhood phobias occur most commonly between the ages of 5 to 9 and have the ability to dissipate. Adult phobias that are longer lasting typically present themselves in the 20's and are much less likely to go away on their own. Treatment is strongly encouraged and can put individuals at higher risk for additional psychiatric illness.
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