Depression

People who struggle with depression often feel down for extended periods. They may lose interest in activities that they once found pleasurable. Depression negatively affects millions of Americans each year.  Depression will respond to psychotherapy.  You not only can get better, you will get better.

Anxiety OCD & Stress

Stress and anxiety are related, but often confused. Stress is tension associated with a specific event (e.g. a test or a job), while anxiety is a non-specific worry about an event or the future. To find relief, people with anxiety may turn to repetitive routines, preoccupations, or addictions.  OCD is one example of an anxiety disorder.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder, formerly known as Manic Depression or Manic Depressive Illness, is a common Mental Health disorder but is very amenable to treatment.  Bipolar II Disorder (often referred to as "Soft Bipolar Illness") has often been confused with "Depression & Anxiety."  This often has led to innappropriate pharmacological treatment.  Certain medications can trigger a manic episode in those pre-disposed to Bipolar Disorder.  Proper assessment and diagnosis is essential to any treatment, but this is especially true with Bipolar Disorder, as being given "Antidepressants and Anti-anxiety medicines" can often result in a poor and "partial" outcome.  I do not believe in a person settling for a partial outcome in any aspect of their lives.  

Some persons with Bipolar Disorder experience more Depressed Moods than Manic or "Up" Moods, but the hallmark of Bipolar Disorder is mood oscillation, with the "Up" resulting in racing thoughts, distractibility, ideas that flow faster in the mind that can be articulated verbally. Persons with Bipolar Disorder sometimes experience periods when they feel fully rested after merely four hours of sleep.  Bipolar Disorder is best treated with a combination of a Mood Stabilizing medication and psychotherapy, although some other medications are often used with success to augment the mood stabilizing medicine.  Interestingly, Lithium Carbonate was the first agent used to treat Bipolar Disorder, and it was referred to as a "Mood Normalizer."  Prior to Lithium Carbonate, a combination of Stimulants and Depressants were used to "normalize" a person's mood.  The goal in Bipolar Illness treatment is compliance with medications, which may mean the necessity of augmenting other medications if the mood stabilizing agent makes a person feel too "flat" emotionally.

Trauma

Experiences that overwhelm or scare us can leave a lasting impression. The symptoms can leave us stressed, depressed, and experiencing flashbacks to the traumatic experience.  We might develop an exagerated startle response to similar sounds, tastes, or smells that we experienced during the traumatic experience.  Obviously this can have negative consequences for our work and home life.

Communication

A person feeling understood is vital to any successful psychotherapy.  Much of this is derived from explaining your life and beliefs to a psychotherapist and feeling they "get me." This is a vital and necessary part of successful partnerships between patient and psychotherapist. Your ability to express yourself to your psychotherapist and get their feedback will allow you to apply tools you learn in your everyday life to those close to you and feel more comfortable in your relationships and in your life.

Trust

Trust plays a vital role in a psychotherapeutic relationship and Web-Based psychotherapy is no different.  Trust is essential in your sustaining your relationship with your psychotherapist. People trust differently. For some, trust is established quickly, while others are slow to grant trust. Similarly, some are able to forgive quickly, while others find it hard. Neither of these are right or wrong, just different.

Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is a level of feeling about your personal worth. It is important to be able to value yourself regardless of your current state of personal achievement, beauty, or intelligence. Your self-esteem creates the foundation for a full life, great relationships, and a feeling of well-being.  I believe in working beyond the feeling have "Low Self-Esteem" to help you understand you are a person of worth and are much larger than any of any one or combination of your problems.