Adults, adolescents and children can develop a variety of symptoms and disorders that can impair family, school, relational, occupational and social functioning, all of which I have found to be highly responsive to therapeutic intervention. Below are some clinical patterns that I have frequently encountered in my practice which can be present either singularly or in combined forms.
- Depressive Disorders
- Mood Disorders
- Bipolar Disorders
- Anxiety Disorders
- Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorders (ADHD)
- Oppositional Defiant Disorders
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD)
- Conduct Disorders
- Autistic Disorders
- Substance Abuse Disorders
- Substance Abusers
- Couples Problems
- Adult Individual Problems
- Neuro-Psychological Disorders
- Addictions
Depression
Chronic or acute feelings of sadness, hopelessness, unworthiness and guilt; irritability and anger; decreased energy and feelings of fatigue; loss of interest or enjoyment in usual activities; a decline in concentration and productivity; changes in sleep and appetite; suicidal ideation and/or self-harming behaviors. [top]
Mood Disorders
Mood disorders are mental disorders characterized by periods of depression, sometimes alternating with periods of elevated mood.
While many people go through sad or elated moods from time to time, people with mood disorders suffer from severe or prolonged mood states that disrupt their daily functioning. Among the general mood disorders are major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and dysthymia. [top]
Bipolar Disorder
Severe, abrupt, cyclical changes in mood alternating from depressed to elated; easily and extremely agitated and irritable; grandiosity and unrealistic plans and expectations; excessive energy and reduced need for sleep; highly impulsive and impairments in judgment.
Bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic depression, is a mental illness that features extreme changes in mood. A person’s mood alternates between manic highs and depression. These mood changes can last for days, weeks, months or even years.
More than 2.5 million Americans have the condition. Usually the condition starts in late adolescence, although bipolar can affect children. The disease afflicts people of all races, ethnic groups and social classes. You must get treatment. Bipolar disorder can devastate your life, damage relationships with family and friends, and hurt your career. [top]
Anxiety
Excessive ongoing worry, and/or fearfulness; tension and irritability; school refusal, phobias, panic attacks; distress over separation from caregivers; compulsive thoughts and rituals; difficulty concentrating; trouble falling or staying asleep; fatigue, headaches and other somatic complaints. [top]
Poor concentration; easily distracted and off-task; restlessness; trouble following directions; forgetfulness; poor frustration tolerance; hyperactivity; impulsivity; peer and social difficulties; usually evident before age seven; occurs across home, school, and social settings. [top]
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Frequent arguing; angry outbursts; refusal to comply with requests and rules; deliberate attempts to annoy or frustrate others; inability to take responsibility for actions; frequently spiteful and vindictive. [top]
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Exposure to terrifying or life-threatening circumstances; intrusive thoughts; avoidance and withdrawal; flashbacks; nightmares and interrupted sleep; hyper-vigilance and exaggerated startle response; emotional numbness and detachment; feelings of irritability and depression; re-enactment of traumatic or morbid themes in play and art. [top]
Conduct Disorder
Frequent fighting; bullies intimidates and threatens others; stealing; destruction of property; cruelty towards people and/or animals; fire-setting; lying and manipulation of others; moderate to severe aggression; severe non-compliance with rules; curfew violations and runaway behavior. [top]
Autistic Disorder
Difficulty with routine transitions; trouble understanding social cues, body language and facial expressions; poor modulation of speech; avoids eye contact; fixation with only one or few interests; preoccupation with non-functional routines, details and rules; focused on parts of objects; repetitive movements and gestures; impaired fine and/or gross motor skills; acute sensitivity to touch, taste, textures, and loud sounds; usually has normal language development and average to above average intelligence. [top]
Substance Abuse Disorders
Self-medicating through the use of alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, inhalants, over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs, etc. Often called co-occurring disorders due to presence of additional significant mental health issues such those detailed above. [top]
Substance Abusers
I treat drug addicts, alcoholics and people who may not be full-blown addicts or alcoholics, but abusing chemicals to the detriment of their lives and the lives of those around them. My experience has taught me that subtlety is not the way to go with chemical abusers/dependents. I challenge them — hard. I give them a lot of information and education. I work with their spouses and parents and children and whomever else the drug/alcohol use impacts. Again, family therapy is essential to recovery. I believe in the 12-step approach and push it hard. If someone refuses to go to Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous or Cocaine Anonymous meetings, I will work with them anyway. However, I will continue to gently, and not so gently, push them towards meetings. These 12-step programs aren’t perfect, but they’re free, readily available and the best thing available for addiction recovery.
With the medical and psychiatric expertise of esteemed doctors in the community, we are offering a safe alternative to in-patient hospitalization featuring ambulatory detox. These are big words for: We can get you off of your chemicals without you paying $30,000.00 for one month of treatment. [top]
Couples Problems
A fairly high percentage of my practice is in couples’ therapy. Sometimes a client begins individual therapy and we transition to include their significant other. Couples therapy is hard work. Clients need to look at their own history and see how it impacts today’s relationship. I try to do a “directive” type of therapy, where I ask couples to go home and practice new behaviors with each other. People have 167 hours in between appointments, and that’s where most of the changes will occur. [top]
Adult Individual Problems
I see these folks most often in my office – not because they have more issues, but because they seek therapy more often than others. Although therapy takes place with just the individual client, I always consider where the client is, relative to his or her family of origin, and in the context of his or her life today (work, relationships, etc.). So although therapy takes place individually, our solutions take into account the bigger life picture. [top]
Neuro-Psychological Disorders
Neuro-Psychological Disorders include Autism, Asperger’s disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and most learning disorders (i.e., dislexia, phonological disorders, etc.). [top]
Addictions
Anxiety and low self-esteem often trigger the desire to find something outside of ourselves to fix how we feel. For some of us, the quickest way to accomplish this is to use drugs, alcohol, food, sex, cybersex, online addiction, internet gaming, gambling, shopping, and/or pornography. By working together on the underlying anxieties – the root causes – you will discover that the true solution lies within, which will reduce or eliminate your dependence on the addictive behavior. [top]
