Psychotherapy and hypnosis help with a wide variety of struggles. There are a number of problems that I treat. Here are some of them:

Eating Disorders: This covers the spectrum of disorders, which range from Anorexia, Bulimia, and Compulsive Overeating/Obesity, to Post Bariatric Surgery Therapy. I have a lot of experience treating all types of eating disorders and a good track record with good results. I don’t have a diet plan, nor a regimented program, but I do have many tools to share with clients who want to understand their disordered eating and how to change their behaviors. One of my tools is hypnosis, which helps some people get to the end result more quickly.

Anxiety Disorders: This covers a wide variety of disruptions to daily life, including Social Anxiety, Phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety, and Perfectionism. One of my previous jobs was directing a Phobia Clinic and I learned A LOT about anxiety problems and how to help people with anxiety disorders. Some people only have one expression of anxiety, others have several. Despite feeling overwhelmed by very uncomfortable feelings, anxiety can be helped and nerves can be calmed. Learning how to relax and tools to practice daily are important aspects of treatment.

Depression Disorders: These disorders can manifest in many ways. Examples range from Low Self Esteem and Feeling Stuck, to Major Depression. Depression has a unique feeling to it that many people have described as sitting in a dark room. For some the dark is pitch black for others it’s dimly gray, but for everyone it’s a feeling of not being “in” life. Depression is a mood disorder, but it also affects thinking by impairing concentration, impairing memory, and creating thoughts of suicide from the sheer hopelessness of living with depression. Take hope, however, because in my opinion, the world of psychotherapy has made very significant strides in treating this malicious problem. Not to be a broken record, but be sure to ask me about hypnosis if you come to see me about depression.

Problems in Living: People seeking help for problems in living are often in a transition phase of their life. It can seem that there are too many choices, or perhaps not enough options. Motivation to move forward is hard when the direction is unclear. How can I help with a problem like this? The simplest answer is “I’m not you” and that perspective gives me an objectivity that provides a different point of view.

Aging Issues: This broad category reflects my professional expertise and where I am personally. After all we are all aging, but this topic refers to those issues that arise either through a major life transition, such as retirement, or caring for an aging spouse or parent. I worked as a Geriatric Care Manager for awhile and appreciate the complexity of issues that are woven together in care giving. From a family point of view, everyone is affected by an aging relative’s loss of independence and this is an area of expertise. It is a broad field and I don’t claim expertise in all parts, just some of the parts.

Altering Habits: There are behavioral strategies that can help people change habits they’ve had for months or years. There are some habits that might be too stubbornly ingrained to be modified and I’d be happy to discuss this with you. In general, the more specific the habit, the more adaptable to change it likely will be. Hypnosis is especially useful in treating habits that you are motivated to change.

Increasing Self-esteem: Self esteem, or a person’s evaluation of his/her own worth, is such an important predictor of that individual’s quality of life that I work on this every chance I get, regardless of the presenting problem. This involves a combination of focused exercises on how and what you think and behavioral changes. As in most other aspects of my work, if you are only prepared to work in my office, there’s not going to be much change outside. So, be prepared to take something home with you to do between our visits. No surprise, hypnosis can help here too.

Enhancing Marriage: This is self explanatory and is more preventive, always a good thing. Communication, problem solving, negotiating roles and responsibilities, and establishing mutual boundaries are some of the tasks and skills I would discuss with a couple. Often couples appear for help when they are in a transition in their life together: new child, new job, relocation or retirement, to name a few.

Marital Discord: There is a more specific focus to this work; usually a couple will bring a problem they cannot resolve on their own. Perhaps they’ve lived with this problem for awhile and find it generally impacts their entire relationship. All discussions seem to come back to this topic. After finding themselves “circling the block” for the umpteenth time, they need help