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Adult Attention DeficitDisorder (ADHD)
Psychological Evaluations and Diagnosis
Early Childhood and Other Traumas
Methods of Treatment
| Anxiety and Panic Disorder |
| Anxiety and other forms of stress are one of
our society's most common clinical problems. We typically feel stress
when our "flight or fight" response is tasked for too long.
Symptoms
Psychologists usually begin treatment with a personality evaluation. Together, the psychologist and client identify the issues that are causing the client stress, and develop strategies for coping with them. Some of the more common simple recommendations for people with anxiety are:
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| Depression |
| All of us have down days, or are saddened by normal events such as a death in the family. These periods may be brief and, with support, we work through tough times. Some individuals are affected much more severely, and the depression lingers, sometimes for years. Many do not realize that they are clinically depressed. Symptoms can profoundly affect every aspect of our lives, including our relationships, work and health. Research indicates that about twenty percent of individuals experience severe depression sometime in their lives. Eight million of these people receive treatment each year, though most go untreated. The emotional and economic impact is staggering. Symptoms
Medical treatments, such as anti-depressant drugs, and psychological treatments can both be effective in treating depression. Prescription drugs sometimes work more quickly, though psychological interventions tend to be effective for a longer time. Research indicates that an appropriate combination is most effective for more severe depression. Antidepressant medications are prescribed by physicians such as family doctors and by psychiatrists. |
| Adult Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) |
| Clinicians once thought that Attention Deficits disappeared by the early teens. Now we know that, although many learn coping skills on their own, the issues can persist into adulthood. Symptoms Adults may have had as Children
Mental health interventions for adults with AD/HD are offered through varying combinations of counseling and training. |
| Parenting Issues |
Effective, caring parenting is one of the most difficult and the most important roles we will ever have; and yet we have little structured learning about such an important part of our lives. Identifying behavior problems, understanding how they are acquired and maintained, and how parents can modify these behaviors in a positive, caring and yet effective manner is an important focus for Elizabethtown Psychologists. Typical issues include:
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| Psychological Evaluations and Diagnosis |
| Psychologists are particularly known for expert evaluations. Clinical interviews, structured inventories, and personality inventories can help identify specific functional difficulties interfering with a person's life and relationships. Issues, such as types of mood disorders, learning difficulties, attentional issues and repetitive behavioral patterns, once identified, can be addressed much more effectively. Personality patterns, especially, can shed light on an individual's problem traits, and lead to both an increased understanding, and sometimes to more effective change. |
| Intrusive Thoughts |
| Intrusive thoughts fall into several common categories: violent, sexual and blasphemous words and images of a religious nature. These thoughts can create extreme fear, guilt and worry. Attempting to suppress them only makes them stronger, leading the afflicted to avoid places, people and situations that may provoke further thoughts. For example, a new mother who obsessively thinks about harming her infant may increasingly avoid daily caretaking activities.
Treatment The most successful treatment involves desensitizing individuals by increasingly (and safely) exposing them to the situations that provoke their "bad thoughts"; cognitive therapy is also helpful for many patients. (Baer, The Imp of the Mind, 2000). |
| Marital Issues |
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Marital discord is one of the most painful problems individuals can experience. Conflict in the marriage can affect every
area of a person's life, and can precipitate other problems such as anxiety and depression. Sadly, children can also be
affected. Resolving marital issues, returning the family to satisfying functioning and keeping the family intact are among
the most important tasks psychologists undertake.
Treatment Although the issues can be complex, the most common theme in marital therapy is to re-establish trust. Fortunately, couples who still care, who can truly understand the others heartfelt emotions, and who can feel confident that their partner understands and respects their emotions, tend to fall all over each other trying to once again make the other happy. Once trust and a dialog are back on track, couples can begin to address the "big five"; money, sex, work, parenting, and family. Most couples find that actual problem-solving on these areas goes much more smoothly than they expected. |
| Obsessive Compulsive Disorder |
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Six million Americans suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and they know the often devastating effects it has on their lives.
Symptoms
Treatment Psychologists can teach patients the tools to assess their symptoms, set goals, and create individualized therapeutic programs. (Baer, Getting Control, 2000). |
| Work Related Issues |
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Issues at work can profoundly affect us. When we feel good about what we do, have good relations with co-workers, and feel we are respected by supervisors, our work can be an important part of our identities. Our role at work
becomes a positive part of what we value about ourselves. However, just the opposite can be true; a negative view of our work, poor relationships, and lack of respect can shake our entire faith in ourselves. When other aspects of our lives and how we define ourselves -- such as our role as a spouse, parent, and friend -- are in shambles, we can feel overwhelmed about nearly everything. Symptoms
Clients work with their psychologist to identify the issues that are causing problems at work. After identifying the issues, the client and psychologist together develop a plan for dealing with them. Many of the individuals we see are much too likely to blame difficulties on their own behaviors. Asking those we trust for honest feedback can help. Realistically, each person should objectively look at whether their own behaviors are contributing to the problems, and make good-faith efforts to make responsible changes. |
| PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) |
Individuals who have been exposed to a traumatic even or series of events that involved a threatened death, injury, or a threat to the physical integrety of self, and whose response included intense fear, helplessness, or horror may show: - a pattern of reexperiencing, such as recurrent, distressing recollections of the event - a sense that the event is recurring - an avoidance of anything associated with the trauma - inabilty to recall an important aspect of the trauma - diminished intersest, detachment, inabilty to have loving feelings, - increased physical reactions such as vigilance or startling easily This disturbance can cause profound impairement in important areas of functioning, can have a delayed onset, and can persist for years. Treatment can be difficult, and may involve gradually desensitizing the person to the original events, in a manner that causes them to react to the trauma as a memory rather than as a recurrent sense of reexperiencing.
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| Early Childhood and Other Traumas |
| There is a lack of agreement among some clinicians and researchers about the effects of physical, emotional and sexual trauma to children, but most would agree that it can be devastating. Children may attempt to block out thoughts and memories, only to realize as adults that the effects continue, possibly in a non-obvious manner. As with PTSD, treatment can be difficult, even for experienced therapists. |
| Internet Addiction |
Addictions can take many forms, and technology has resulted in some patterns that didn't exist even a few years ago. Without realizing that it is happening, individuals can gradually become psychologically dependent in a variety of ways. Pattens vary greatly, but some forms of addictive behavior include gambling, shopping, pornography, chat rooms, blogs, surfing, games, and "social interaction sites." As with any other patterns, addictions can begin by serving a function or meeting an unmet need, then gradually encroach on the person's time, relationships, sleep patterns, and even work. Changing such patterns can be surprisingly difficult, and involves recognizing the function of the addiction, substituting more constructive ways to serve the needs, and a gradual change to more constructive patterns. |
| Mediation |
| Even small areas of conflict can escalate to destructive levels, where there are no winners. A skilled mediator can sometimes find surprizing overlap between two parties, when each is willing to listen and to make an effort to discover mutual compromise. |
| Career Planning |
No one has a crystal ball, and careers choices have become amazingly complex and to some, very perplexing. One requirement for success in a particular field is to have the necessary skills. This can involve years of expensive schols and training, and possibly no small amount of luck. Psychologists and other researchers have discovered that patterns of responses to specific inventories that show a similarity to individuals who are sucessful in their fields can be fair predictors of sucess in similar fields. Well-researched and validated inventories can help give some individuals new ideas about potential job fields, and confirm what others suspected. |
| Individual Therapy |
| One-on-one treatment with a Psychologist
typically begins with an introductory session. During this session,
your psychologist will conduct a thorough personality assessment and
gather a complete history of the problem(s) you are experiencing.
You and your psychologist will then agree on the goals you'd like
to accomplish in therapy, and your psychologist will develop a treatment
plan tailored to meeting those goals. You may meet fairly often with your therapist in this initial stage, perhaps even once a week. As you follow your plan and see results, you will have fewer office sessions. |
| Couples Therapy |
| Family therapy does not involve blaming or criticizing parents for the way they have attempted to raise their children.
To the contrary, a lot of family therapy may focus on empowering the parents and strengthening the position of the
parents as authority figures and disciplinary agents. Topics typically covered include common parenting mistakes (i.e. accidentally rewarding bad behaviors), the importance of rewarding good behavior, the need for parental consistency, and methods of discipline (i.e. time-out, scolding and disapproval, natural consequences, logical consequences, and behavior penalties). Although the family is often involved in some capacity in the treatment of the child client, depending on the nature of the presenting condition it may sometimes be necessary for the therapist to meet with the child alone for individual sessions. Play therapy is frequently employed by therapists working with young children. Play allows the therapist to gain a glimpse into the inner world of the child and provides a two-way street of communication between the therapist and the child. |
| Biofeedback |
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Biofeedback is a process in which sophisticated computerized equipment is used to give patients
"feedback" about their physiological reactions to stress. By practicing control over their own reactions, patients may learn to reduce symptoms
of stress.
By placing electronic leads (similar to those used in an EKG or EEG) on the relevant muscle, then sorting the signals through a computer and displaying the results on a monitor, patients given feedback about their reactions can increase the awareness of early tension, recognize the events that trigger a stress reaction, and learn skills in allowing themselves to become more relaxed. Biofeedback has successfully been used in treating:
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| Issues I Don't Treat |
No one can be an expert at everything. There are some very specialized areas that I haven't had the training or experience to offer my services. If someone else in town has the expertise, I will offer to refer to them. These areas include: - Sex Offenders - Any legal issues involving court appearances, depositions, etc. - Child Custody Issues - Substance Abuse and Addiction - Anger Management - Acting Out Adolescents (I gladly work with parents of most younger children) |