Individuals enter the process of psychotherapy with a wide range of goals, ranging fro short-term challenges such as test or performance anxiety, or life decisions requiring more present-oriented problems solving techniques, to more chronic struggles related to anxiety, depression, processing difficulties, loss, relationship issues and other sources of chronic stress. Others engage in therapy for the purpose of optimizing sources of creativity, productivity and focused attention in their lives. Having worked as a clinician for over thirty years, and continuing to learn and grow through experience and ongoing training, I feel confident in my ability to effectively assist individuals with a diverse range of needs and goals. Areas of particular specialization include the following:
Mood Conditions: Individuals experience symptoms of depression for many different reasons, including difficulties coping with real life situations such as loss, feelings of rejection, shame, failure and inadequacy. In addition, some are vulnerable to depression owing to biological factors. I have extensive training working with individuals across the age span suffering from depressive symptomatology and Bipolar conditions. My experience allows me to understand both the sources contributing to mood disorders as well as the types of treatment modalities to most effectively address presenting problems. I tend to bet quite active in my approach to treatment, viewing therapy as a collaborative process involving an active exchange of ideas.
Anxiety Conditions: It is unusual for individuals to present with anxiety conditions that do not also have components of depression, so much of what is described above applies to my approach to anxiety as well. However, in addition to more traditional forms of talk therapy, many anxiety conditions (e.g., phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder) are responsive to relaxation and other hypnotherapy techniques that I have utilized and taught for many years.
Processing Challenges and Attention Difficulties: There is no question that many individuals suffer from attention difficulties that meet the criteria for Attention Deficit Disorder. However, the sources of these problems can be extremely varied. Frequently, attention difficulties are not experienced consistently across setting or contexts for learning. An example of this is that most individuals diagnosed with ADD are capable of much greater sustained attention when attending to something of intrinsic interest. They get absorbed in the moment are are abler to integrate and retain whatever I being presented. They get absorbed in the moment and are able to integrate and retain whatever is being presented. Regretfully, not many have the option to pay attention only to what interests them. However, what is most essential is not the "interest" factor, but the absorption and integration factors. People do not process information in the same way. For example, some tend to be strong visual processors while others may have more developed auditory processing strength. The way that information is presented to different individuals will impact their ability to "attend to" the material; to process, integrate and store material in a way to later use it- i.e., to learn.
Another distinction among people is that most are more linear in the way they think; one piece of information connects to another in a clear, cogent, "logical" manner. However, others are more associative thinkers. For them, a piece of information may stimulate connections in any number of ways. The downside of this style is that these individuals often have difficulty tracking the linear presentations of others because their minds move in different directions. On the other hand, associative thinkers tend to be more creative and to think "outside the box."
In working with people with presenting attention and learning problems, I try to focus on learning styles rather than disabilities. When the right match is made between presentation and learning/processing style, impairment in attention can be significantly diminished. When this match does not occur, techniques can be developed to compensate for this type of situation.
Pain Complaints: From the time I began to include hypnotherapy in my clinical practice, I became more involved in the treatment of patients experiencing serious acute or chronic pain owing to physical/medical conditions, acute injuries, side effects from treatments, and recovery from medical procedures. The experience of pain involves a combination of neurophysiological and psychological factors. In addition, a number of chronic pain conditions involve neurological feedback loops whereby the pain response initially was caused by a physiological/medical condition, and subsequently the brain/central nervous system developed a conditioned hyper vigilant response whereby pain signals are sent to the brain without an organic basis. Hypnotherapy, especially combined with a deeper understanding of the causes of pain, can be a very effective means to address and minimize suffering. Over the last thirty years, I have served as a clinical consultant and clinical faculty for the UCLA Pediatric Pain and Palliative Care Program through the School of Medicine.
Diversity: I value working with individuals from different cultures, ethnicities and other backgrounds, as well as different gender and sexual orientations, respecting individual differences and choices and the complex impact these have on people's lives. I approach every client as a unique individual, and try to be sensitive to others in a way that allows me to be open to continued growth and understanding as we work in collaboration together.
Clinical Supervision and Psychotherapy for Psychotherapists: Over my years of teaching and consulting, I have developed a specialization in working with other clinicians, many of whom have not had much experience "on the other side of the couch" and may struggle with allowing themselves the vulnerability of releasing their role as therapist. I value the trust many therapists have developed with me that allows them to engage fully in the process of psychotherapy and personal growth for themselves.