Services
Individual Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is an approach for treating mental health issues by talking to a licensed mental health provider. It may also be known as talk therapy, counseling, psychosocial therapy or, simply, therapy. The goal of psychotherapy is to facilitate positive change in clients seeking better emotional and social functioning to improve their feelings of satisfaction and the overall qualities of their lives.
Individual therapy is one type of psychotherapy in which a trained professional helps a single person work through personal issues, emotional difficulties and mental illness. Therapy sessions give you a space to explore your thoughts, feelings and concerns without judgement. Unlike couples, family and group therapy, individual therapy focuses solely on you. Benefits of effective individual therapy include a stronger and more expansive support network, better self awareness, the ability to use skills to manage emotions, identification of underlying causes of symptoms, facilitating lifestyle changes and more.
There are many different approaches to psychotherapy. Providers may lean toward a particular orientation, but often blend multiple orientations. Each theoretical perspective acts as a roadmap to help your provider understand you and your problems and develop solutions. Your provider will complete a comprehensive assessment in the first couple sessions in order to make a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan.
Sessions are up to 55 minutes and can be held in person or remotely. Information shared during sessions are confidential (with a few exceptions). Individual therapy may be short term (focusing on immediate issues) or long term (delving into more complex problems). The number of sessions and the frequency of appointments depends on the your personal situation and the recommendations of your therapist.
Family Therapy
Family therapy, sometimes referred to as conjoint psychotherapy, is a type of treatment designed to help with issues that specifically affect families’ mental health and focusing. Family therapy focuses on the family structure and relationships between members, not on the individuals. Usual goals of family therapy include improving communication and collaboration, assisting with major changes within the family, solving family problems, assisting with major changes within the family, understanding and handling family situations and creating a better functioning home environment. Participants may learn how to make themselves heard effectively, but not hurtfully or aggressively.
The techniques used in family therapy typically depend on factors such as the theoretical orientation of your therapist and the specific needs of your family. Your provider may ask direct questions, such as when the trouble started, how each person feels about the problem, and what you may have doing to manage the situation so far. From that point, you will work with your provider to create a treatment plan to improve family conflicts.
In Family therapy, you and your family will talk with a licensed provider as a group. Insurace will require one person in the family be identified as the primary patient. The person named as the primary patient must have symptoms which support a diagnosis. If you know who the primary patient will be, please make us aware when you are completing the new patient paperwork. If you are unsure if any family member has a diagnosis, your provider will help with this assessment. If symptoms do not support a diagnosis, self pay will be required.
Family sessions are between 26 and 50 minutes.
Couples Therapy (Marriage Therapy, Premarital Therapy)
Couples/Marriage/Premarital therapy are forms of psychotherapy that can help you and your partner improve your relationship. Ongoing relationship distress is harmful to each romantic partner’s mental and physical health and will almost certainly negatively impact the wellbeing of any children in the home.
Couples therapy can address a wide range of relationship issues. You’ll have the opportunity to discuss and resolve issues related to expectations of your roles in the relationship, beliefs and values, finances, time spent together, children, familial relationships, sex and intimacy, health issues, recurring conflicts, feelings of disconnection, an affair, issues related to sex and intimacy, external stressors and more. During this process, you may find that one or both of you would benefit from separate individual therapy sessions.
Couples therapy can help you at any stage of the relationship regardless of marital status, age, race, faith, or sexual orientation. Effective couples therapy can help you and your partner understand each other better, identify relationship issues, improve communication skills, resolve conflicts, strengthen friendship and attachment, terminate dysfunctional behavior and improve overall relationship satisfaction.
There are numerous approaches to couples therapy including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Psychodynamic Couples Therapy, Gottman Method, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Relational Life Therapy (RLT). Your provider may lean towards one approach or pull from multiple approaches.
Insurance will require one partner be identified as the primary patient. The person named as the primary patient must have symptoms to endorse a diagnosis. If you know who the primary patient will be, please make us aware when you are completing the new patient paperwork. If you are unsure who has a diagnosis, your provider will help with this assessment. If symptoms do not support a diagnosis, self pay will be required.
Couples sessions are between 26 and 50 minutes and can be held in office or virtually.
Group Therapy
Group Therapy is a unique kind of therapy where a group of people who are likely experiencing similar challenges get together to share difficulties and discuss strategies to manage those situations. Group therapy may have a specific focus or may be open to the group to decide the topic. Meetings may always be open to new members or closed once a sign up period is over. Meetings may run indefinitely or for a set period of time.
Group Therapy facilitates giving and receiving support which is proven to boost your overall health. When you feel good about helping someone else, or feel heard yourself, your brain releases dopamine, the “feel good”chemical messenger into your body.
We all need a safe place to talk things out. Group Therapy can be that for people looking to manage a mental health issue or major life change. A big part of the group therapy experience is recognizing that you are not alone, others understand your struggles, and others have made progress with those struggles. Group therapy gives you a voice. Expressing yourself can be healing. Group therapy can help you practice interacting with other people in a safe space. You’ll have an opportunity to lean into feeling accepted by others and to challenge yourself in making your needs known.
The technique used in group therapy sessions depends on the preferences of the therapist or facilitator leading the group. Experiential activities such as art, music, dance or movement therapy are ways to become more aware of yourself and feelings. Journaling and writing exercises are shown to decrease stress. Role playing can improve your ability to empathize and communicate.
Group therapy may be intimidating for some at first, but its value outweighs any initial awkwardness by providing a sounding board and social support.
Group therapy sessions will vary in duration, topics, number of participants, age of participants, and cost. Cost of therapy sessions can be billed through your insurance if there is an existing diagnosis and/or a referral from a provider. Self pay is accepted otherwise.
Music & Creative Arts Therapies
At some point in our lives, we all experience the powerful effects of music and the arts. Sometimes we may hear a song that brings us right back to a certain time and place, or a song that speaks our feelings and/or restores our sense of connection with others or connection with our sense of spirituality. Or sometimes we may see a photo or a painting that portrays a sentiment or represents something important to us. Over the years, thousands of research studies have documented the positive effects of music and the arts on human wellness, noting that music can improve mood and one’s ability to manage emotions; music can mobilize and motivate us; music can reduce pain, enhance relaxation and improve stress management; and music can facilitate memory recall and improve communication and socialization skills. Music therapy and the creative arts therapies- also known as expressive therapies- are professions that utilize these intrinsic features of the arts in a supportive, person-centered environment, by providing unique, personalized creative strategies aimed at facilitating reflection and achieving inner growth.
Music therapists and creative arts therapists are trained licensed and board-certified therapists who are skilled in working with children and adults seeking treatment for a wide range of issues, including grief, stress, depression, tension/anxiety, relationship/communication difficulties and/or acute or long-term diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, trauma-related challenges and more. Therapists are also trained to work with Autism, Down’s syndrome and other neurological or developmental disorders.
In music therapy and creative arts therapy sessions, therapists offer a range of strategies that are tailored to clients’ needs and goals. Strategies include, for example: painting; drawing; story boards; journaling, memoir/legacy compositions and/or creative writing; therapeutic song writing; instrument playing, drumming; music listening and lyric discussion. Music is live and/or recorded and may also be improvised. Therapists and clients create and develop strategies together, that, especially over the course of therapy, assist clients in achieving their personal goals. Clients commonly experience improved self-determination and a deepened sense of meaning and purpose.
Therapy sessions typically last 30-55 minutes, depending on age of client and client’s needs, and can be held in person or remotely. The number and frequency of sessions depends on one’s personal situation and the therapist’s recommendations. Both individual and group sessions are currently available.
Medication Management
Medication management is an evidence-based approach that uses medication as part of an overall treatment plan. Medication Management for mental health concerns is a specialty. The goal is to reduce symptoms and improve functioning while minimizing side effects and risks associated with taking certain types of medications. Getting your medications right so you can feel better is critical to your wellbeing.
The benefits of psychiatric medications include improved symptom control, increased functioning, a better quality of life, reduced risk for mental health relapse or recurrence, and decreased hospitalizations due to psychiatric emergencies. Medication management is commonly used to treat a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and more. In some cases, it may also be used to help manage physical symptoms associated with these conditions. Psychiatric medication management, alone or with psychotherapy, can be an important piece as you begin the process of finding healing and balance, leading to a good quality of life.
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners and Psychiatric Physicians Assistants have advanced degrees, specialized trainings and extensive knowledge in providing this care. Your provider will spend significant time working with you to gather your physical and mental health history, reviewing diagnoses, analyzing past and current medications and developing a treatment plan recommending the appropriate medication at the right dose. Once a medication has been prescribed, your provider will monitor your response to medication and make adjustments as needed.
Medication Management meetings may occur in the office or via telehealth or a combination of both.
Life Coaching
Life coaching helps you bridge the gap between where you currently are and where you want to be in life.
The goal of life coaching is to help you gain clarity surrounding various aspects of your life. Maybe you are feeling stuck or irritable. Maybe you are experiencing increasing levels of stress and/or anxiety. Maybe you are developing destructive behaviors or having difficulty overcoming them. Maybe you feel unfulfilled personally or professionally.
Life coaching is a great tool for overcoming obstacles, improving communication skills, finding motivation, building self-confidence, dealing with difficult emotions, or making smooth transitions.
It differs from therapy in that therapy is provided by licensed mental health professionals who are qualified to make a diagnosis and work with insurances. Our Life Coaches have completed advanced trainings and are Certified to provide professional help. Both therapists and coaches seek to create a supportive relationship with you in order to foster the most growth and development.
Generally the process of life coaching will begin by addressing all of the challenges you are currently facing in order to help you uncover the underlying issue. Sometimes clients are satisfied with just this level in the process, as the clarity and reassurance are all they desired.
The next step in the process is to assist you in choosing and setting goals for your desired future that are clear and attainable. It’s the coach’s role as a facilitator to help you clarify your goals, identify any obstacles holding you back, and to determine strategies for clearing these obstacles. The final step in the process is a perpetual one where you enter into a loop of reflection and self-awareness.
As you change, your beliefs, needs, and priorities shift as well. Therefore, the number of coaching sessions you need will depend on each individual situation and your desired outcome. It is not uncommon for coaching clients to enter and exit the process as situations arise.
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is performed by a certified professional who is specially trained in this technique. It is the practice of using therapeutic hypnosis in a safe environment to create transformative change in the way you think, believe, and ultimately take action.
Hypnosis can be used for behavior modification to help improve the success of treatments for issues such as smoking cessation, weight management, fears and phobias, anxiety, depression, stress and overwhelm, sleep disturbances, chronic pain, IBS, hot flashes, and more because the hypnotic state allows you to better respond to suggestions.
Hypnosis can also be used for self-improvement which allows you and your practitioner to explore the root cause of a symptom, disorder, or traumatic event that you may have suppressed within your subconscious memory (your emotional mind where all of your beliefs and experiences are stored).
Because hypnosis bypasses the conscious mind (your logical, focal mind) due to the deep state of relaxation while in the hypnotic state, the root cause of these issues can be more readily accessed than in traditional psychotherapy modalities. Once the root cause is revealed, it can then be addressed within a traditional psychotherapy session which is why hypnotherapy and psychotherapy work so well together.
The goal of hypnotherapy is to facilitate stronger agreement between your conscious and subconscious minds bringing a deeper sense of balance overall.
Prior to your session, an extensive medical history and background will be collected and you will be given an explanation of how hypnosis works and what to expect. The actual session will last approximately 2 hours and can be held in-person or virtually. During your session, you will be moved into a state of deep relaxation in which you are highly focused and suggestible.
Despite feeling like you are falling asleep, you are still aware of everything going on around you, but are relaxed enough to not be bothered by them while still maintaining control of your thoughts and actions. You cannot be made to say or do anything that you wouldn’t say or do while fully awake.
Once in hypnosis, we will work together to determine the root cause of the underlying belief that has contributed to your issue (the thing you most want changed) be it behavior modification or self-improvement. From here we will remove or replace this belief with new beliefs and behaviors that are more in alignment with what you want for your life moving forward.
The number of sessions will depend on each individual situation, but most clients see results within 1-3 sessions.