DEPRESSION: People who are depressed often struggle with feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and guilt. They often have poor self-esteem, and have little energy, motivation, or interest in doing things they used to enjoy or being with people. Depression can sometimes be intense and severe, and sometimes it can be a low-grade and chronic (sometimes referred to as dysthymia).
ANXIETY: People who feel anxious are often fearful about certain situations. They may avoid places, people, or activities because of feelings uncomfortably anxious. They sometimes have panic attacks, which are brief but intense episodes of uncomfortable anxiety marked by pounding heart, muscle tension, shortness of breath, and feeling like one is going to pass out or “go crazy.”
I have had significant training and experience treating specific anxiety disorders including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, agoraphobia (fear and avoidance of people, places, or activities), social phobia, or a specific phobia (such as fear of flying, driving, riding buses, animals, or water).
TRAUMA: People who have had traumatic experiences often experience ongoing distress. Traumatic experiences include physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, dealing with the violent or unexpected death of a loved one, and other highly distressing events.
People who have had traumatic experiences often suffer from symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These include (a) highly distressing thoughts or memories of the traumatic experience, (b) feeling emotionally flat or “numb,” (c) avoiding thoughts, feelings, or situations that reminds one of the traumatic event, (d) needing to be always on-guard or vigilant, (e) having bad dreams, (f) feeling distressed when one sees or experiences something that reminds him or her of the traumatic event, and (h) guilt and anger.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: People often seek help for coping with an unhealthy behavior or aspect to their lifestyle they would like to change. common reasons for behavioral health treatment include: (a) smoking cessation, (b) weight management, (c) stress management, and (d) anger management.
INTERPERSONAL PROBLEMS: People often seek counseling to learn to better cope and deal with others. Specific interpersonal problems frequently include the following: (a) feelings get easily hurt by others, (b) easily irritated and angered by others, even over relatively minor things, (c) frequent or unstable pattern of relationships with friends or lovers, (d) patterns of unhealthy dating behavior, (d) avoiding others because of fear of being rejected, criticized, or laughed at.
PSCYHOLOGICAL/EMOTIONAL problems related to a medical illness: People suffering from medical illnesses often have psychological or emotional problems as well, including feelings of loss, guilt, anger, and uncertainty. They sometimes have difficulty managing pain and knowing how to make the most of their lives given the limitations of their illness. I frequently see patients suffering with illnesses such as diabetes, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, HIV/AIDS, cancer, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
RELATIONSHIP Difficulties & Marital Counseling: People seek relationship or marital counseling when they experience an uncomfortable degree of unhappiness or discord in their relationships. My goal is to help couples succeed by helping each individual identify patterns of behaving and relating that are not working in the relationship, and then develop a plan for changing behavior. I have found that usually neither partner is entirely to blame for relationship problems. Rather, both individuals bring to a relationship expectations and ways of relating that can be at odds with each other. When both partners are committed to improving a relationship, they can realize significant improvement in the quality of their relationship through counseling.