Areas of Expertise
There are several areas in the field of psychology that I have received specialized training in, including problems to be treated and techniques to be used.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, CBT
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is a way of conducting therapy that focuses on thoughts and behaviors. In this way of doing therapy, emotions are seen as reactions, not to the things that happen to us but how we interpret the things that happen to us. By changing our interpretations, our thoughts, we can change our emotions. As such, therapy often involves finding the thoughts and behaviors that are contributing to emotional distress and replacing them with more adaptive alternatives. This approach has been shown to be effective in treatment of Anxiety, Depression, and many other disorders.
Exposure Therapy, ERP
Exposure therapy, or ERP, involves repeated exposures to a feared stimulus. This isn't always spiders or heights or germs. Sometimes the things a person fears are more abstract, like certain thoughts or even painful memories. A patient and therapist agree on the exposures and together conduct graded exposures, starting easy and slowly increasing in intensity. Over time, the patient becomes habituated to whatever they were afraid of and it no longer evokes fear. This type of therapy has been shown to be highly effective in treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder among others conditions.
Resilience
Most of my research has centered on the concept of resilience; the process by which people return to baseline functioning after disruption from a highly stressful or traumatic event. But you don't have to have been exposed to a traumatic event to benefit from resilience. The stresses of daily life can accumulate, and if they aren't addressed they can be just as harmful as any major trauma. The protective factors and therapeutic techniques that help people get through major traumatic events can also be used to help you get through the stresses of daily life and live the kind of life you want.
Burnout
Burnout is so rampant it is almost hard to imagine our culture without it. Some jobs require levels of high performance that is difficult to sustain. High pressure, sustained focus, and no room for error. Peak performance can be rewarding when it is a sprint, but when it becomes the baseline expectation this is unsustainable. Adding on to that the responsibilities of family and friends, it is no wonder so many people feel burned out. Therapy can help you to relieve the pressure from all of these responsibilities and help you to identify ways to recharge your batteries.
Cognitive and Personality
Assessment
Cognitive assessment can indicate a person's specific cognitive strengths and weaknesses, well beyond a simple IQ score. Personality assessment can help a person understand how sees their world and responds to their emotions. When cognitive and personality assessment are done together the results can illustrate how these things interact: how a person typically thinks and feels, how they respond to stress or ambiguity, what strengths they can lean on in times of distress.
If you are interested in possibly receiving treatment, or would like to ask a question, please click on the link.