Clinical Issues

Therapy for the individual is designed to help that person work towards solving a specific problem or problems. Psychotherapy for these issues is usually covered by health insurance.

Adult assessment and psychological testing

Adults may be referred for testing to clarify diagnoses, coping ability, intellectual functioning, readiness for psychotherapy or for medical procedures, and risks. We receive requests for testing from these sources:

• Therapists for treatment planning
• Families worried about an elderly relative's ability to live alone
• Doctors who have questions about medical issues
• Hospitals with questions about readiness for surgery
• Courts with questions about appropriate disposition of cases
• Bariatric (weight loss) surgery programs
• Psychiatrists wanting a differential diagnosis
• Neurologists questioning cognitive impairment after brain injury

Tests are chosen based on the questions to be answered. We have:

Types of Therapy

Cognitive-Behavior Therapy

There are many different protocols and procedures that have names as specific therapies. Most, but not all, fall in the general heading of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. Some of the specific approaches include:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

This novel approach has been well-researched for over twenty years. The operative word here is "acceptance". Instead of learning to challenge and replace negative thoughts or feelings, clients are taught to accept them for the moment and refocus on values.

Psychodynamic Therapies

There are new versions of psychodynamic therapies that are short-term and more focused than the original five days a week psychoanalysis that is characterized in movies. Most of these approaches look at dysfunctional patterns of behavior, especially repeated problems in relationships with people. Some types of dynamic therapy which have been researched and shown to be effective are:

• Adlerian Therapy
• Interpersonal Therapy
• Brief Dynamic Therapy
• Functional Analytic Therapy

Experiential Therapies

These therapies are designed to help you identify and resolve confusing thoughts and feelings.

• Awareness Training
• Gestalt Therapy
• Person-Centered Therapy
• Mindfulness Meditation

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

This method was originally developed for traumatic stress disorders. It involves identifying core negative thoughts about the self and associated negative life experiences while experiencing rhythmic left-right stimulation by sounds or eye movements.