We offer individual and family therapy to help you cope with:

Anxiety

• There are several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and various phobia-related disorders
• According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH), GAD affects 6.8 million adults in the U.S. (3.1% of the population), and yet only 43.2% is receiving treatment. That means that at any given point, more than 3.8 million people are struggling with anxiety without professional support

Depression

• The most commonly diagnosed form of depression is Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
• Research indicates that depression occurs more often in women than men, and symptoms are manifested differently depending on one’s age and gender
• According to the NIH, in 2021 an estimated 21 million adults in the U.S. (8.3% of the population) reported at least one major depressive episode in the previous year.

OCD^*

• It has a neurobiological basis. It equally affects men, women, and children of all races, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds
• According to the NIH, between 2-3 million adults in the U.S. currently have OCD, and many do not report
• It is characterized by obsessions and compulsions that take up at least an hour a day – but usually longer – and cause significant distress
  • Obsessions: repeated thoughts, urges, or mental images that are intrusive, unwanted, and make most people anxious
  • Compulsions: repetitive behaviors a person feels the urge to do, often in response to an obsession

Trauma

• Developmental trauma
  • The term describes experiences of chronic trauma and loss experienced by children in their early years, usually with their attachment figures
  • According to LaPierre and Heller (2012)¹: “Developmental trauma may well be one of the most important public health issues in the world today. It is roughly estimated that in the United States alone, it affects nearly 3 million children yearly.”
    • The ACES study
      • The adverse childhood experiences study looked into patterns of abuse (emotional, physical and sexual), neglect (physical and emotional) and household challenges experienced by a large sample of adults from birth to age 17
      • The study found that ACEs are common among all populations. The number of ACEs is correlated to multiple health risk factors. Research indicates that adults who had experienced 4 or more ACEs showed a 12-time higher prevalence of health risks such as alcoholism, drug use, depression, and suicide attempts².
      • Additional research indicates that having the support of a trusting adult during childhood can mitigate the negative impact of ACEs
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
  • It refers to clusters of symptoms developed after exposure to traumatic events:
    • Intrusive symptoms: recurrent and unwanted thoughts, feelings, body sensations, nightmares and flashbacks related to the traumatic event(s)
    • Avoidance symptoms: attempts to avoid activities, people, places, distressing thoughts, memories and conversations related to the traumatic event(s)
    • Alterations in cognition and mood: difficulty experiencing a full range of emotions, inability to remember important aspects of the traumatic event(s), undue feelings of responsibility for the cause(s) and consequence(s) of the traumatic event(s)
    • Alterations in arousal and reactivity:irritability, state of constant alertness, reckless/self-destructive behaviors, sleep and concentration disturbances
    • According to the NIH, about 6% of the U.S. population will have PTSD at some point in their lives. Many people who have PTSD will recover and no longer meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD after treatment
    • According to the NIH, most people who go through a traumatic event will not develop PTSD

1. Heller, L & LaPierre, A. (2012) Healing Developmental Trauma. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. ↩︎
2. Webster EM. The Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Health and Development in Young Children. Glob Pediatr Health. 2022 Feb 26;9:2333794X221078708. doi: 10.1177/2333794X221078708. PMID: 35237713; PMCID: PMC8882933. ↩︎

* I have been trained in ERP, the gold standard treatment for OCD, but I do not specialize in OCD. I seek consultation to ensure I offer my clients proper care.