Across many years of clinical work at mental health facilities, medical rehabilitation centers, and as an independent practitioner, I have had the pleasure and honor of teaching people many different types of practical, non-medication based methods to enhance their effectiveness in their ability to cope, manage, and thrive in life.
My initial education and work was in Pennsylvania; after completing graduate education and training in Indiana and Florida, from 1985 to present I have been licensed as a Psychologist in Florida. My roles have since included being an individual and family psychotherapist, marital-couples counselor, consultant to religious communities and rehabilitation facilities, as well as serving as Clinical Director of 2 nationally accredited outpatient multidisciplinary pain management programs. Throughout my career, particularly post-dissertation, I have continued clinical work in the field of medical health psychology, specifically working with individuals (and their families) who face the adversities of various chronic disease syndromes and pain disorders. I have also continued my work with persons dealing with emotional difficulties of persons who suffer from chronic worry, anxiety, depression, perfectionism, and low esteem problems.
The fundamental key to starting the process of change with persons I work with is building trust & rapport. This is founded and anchored in a genuine caring concern about each person as a human "being." Each person I work with faces significant challenges, whether they be emotional, medical, in many cases both. I respect their courage in coming to my care and being receptive to options in coping with adversities. I appreciate that they may be battling a culture and treatment system which often addresses chronic problems like acute ones; I offer comprehensive mind-body-spiritual interventions tailored to each patient's needs, designed to complement additional treatments they might be receiving for their medical disorders and/or their mental health concerns.
It is gratifying to know that across 40 years of clinical work my patients have responded with trust in my competence, have openly shared their lives, have been willing to try new methods to face, manage, and overcome many challenges, many fears and many disappointments. They have honored and inspired me by expressions of appreciation for my support, guidance, and persistent "terminal" optimism about their potentials to grow in life, to use new, creative, and very practical ways to transform themselves and their life situations.
Within many tailored treatment approaches used, I help patients reexamine and revise their responses to real threats they face, emotional and physical, as well as understandable but nevertheless fantasized threats about their future which often has rendered them "stuck in time." They are most often unaware the inaccuracies of their dire future predictions and the potent negative consequences in the present of those catastrophic expectations.
I train people to to creatively forge ahead by practicing more effective ways to to think, react, and relax. I assist them with creative alternatives addressing their physical, emotional, interpersonal and spiritual challenges. I engage patients in the process of change and growth and self-affirmation, helping them move through a dense forest of uncertainty to a renewed sense of freedom and greater personal control. The outcome of therapy, globally, is to have those I work with leave treatment with a newfound respect for their inner strength, their capacities for coping mastery, and their ability to independently create and sustain happiness and fulfillment in their lives.
Current Treatment Options Offered for Adults and Senior Adults
- Individual Psychotherapy
- Family Consultations related to Chronic Illness & Disease Syndromes
- Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions to Address Emotional Distress and Chronic Pain/Illness
- Overcoming Anxiety-Panic Syndromes
- Resolving Situational and Longstanding Depressions
- Building Self Esteem & Self-Nourishment
- Working Through Acute Grief Unresolved Grief/Loss
- Active Coping Strategies to Manage Pain Syndromes
- Techniques for Managing Chronic Pain & Persistent Illness-Disease Syndromes
- Psychological Preparation for Surgeries
- Training in Mindfulness, Imagery, and Somatic Relaxation Strategies
Treatment Process
In our initial sessions, my emphasis will include:
--- understanding your life history
--- identifying your history of previous as well as current symptoms/need/concerns/aspirations
--- reviewing your previous efforts, coping strategies, and treatments regarding your issues of concern
--- introducing you to intervention options tailored to your current symptom concerns and personality style
Through the course of psychotherapy expect:
--- training in evidence-based cognitive, behavioral, and mindfulness techniques to better manage emotional
distress and minimize needs for medication based interventions
--- training in concrete methods to improve day-to-day functional coping skills to directly address multiple
adverse impacts of enduring medical issues
--- providing consistent emotional support and encouragement to practice self-nourishing techniques