Anxiety

Most of us live with fears and anxieties about our future, our families and finances or work. But when anxiety is one’s steady companion, it can lead to eating too much or too little, physical problems, insomnia, trouble at work, difficulty concentrating and loneliness. We treat anxiety in individual and group sessions by first developing a trusting relationship where one can settle down and feel some relief from being heard. In group sessions it is reassuring to see others successfully face and resolve their problems. It also is encouraging to take small steps toward feeling “at peace,” realizing that most anxiety comes from the past and is unnecessary for our lives today.

Depression

Depression takes the sparkle out of our eyes, the bounce out of our step, the music out of our voice. We have no energy for the people and things we love, we see dull grey instead of color, we tend to think on the negative side. We eat too much or too little, we have more aches and pains, we sleep too much or can’t get a good night’s rest. Depression is a sign of emotional distress. Different than the normal ups and downs of life, depression symptoms last for several months or longer and begin to have a negative impact on our families, friendships, work, and health.

Generally, depression develops from one of three sources:

1. Unresolved losses in life which continue to weigh us down.
2. Patterns of dealing with stress that compound our problems such as overworking, overeating, isolation from people, smoking, misuse of alcohol, medication or other drugs.
3. Physical illness or chemical imbalance.

We treat depression in psychotherapy by developing a trusting relationship and helping one to mourn for past and present losses. Often depression has elements of anger and hurt as well as sadness which need to be expressed in a safe relationship. People are often surprised to find that their choices and decisions of the past have contributed to their depression. Individual and group therapy are often helpful in changing these patterns and making better choices in the future.

Eating Disorders

Most of us grow up with confusion and mixed emotions about food. It is not surprising that so many in our society eat for comfort or other emotional reasons. Others experience guilt about eating, go on unhealthy diets unsuccessfully, or become anorexic or bulimic. Our therapy team helps patients focus on how they deal with their emotions in general—not only through eating. How does one take care of that sense of emotional “emptiness” inside in healthy ways? What about when low self-esteem leads to poor eating habits? Our therapists aim to help patients feel safe to talk about their eating “secrets” and find healthy ways to meet their real emotional needs.

Grief and Loss

Losses are a natural, unavoidable part of life, but how we deal with them can make all the difference. When grief persists for many months or years, when life seems to have lost its flavor, when one cannot seem to eventually move on to new aspects of life, psychotherapy may be helpful. Psychotherapy can help one face the sadness and pain of a loss. We help our patients turn toward their grief—not close their eyes to it. This takes courage and willingness to trust another to walk along and guide that process. Our therapists can help others do this because we have faced many of our own fears and losses too. It is our personal experience along with our professional training that allows us to be effective in helping with grief and loss.

Relationship Problems

Each person brings to the relationship their own personality—strengths, weaknesses, wishes and expectations. When the “honeymoon” in a relationship is over, the real person often begins to show and problems begin to surface. Any added crisis in the lives of the partners can stress the relationship occasionally to breaking point. Psychotherapy can help strengthen both individuals, since they are the foundation of the relationship. Typically the partners meet together and separately with a therapist for an evaluation, and often each finds it useful to further develop his or her own patterns of communication and capacity for intimacy. Psychotherapy can help deepen the relationship and change harmful and painful patterns which the partners learned from their own parents or developed early in life.

Panic Attacks

Panic attacks are a frightening experience where one feels a sense of danger when there is not real danger. But one’s body cannot tell the difference. The heart pounds, sweating begins, thoughts race. Often people distort their lives avoiding social situations to not experience the panic. Panic attacks can often be treated successfully with psychotherapy by helping one to face the fear, step-by-step, in a safe and trusted relationship. With time in treatment, the intensity and frequency of panic attacks often diminishes. Then one can begin to change the patterns of avoidance that are more basic in the person’s life. Changing these patterns in one’s personality can help prevent future panic attacks.

Sexual Abuse

The effects of childhood sexual abuse (as well as other emotional and physical abuse) last long into adulthood. Often the symptoms may show as difficulty with intimacy and sexuality, fear of close relationships, discomfort with physical contact, a high degree of shame, problems with trust and various physical problems without identifiable underlying bases. Because childhood sexual abuse so often has shame and distrust attached, it takes time to face and to talk about these problems. Our therapists realize that there may be other problems to deal with first, while we build a sense of trust and safety together. When the time becomes right to talk about it, the sense of relief is usually tremendous and allows for healing of the shame, anger and hurt that commonly holds people back from a richer life.

Substance Abuse

In a world that often looks for a quick relief from distress, it is not surprising that many come to rely on the readily available option of drugs and alcohol. After all, depending on human beings for solace is often more disappointing and frustrating. Learning to tolerate temporary discomfort requires discipline and encouragement from others who care. When addiction is becoming a problem, individual and group psychotherapy can prove helpful by exploring the life-long patterns a person has developed for finding comfort. Our therapists can become steady allies to build one’s internal strength and find healthier ways to deal with life’s struggles. Over time in treatment, patients replace the emptiness inside with better connections to people and improved life choices.