Specializing in the treatment of Chronic Stress Anxiety, Depression, Grief & Loss, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Anxiety
Anxiety is a typical emotional experience for most people that may arise in new situations, life transitions, or places or in overcoming a hardship. Feelings of heightened arousal and fear-based thoughts that are persistent, automatic, intrusive, and severe in nature and present for a significant duration of time are experienced as emotionally, psychologically, and physically destructive, even debilitating. If left untreated, heightened anxiety may develop into disruption of mood, disrupted sleep or insomnia, and increased feelings of panic, paranoia, and terror, creating a risk to one's typical functioning in their home and/or community. Severe anxiety typically manifests in physical sensations including but not limited to increased heart rate, light-headedness, sweating, physical tremors, and/or numbness. This can inhibit one's response in effectively handling some of life's challenging situations, as well as hinder the enjoyment of some of the most desired and rewarding times.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) has researched and categorized anxiety disorders as separation anxiety disorder, specific phobia(s), post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, substance-induced, and agoraphobia. Heightened levels of anxiety can be treated with a variety of cognitive behavioral therapies (i.e., mindfulness, EMDR, etc.), as well as a psychodynamic approach. For some individuals with moderate to severe anxiety, medication may be needed as a combined treatment with talk therapy to support stabilizing the mood and regulate emotions and behaviors that threaten an individual's ability to function.
Depression
Depression is a type of mood disorder that involves behavioral challenges that impede one’s ability to function across multiple areas in life, often associated with chronic feelings of sadness, worthlessness, or hopelessness, as well as a loss of interest or pleasure. Disappointment, sadness, or even depressed feelings can occur as normal emotional responses to stress/overwhelm, traumatic life events, and unwelcome/adverse life circumstances. Depressive episodes are recurring, intense states that last for at least two weeks. Depressive episodes can manifest with a variety of symptoms, including sleep disturbances like over-sleeping or insomnia, emotional disturbances like excessive guilt or worthlessness, irritable mood, recurring thoughts of death or suicide ideation, and changes in appetite, i.e., restricting meals or over-eating leading to significant weight changes. For some children or adults dealing with depression, an episode may occur as a single or recurring event experienced at varied levels of intensity. For some children and adults, the occurrence of depressive issues may be better explained by genetic and environmental factors impacting behavioral and emotional problems that have been researched and categorized according to the DSM-5, which are disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, major depressive disorder, dysthymia, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and substance-induced, (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
Depression can be treated with a variety of cognitive behavioral therapies like mindfulness-based therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and EMDR, as well as with a psychodynamic approach in talk therapy. For those struggling with recurring, moderate to severe depressive episodes, pursuing a medication regimen may be a necessary step toward stabilizing mood. In such cases, a medication regime is often combined with talk therapy, offering a more effective and comprehensive treatment approach.
Grief and Loss
Grieving is a term that refers to the emotional processing of a variety of feelings that is associated with and influenced by one’s memories and life experiences, thought patterns, and beliefs. Greif and loss occur in response to a variety of life’s challenges that people may commonly describe as bereavement after the death of a loved one. It is painful for many and comes with a changed life experience, sometimes resulting in drastic life changes. This process is often unique to each person; however, grieving may include experiencing denial, anger, bargaining over the loss, depression, and acceptance, which may happen in phases over varied lengths of time. For some, experiencing loss may not only mean grieving the death of a loved one but also the loss of belonging, a sense of security, or disturbing past experiences.
While recent research has discovered that not everyone who suffers a loss will experience depression, certain circumstances can influence one to experience issues related to complicated grief or prolonged grief. This may be influenced by the traumatic nature of the loss or death of a loved one or pre-existing relational conflict (or traumatic attachment) with the bereaved.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder & Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing
With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), adjustment back to normal life routine after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event proves to be a challenge after several months pass, despite the threatening situation coming to an end. The brain and the body have ways of responding to life-threatening events by activating the autonomic nervous system as a survival mechanism. Once a threatening situation registers in the brain, it triggers a chain reaction of physiological, emotional, and behavioral changes that follow– the stress hormone cortisol is released in the body causing muscles to tighten and eyes dilate, preparing an individual to react in a survival mode. The automatic, protective behavioral response(s) that are the body’s natural adaptation for survival in the face of danger is called fight, flight, or freeze. Individuals suffering from PTSD may notice psychological, emotional, and/or behavioral disturbances that develop and linger either immediately following the traumatic event and persist or worsen over time. Symptoms of PTSD may include night terrors during sleep, hypervigilance or being “on edge,” flashbacks, re-experiencing the traumatic event in current time, avoiding reminders that can be associated with thoughts of the event (i.e., places, people, etc..), or 'emotional numbing'. Such symptoms tend to persist despite significant time passing and safety being restored, for longer than one month.
Citation:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)is one of the leading trauma treatments that has been in practice and research for over 25 years. This structured, eight-phased clinical approach is designed to assess and treat symptoms of PTSD (for single-event trauma, multiple traumas, and complex PTSD), chronic depression, specific phobias, and attachment trauma. This approach can be used in combination with traditional talk therapy models. EMDR treatment is best understood within the adaptive information processing (AIP) model. For more information about EMDR treatment phases, please visit: https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/
