A note to the insured about privacy and managed care: The best way to insure the confidentiality and privacy of your psychotherapy is pay out of pocket rather than using your insurance. But when you do use insurance, the best option is to use indemnity insurance or your "out of network benefits." Under these circumstances, the provider needs only to send a diagnosis code on the claim form. The diagnosis for most people is depression or anxiety. This information is not very revealing personally and shouldn't cause much embarrassment should the information become available to a third party. Managed care is another story. The information required by managed care companies is quite extensive. It includes not only the diagnosis, but a description of what brought the "patient" to therapy, prior psychiatric history, a list of symptoms and a list of treatment goals and procedures. In other words, there is nothing that is confidential and neither the therapist nor the patient has any control over where that information may end up. I feel strongly that this is not in the best interests of my clients and I am no longer on any managed care panels with the exception of Medicare as noted previously. For a good discussion of this issue, go to therapynetwork.net and read the "payment options" section of "Therapy Information."
Couple's Counseling
When I work with couples, my approach is holistic. That is, I work not only with the relationship, but with the individuals within the relationship.There are three aspects that need to be focused on if any relationship is to function well. This is 1) how the partners communicate with each other, 2) the issues the partners are having difficulty resolving and 3) the factors within each individual that create the particular dynamic of their relationship. When you start working with me, we will evaluate your situation by meeting first as a couple and then I will meet with each of you individually. When we reconvene on the fourth session, goals are developed and a plan of how we will conduct the therapy process will be worked out.
After four sessions, you will also know if you are comfortable working with me. I have studied many approaches to relationship counseling in the more than 30 years I have been a therapist. While it is fashionable to say one is an expert in one approach or another, I prefer to tailor my approach to the individuals I am working with. I try to be as sensitive as I can to each of the persons in the partnership and I find this works best for ultimate success in creating a relationship that works.
Another component of my practice is wellness coaching or life coaching. The goal of wellness coaching is to help you tap into, and actualize, your deepest vision of who you are and to help you create the life you would love to live. The methods utilized are the same as in psychotherapy, it is only the mindset that changes as we focus on how we move your life forward. A constant process of thoughtful reflection is necessary to answer the questions, "Where are you now?" Where are you going?" How are you going to get there?" What emerges from this process is an atmosphere of excitement and optimism about creating a life that is deeply satisfying and meaningful.
Coaching works equally well for those who are going through life transitions and want temporary help, and for those who want to develop an ongoing coaching relationship to review what one wants to achieve on a regular basis. I regard myself as holistic and transpersonal in my approach as a wellness coach and tailor the work we do to your needs as an individual. I am also very partial to utilizing the newly emerging brain research to refine my techniques and provide the most effective coaching strategies. Wellness coaching has developed out of the human potential movement and is based on positive psychology.
Personal coaching also allows us to utilize telephone or video conferencing in addition to face-to-face chats and is particularly useful for the busy professional who would like the option of working with a coach from home, the office, on the road or on vacation. Since wellness coaching is not a treatment modality, it is possible to maintain a greater degree of confidentiality and privacy with regard to our work together. The therapist as coach and consultant is a valuable asset for those in sensitive positions.
It is important that you feel comfortable working with me and that I am a good match for you. As a clinical psychologist, I have worked with thousands of people over the years and have a very good sense of what people need to make their lives work. But each person is also unique and you might want to discuss your situation with me or ask me some questions. I invite you to schedule a free half-hour session with me over the phone. To do this, you click on The "make an appointment" option above and selecting the "free initial consult" option. After you have registered as a user, you can select an appointment time.
For more information, you can also e-mail me or call me at 703 978-0471 and I will respond as soon as possible.
Much has been written about the difference between coaching and psychotherapy and it might be called the "great debate." Some say there is little difference between the two and others would say the differences are vast. I see psychotherapy and coaching as existing along a continuum and complimenting each other rather than existing in different realms. At one end of the heiracrchy are needs for safety, security and a basic sense of self worth. At the other end of the spectrum are needs for personal growth and self-actualization. As a client learns to work effectively with feeling states such as anxiety and depression and learning how to regulate emotion, calm fears and maintain a balance between arousal and relaxation, they naturally start to turn their attention to ways they can move forward in their lives enhancing interpersonal relationships and personal effectiveness. Some clients are satisfied with just feeling better and others want to continue to expand and grow to their fullest potential.
Research has shown that
Individual Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is the practice of talking things through with a skilled and trusted professional. It provides a context for solving problems in one's personal life and healing emotional pain such as anxiety, depression, grief, guilt and trauma. For all who seek therapy, there is a desire to grow coupled with the courage to change. Inevitably, there are times when we lose our way, make mistakes or flounder in doubts about our own abilities. A skilled therapist understands and can help us to find solutions to problems and relief from pain in a nonjudgmental atmosphere. Life is a journey without end. Learning to foster our strengths and nurture a sense of well being and peace that persists in the face of all challenges is an important and vital task.
People often want to know what type of therapy is best for them and some of the most common types of therapy that I specialize in are Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, systematic desensitization and mind-body therapies such as Somatic Experiencing. I regard myself as holistic and transpersonal in my approach as a therapist and tailor the work we do to your needs as an individual. I am also very partial to utilizing the newly emerging brain research to refine my techniques and provide the most effective treatment strategies. Sessions are face-to-face in the office for 45 to 50 minutes, although occasionally we may have a session by telephone or with Skype.
The length of therapy will vary with the nature of the problem. A problem that is limited in scope such as fear of flying or the death of a loved one can often be resolved in as little as 6 sessions. When we deal with problems that are more complex, changes need to be made gradually and in small increments so that the changes will be stable and in harmony will all aspects of one's life. A good rule of thumb is around six months to make significant progress.
It is also important that you feel comfortable working with me and that I am a good match for you. To explore this, I invite you to schedule a free half-hour session with me over the phone. You can make an appointment by clicking on "make an appointment" and selecting the "free initial consult" option.
You may want to end therapy when your distress is greatly diminished and you have found successful ways to take care of yourself. At this time you may choose to transition into Wellness Coaching to continue your journey of self discovery and self actualization.
Anxiety is an unpleasant state typically associated with uneasiness , fear or worry, or outright panic. It is both psychological and physiological and, as such, nees to be worked with on all levels: cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral. I regard anxiety to be a normal reaction to stress particularly in our modern life. However if the state of anxiety becomes prolonged or well entrenched, then an anxiety disorder can be the result. To read more about anxiety, click here.
How do I work with anxiety? The first thing we do is clarify the type of anxiety you are experiencing and it's duratiion. For example, do you have a phobia or phobias? Panic attacks? If you are experiencing a general anxiety, is it all the time? Intermittent? in response to certain situations such as occurs in social anxiety? Then I begin treatment by working with the body. I teach relaxation, how to do a body scan and how to work with "felt sense." Next we move to the thought processes that go with anxiety and strategies to alter cognitions. There is often "anxiety about the anxiety" in which people fear they will have an anxiety attack at some inopportune moment and embarrass themselves. And anxiety can mask emotions that are hard to deal with such as anger.
It is important as you seek therapy for anxiety that you create a positive outlook about it. It is very easy to avoid therapy as a means of avoiding one's anxiety. I strive to make every session a positive one and if you do the same (as well as your homework), it is very possible to return to normal levels of anxiety and arousal. The capacity to regulate the nervous system and to calm fears is possible to learn with consistent effort.
Various aspects of personality and its development appear to be integral to the occurrence and persistence of depression, with negative emotionality as a common precursor. Although depressive episodes are strongly correlated with adverse events, a person's characteristic style of coping may be correlated with their resilience. Additionally, low self-esteem and self-defeating or distorted thinking are related to depression. It is not always clear which factors are causes or which are effects of depression; however, depressed persons who are able to make corrections in their thinking patterns often show improved mood and self-esteem.
American psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck developed what is now known as a cognitive model of depression in the early 1960s. He proposed that three concepts underlie depression: a triad of negative thoughts composed of cognitive errors about oneself, one's world, and one's future; recurrent patterns of depressive thinking, or schemas; and distorted information processing. From these principles, he developed the structured technique of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). According to American psychologiist, Martin Seligman, depression in humans is similar to learned helplessness in laboratory animals, who remain in unpleasant situations when they are able to escape, but do not because they initially learned they had no control.
Depressed individuals often blame themselves for negative events, and a 1993 study of hospitalized adolescents with self-reported depression shows that those who do this may not take credit for positive outcomes. This tendency is characteristic of a depressive attributional, or pessimistic explanatory style. According to Albert Bandura, a Canadian social psychologist associated with social cognitive theory, depressed individuals have negative beliefs about themselves, based on experiences of failure, observing the failure of social models, a lack of social persuasion that they can succeed, and their own somatic and emotional states including tension and stress. These influences may result in a negative self concept and a perceived lack of self-efficacy; that is, they do not believe they can influence events or achieve personal goals
When I work with couples, my approach is holistic. That is, I work not only with the relationship, but with the individuals within the relationship.
Another component of my practice is wellness coaching or life coaching. The goal of wellness coaching is to help you tap into, and actualize, your deepest vision of who you are and to help you create the life you would love to live. The methods utilized are the same as in psychotherapy, it is only the mindset that changes as we focus on how we move your life forward. A constant process of thoughtful reflection is necessary to answer the questions, "Where are you now?" Where are you going?" How are you going to get there?" What emerges from this process is an atmosphere of excitement and optimism about creating a life that is deeply satisfying and meaningful.
Psychotherapy is the practice of talking things through with a skilled and trusted professional. It provides a context for solving problems in one's personal life and healing emotional pain such as anxiety, depression, grief, guilt and trauma. For all who seek therapy, there is a desire to grow coupled with the courage to change. Inevitably, there are times when we lose our way, make mistakes or flounder in doubts about our own abilities. A skilled therapist understands and can help us to find solutions to problems and relief from pain in a nonjudgmental atmosphere. Life is a journey without end. Learning to foster our strengths and nurture a sense of well being and peace that persists in the face of all challenges is an important and vital task.
Anxiety is an unpleasant state typically associated with uneasiness , fear or worry, or outright panic. It is both psychological and physiological and, as such, nees to be worked with on all levels: cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral. I regard anxiety to be a normal reaction to stress particularly in our modern life. However if the state of anxiety becomes prolonged or well entrenched, then an anxiety disorder can be the result. To read more about anxiety,