Psychological Services
*Practical ways to Heal, one step at a time.*
For me, psychotherapy involves deep listening to one’s story, focusing a lens on old memories and experiences then reflecting upon and interlacing these stories into new understandings.
Therapy therefore is a collaborative effort. My foundational training of relational therapy is as an Imago therapist. Having been privileged to train under Dr. Harville and Helen Hendrix, we remember the following precepts; each individual or relationship comes to the table with unique needs and deserves the respect to be heard and understood, recognizing that conflict is growth waiting to happen. Relationships are powerful and prized human experiences and have the potential for the deepest personal and social healing. This healing is the key to cope with the stresses of life, to simplicity, to clarity.
There actually is a good in suffering. It ultimately can bring wisdom, brilliance and intuition. I believe that watering the seeds of good, of beauty, and strength is imperative to self empowerment and healing.
Learning to be present in and aware of each moment allows for self awareness, balance, healing, growth, restoration, calm and happiness.
This healing is the key to cope with the stresses of life, to find simplicity, to experience clarity.
I specialize in the following services: Click links below!
We are social creatures. We are meant to connect, and to belong. This is one of our strongest drives.
To this end, our brain adapts, beginning its development in utero. It does not stop its growing and changing throughout life; we are in constant transition and renewal. Our mind is always in a state of becoming, never static and often likened to an ever-flowing stream.
We then can begin to appreciate the interconnection of all things and in turn an acceptance that there is something larger, greater than ourselves. My spiritual training and practices contribute to and have become integral in my clinical work. I have learned to surrender to a relationship with a power of something that is not only the essence of compassion, but of timeless Grace.
IT IS NEVER JUST ONE THING
If I’m not asked a hundred times a week, “But why?!” And again I say, “It is never just one thing.” Today, science and technology demonstrate the dynamic relationships between our brain, our gut, our thoughts and our emotions each of which are wrapped into our history and experiences. Techniques from our eastern traditions to western science can ultimately quiet the chatter in our head and generate a sense of self awareness, calm and restoration.
We work on strengthening cornerstones such as sleep, exercise, meditation and prayer, yoga, and healthy food intake are essential to balance and calm. Ultimately we can find a pathway to heal, to purpose and to become all we are meant to be.
I believe that the common denominator to healing is to find a habit of calm.
Interventions used in treatment: Cognitive Challenging, Cognitive Refocusing and Reframing, Exploration of Coping Patterns, Exploration of Emotions, Exploration of Relationship Patterns, Reflective Feedback, Interpersonal Resolutions, Mindfulness Training, Psycho-Education, Relaxation/Deep Breathing, Structured Problem Solving, Supportive Reflection, and Symptom Management. Prolonged Exposure therapy which is a gold standard supported by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
Relational Conflict
Couples & Family Therapy / Premarital Preparation
We learn to shift from judgement of our loved ones to making sense of their behaviors, with empathy. We learn to see and to hear our special people.
A mature marriage or relationship is reflected in making sense of the ‘other’. Each person has experiences that create an inner world of thought patterns and in turn, emotions. It is useful to develop the skill to be aware of or conscious of your partner’s life journey. We have the good and the wounding in life that helps create how we view our world and how we receive intimate relationships, our loved ones, our family. It is in our closest relationships that we instinctively are driven to become whole again. We look to “redo” our past so to fix what has been broken. Or, we will just keep up our walls, our distance.
“The unconscious is trying to resurrect the past is not a matter of habit or blind compulsion but of a compelling need to heal old childhood wounds.” ― Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples
Adolescence and Young Adults
Adolescence is a building block to young adulthood. Twenty-something is well established to be the critical period for adult development. Difficult events do not need to cripple this trajectory, but rather can be used to create powerful, positive lessons that fuel people to achieve their hopes and purpose.
Dr. Meg Jay, a specialist in young adult development from University of Virginia, reports the following statistics.
We know that 80 percent of life’s most defining moments take place by age 35. That means that eight out of 10 of the decisions and experiences and “Aha!” moments that make your life what it is will have happened by your mid-30s. We know that the first 10 years of a career has an exponential impact on how much money you’re going to earn. We know that more than half of Americans are married or are living with or dating their future partner by 30.
“We know that the brain caps off its second and last growth spurt in your 20s as it rewires itself for adulthood, which means that whatever it is you want to change about yourself, now is the time to change it. We know that personality changes more during your 20s than at any other time in life, and we know that female fertility peaks at age 28, and things get tricky after age 35. So your 20s are the time to educate yourself about your body and your options.”
Don’t wait to claim your life’s direction, know where you come from and begin to discover where you belong.
Stress Management/Mindfulness and Meditation Training
It is almost inevitable that we all will have ‘stress’ in our daily lives no matter our age and for seemingly endless reasons. Stress can preclude us from a good nights rest while chronic stress can trigger us into a frightening mood disorder or any number of physical manifestations from skin disorders to heart disease.
Learning to be self aware of our thinking, our emotions and to be aware of how the experience may be related to underlying, unhealthy old patterns of thinking is a key element of getting on top of coping with stress. When threatened, our body will inherently trigger our ‘flight or fight’ response. Forging a habit of quiet or calm strengthens our system to cope. Further, and with equal importance, learning to observe our environment before reacting to it takes practice and reiteration.
Bereavement, Grief & Loss
The ground from under us is shaken. What we knew no longer is, and will never be the same. Our sensibilities may be like a vacuum of disconnect and isolation. It is not unusual for us to fall flat, even to become paralyzed. I don’t believe we ever ‘get over’ loosing someone to death, but rather adapt to what is now different and unfamiliar.
Human beings have an amazing ability to acclimate. To continue on, we heal through the trauma of loss into a renewed healthy way of living. Our perspective of humanity and our place in it broadens. We learn to incorporate the love and the compassion of the lost relationship into who we are. This becomes the love that is reflected more deeply as we extend ourselves to those who are still with us.
Divorce, Co-Parenting & Parenting Issues
Children will get lost in marital conflict, no matter the best of circumstances. From a psychological perspective, we inherently imprint our parents as a part of our selves. Ever wonder why “I can say something bad about my parent, but you better not!” When we place a negative against a child’s parent (particularly when we are the spouse) in the presence of the child, we might as well be saying it directly against the him/her. This in turn will play deeply against the child’s sense of self worth.
However, there are plenty of instances when a divorce must happen for the health of the family. What then? We learn to find goodness and compassion through the pain of divorce.
As a child continues to develop as they grow up, they will view the blueprint of their parents marriage differently. We learn how to help them understand their parents’ life journey and write a healthy story for their movement forward in life.
We do this out of respect for the child and to honor the love we have known.
Workplace Mediation / Conflict Resolution
Conflict at work can be physically and emotionally exhausting. When we feel escalated and anxious our energy and enthusiasm is weak; all counterproductive to a strong workplace environment.
In mediation we:
1) Establish a common goal
2) Learn to listen to our co-workers
3) Which in turn generates an appreciation of their perspective. We don’t have to personally agree but we do need to
4) Contribute our skill set to reach the final product/goal of our business.
Learning about the unique skills that a person brings to the workplace helps us respect each other as coworkers. In a professional environment personal boundaries and mutual respect are key. We each have our role in a system and on a team. It is the diverse skill sets that create a strong tapestry Group moral is lifted when the hard earned product is accomplished. The overall positivity of the team can permeate the workplace and ultimately extend to the community they serve.
Mood Disorders: Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, PTSD
Over a lifetime it is not unusual to find ourselves on a spectrum of sadness or anxiety. Sometimes a collection of a pattern of behaviors and symptoms get us stuck. It can impose on our personal lives, our work lives and our pleasure activities. We can even get paralyzed and find that those around us have no understanding, let alone compassion for what it is like to suffer with a mood disorder.
Today we enjoy expansive neuroscience techniques that have revealed physiological relationships between the gut, brain and central nervous system. Our body is intimately intertwined into how our current and past influence how we experience the world we live in. Its never one thing that generates poor mental health, rather a melange of factors.
Many mood disorders and traumas are often going on the same time. Dr. Harry uses specific treatment techniques that are conformed to each person’s unique needs and set of circumstances.
For our first responders, and veterans who may find themselves on a spectrum of PTSD, Dr. Harry is trained to use a the VA’s gold standard treatment for PTSD, Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE). This would be a discussion in session.
Services Not Offered
- Court ordered forensics evaluations.
- Acute substance abuse counseling.
- Working with substance abusers who have NOT been clean and sober for six months.
- Medication provision.
Is therapy confidential?
Phoenix HealthCare takes confidentiality quite seriously using HIPPA and safety features protecting data in the office. Information is not disclosed without written permission. However, there are exceptions to the rule: Suspected child abuse, dependent, or elder abuse; or if a client intends to harm him/herself. In each event the therapist is required to notify the appropriate authorities.
Do you accept insurance?
I will accept several insurances. Payment / copay is due at the time of service unless a payment plan is arranged in advance. For individuals who wish to file with their insurance company with whom I do not participate, I will collect the full fee in advance and you will submit the claim to your insurance carrier for reimbursement.
For more information on payment and insurance please visit the pricing page.