Specialized Areas of Therapy

The most common reasons people seek therapy include:

• • • Depression
    • Anxiety or anxiety attacks
    • Relationship problems
    • Self-defeating behaviors
    • Dissatisfaction with life circumstances

There are specific difficulties, however, that require specific therapy skills, such as the following:

Posttraumatic Stress
Overwhelming life experiences, such as car accidents, rape, violence, natural disasters, life-threatening medical illnesses,
or other traumas, can produce nightmares, recurrent thoughts or memories, anxious reminders of the trauma, and fearful avoidance of these reminders.  The clinicians at the Family Health Psychology Center will assess for and treat these symptoms.

Pain
Pain is a complex and highly distressing experience. There are many techniques, other than medication and surgery, to manage pain and discomfort. The staff at the Family Health Psychology Center can help you learn nonpharmacologic techniques (such as relaxation techniques, guided imagery, paced activity, mindfulness, and/or therapies to change how thinking and emotions may worsen pain), and plan a comprehensive way to decrease pain and maximize activity and productivity.

Health Promotion/Disease Prevention
Diet, exercise, and smoking cessation are important for promoting a healthy lifestyle and preventing disease, but can be difficult to achieve and maintain.  Both group and individual psychotherapies are available for weight loss, exercise, diet, and quitting smoking.

Adjustment to Chronic Illness
Chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, cardiac problems, fibromyalgia, cancer, asthma, sickle-cell, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or kidney failure, demand a tremendous amount of change and self-care.  The Family Health Psychology Center can help you cope with these changes, preserve your quality of life, or even reduce your symptoms or slow your disease progression.

Stress-related Physical Problems
Many physical illnesses are induced or worsened by stress.  Stress management interventions have been shown to reduce hypertension, muscle pain, temporo-mandibular joint pain, tremor, immune suppression, blood sugar difficulties,  respiratory problems, and cardiac symptoms.

Death and Dying
Facing death is often the most stressful event that a person or family will experience.  Staff at the Family Health Psychology Center can help make the approach to death as pain-free and meaningful as possible, and help families move beyond the death in a more comfortable and meaningful manner.

Child, Couple, & Family difficulties
Child behavior problems, fears or avoidance, and difficulties in relationships can seriously threaten the well-being of a family or marriage.  The Family Health Psychology Center’s staff are trained in pediatric and family therapy, and can effectively evaluate and treat children’s, couples’, and families’ difficulties.