HOW PSYCHOTHERAPY WORKS

I work with the psychology of depression and anxiety. Frequently, psychotherapy alone is a sufficient treatment. Sometimes medication is also needed. If so, I refer to a psychiatrist for medication while continuing with the psychotherapy. I work to help a person understand why he or she is anxious and/or depressed. People often have some idea of why they are feeling the way they are. I see my job as helping to "know why emotionally". That means having a relationship in which a person can fully discuss what is going on in his or her life. I work to earn a person's trust through my professional judgement, skill, and caring. "Emotionally knowing why" in a caring relationship with a trusted professional therapist is often the beginning of change. I say "beginning" because lasting change has to be "worked through". "Working through" means looking at an old problem in a new way, from many different angles, with new experiences, in order to "use" the new emotional knowledge. The repetition of looking at old problems with the help of new eyes in one situation after another is what makes for lasting change. The idea is to help a person gain "insight"----to learn something emotionally new. My idea of therapy is to build on what a person knows, deepen that knowledge, and help to make it work.

DEPRESSION

Depression occurs naturally with the inevitable losses of life. Sometimes, those losses are excessive, and a person has a hard time getting beyond them. At other times, depression occurs even though there is no apparent loss, or the loss would not seem significant enough to trigger the resulting depression. Feelings of worthlessness can be so great that a person may not even feel deserving of help. Some people are not even aware of their depression, even though they have some of the obvious symptoms: black moods, excessive anger, difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much, eating too little or too much, problems concentrating, slowed movement and speech, withdrawal from people, excessive pessimism, suicidal thoughts and actions, crying easily, etc.

ANXIETY

Anxiety is excessive fear. As with depression, some fear is a normal reaction to life's fearful events. But anxiety without apparent cause or reasonable cause may suggest the need for help. Too many people go through life excessively afraid---sometimes of specific places like heights, closed places, open places, people, or animals. Sometimes fear is generated by certain social situations, work, family members, or acquaintances. In addition to developing "insight" into the anxiety, therapy may also help a person practice facing the anxious situation.

SELECTING A THERAPIST is an important task. A good connection between therapist and patient is important because the therapeutic relationship is the avenue to help. Call me if I can help in making a selection for you or someone you know.