PVD Psychological Associates

  If your family is going through a tough time -- whether it's from stress, anger, or grief --  family therapy  can make a difference. It can help couples, children, or members of an extended family learn to communicate better and work through conflicts. Sessions are led by a specialist called a family therapist. She could be a psychologist, social worker, or therapist who's had extra training in family therapy. https://pvdpsych.com/

  How to Keep Your Relationship Alive What makes for a healthy romantic relationship differs from couple to couple. Forming a trusting and positive partnership takes effort and time. And unfortunately, it doesn’t just happen overnight. For any relationship to grow strong and stay strong, you need to put in some work. Below are some habits that will help create and maintain a happy and healthy  Communication is key. It is one of the most important qualities a healthy relationship. However, not everyone knows how to communicate properly or even communicate at all. Happy and healthy couples have this game down. They vocalize their love for one another, saying “I love you” often and offering compliments. They also discuss the bad instead of sweeping issues under the rug. In order to move forward and grow, you two need to be able to truly talk about your feelings. No matter how awkward or uncomfortable it feels, it will make for a long-lasting and fulfilling relationship. Couples f...

  Individual counseling   focuses on increased self-understanding to work through an issue that negatively affects your ability to work, love or enjoy life. https://pvdpsych.com/

  8 CBT and DBT Skills To Use This Fall And Winter During a “normal time,” the approach of the cooler months can elicit feelings of dread. Many struggle with seasonal depression and are impacted greatly by the shorter days, having less time outside, less social interaction due to changes in weather, and the holiday season. This year is unique in that we now have to add fears of COVID-19, an election and everyone’s reaction to its outcome, the most intense social unrest in decades, and adjusting to (continued) school and working from home. We don’t know if we will be able to see loved ones for the holidays or if we will be alone. The list goes on and on. In short, it is completely reasonable to have concerns about what the fall and winter will bring. Now is a good time to think about coping strategies to use during that time and start to mentally prepare. 8 CBT and DBT Skills To Use This Fall And Winter: Cope Ahead.  I recommend trying to cope ahead for the season change. The ...

  DBT Skills Training Groups We are currently enrolling individuals in our next DBT Skills Training Group. DBT Skills Training is comprised of four modules.  These modules are Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Effectiveness, respectively. The fourth skills module, Mindfulness, is the foundation of DBT. Mindfulness skills refer to developing an awareness of the present moment and help with the critical ability to take a step back in a situation and be able to respond in a deliberate way rather than simply reacting. Mindfulness also helps us foster compassion for ourselves and develop the capacity to learn how to access our “wise mind” and tap into our intuition. Unlike interpersonal process or support groups, a DBT group is more like taking a class and most time is spent being taught skills and reviewing homework from in between sessions. Rather than being a closed group in which all participants start and end the group together, this group is designed t...

  We offer individual DBT sessions that are grounded in the DBT treatment philosophy of dialectics and integrates change-focused strategies from CBT with acceptance based strategies from Zen philosophy and Buddhism. We also offer individual RO DBT sessions. https://pvdpsych.com/dialectical-behavior-therapy-pvdpsych/

  Psychodynamic Therapy is the most common example of “talk therapy,” and has a long history with its roots in Psychoanalytic Therapy. Psychodynamic Therapy emphasizes the importance of developing insight into one’s experience and uncovering unconscious processes that have played a role in past problems and may be contributing to current distress. https://pvdpsych.com/therapy/

  Relational Therapy is a type of Psychodynamic Therapy that focuses on the principle that relationships are most central to one’s wellbeing. In relational therapy you will likely spend a great deal of time working to understand relationships and relational models from your past as they relate to your current experience. https://pvdpsych.com/therapy/

  Interpersonal Therapy is an evidence-based, structured treatment for mood disorders and a variety of other difficulties. It is less directive than CBT and instead of focusing on addressing all thoughts and behaviors, it delves deeply into relationship problems such as isolation, transitions, or grief. The goal of IPT is to improve relationships with others and your relationship with yourself. In IPT, you will work with your therapist to focus on general relationship improvement and addressing any relationship issue that caused or has exacerbated the problem for which you are seeking therapy. https://pvdpsych.com/therapy/

  A variety of cognitive behavioral interventions integrate aspects of mindfulness practices such as breathing exercises, meditation, and other ways to bring one’s awareness to the present moment. Mindfulness might be integrated into your therapy in order to help you break free of depressive thoughts patterns and worries by redirecting your attention, you also may use mindfulness as a way to become more accepting of situations and develop compassion for yourself. https://pvdpsych.com/therapy/

  Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy which is sometimes simply referred to as Exposure Therapy is most often used to treat OCD and Specific Phobias. In ERP, you will work with your therapist to slowly and carefully confront feared situations so that you can learn that your anxiety will inevitably decrease if you do not interfere with it and you will eventually habituate to your anxiety. https://pvdpsych.com/therapy/

  ​ Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a type of CBT that focuses on the concept of experiential avoidance as the most problematic maintaining factor of symptoms and teaches clients to learn new ways to relate to their thoughts and emotions that are based on acceptance rather than correcting thoughts, for example, Another core feature of ACT is its focus on moving toward identified goals and values rather than moving away from distress. https://pvdpsych.com/therapy/

  Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a type of CBT developed to treat difficulties with emotion regulation, unstable relationships, communication difficulties, impulsive behaviors, and difficulty tolerating intense distress. It is a skills based therapy that involves learning many different coping skills to address all of these difficulties which makes it a helpful approach for many clients. https://pvdpsych.com/therapy/

  Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on the here and now and understanding the relationships between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In CBT, you will work with your therapist to understand what is maintaining your symptoms and develop new behaviors. You will learn how to change unhelpful thought patterns. Lastly, you will develop a willingness to approach rather than avoid emotions. https://pvdpsych.com/therapy/

  Social Anxiety Disorder can be debilitating and isolating because individuals struggling with it experience intense fear that others are observing and judging them and consequently, end up avoiding social interactions. The nature of the anxiety may involve fears of public speaking, dating, or attending class or work and lead to individuals completely avoiding the situation(s) because they worry that others will notice their anxiety, negatively perceive them, and/or reject them. CBT for Social Anxiety focuses on helping individuals understand the interaction between their fears and behaviors that perpetuate the anxiety and then working together to establish new ways of interacting with others to challenge their beliefs. https://pvdpsych.com/anxiety-disorders/

  How to Tell if Your Partner Resents You, and What to Do — Nicole Issa, PsyD Resentment in a relationship can destroy positive feelings, respect, and warmth your partner otherwise felt toward you. Instead of being your cheerleader and biggest fan, they may start to hold you back from opportunities or activities you enjoy. Once a relationship turns competitive, it is in dark territory. Since resentment can be so detrimental to relationships, it is essential to develop an awareness of whether you are starting to feel resentful of your partner or detect if they are starting to feel resentment toward you. Often, resentment can creep up on people in an insidious way and quietly build until there’s an explosion, of sorts, and that is why it is so important to catch it early. Some early signs your partner resents you: They have the same or similar complaints repeatedly. If your partner notes that you are always staying late at work and they feel lonely, but nothing changes, resentment wi...

  Psychotherapy for Panic Disorder The first-line psychotherapy for panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) People with panic disorder have sudden and repeated attacks of fear that last for several minutes or longer. These are called  panic attacks . Panic attacks are characterized by a fear of disaster or of losing control even when there is no real danger. A person may also have a strong physical reaction during a panic attack. It may feel like having a heart attack. Panic attacks can occur at any time, and many people with panic disorder worry about and dread the possibility of having another attack. www.pvdpsych.com

  Unfortunately, grief is an inevitable, inescapable part of life. If we feel really knocked off our feet or are struggling for a prolonged period of time, that may be a sign that we need some professional help to move on. In this piece, we’ll cover the basics of grief counseling/grief therapy and provide suggestions, tips, techniques, and exercises you can implement as a person in grieving, part of the support system for a person who is grieving, or as a mental health professional. https://pvdpsych.com/

  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is marked by intrusive, obsessive thoughts accompanied by compulsions, or behaviors people engage in the lessen these thoughts or neutralize them. In many cases, these thoughts can be disturbing to people and seem foreign to them. Therapy is cognitive behavioral in nature and will focus on identifying the obsessions and compulsions someone may be struggling with and then using Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a research supported therapy for OCD. https://pvdpsych.com/anxiety-disorders/

  ​Excessive concern with body image and often accompanying low self-esteem are also successfully addressed by cognitive behavioral therapy. Therapy will help individuals understand thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate a preoccupation with weight and body image concerns. https://pvdpsych.com/eating-disorders-and-body-image-concerns/

  Therapy with those in academic settings often focuses on managing anxiety, perfectionism, imposter syndrome, general stress management, burn out, publishing pressure, time management, dissertation stress, navigating relationships with advisors, and over-identifying with one’s achievements. https://pvdpsych.com/student-mental-health/

  Those with health anxiety or “hypochondriasis” describe being constantly worried about specific health concerns or a number of different potential problems. In some cases, the health anxiety is related to very real symptoms, but the worry and associated behaviors often cause those symptoms to worsen. In other cases, individuals are extremely fearful of having or developing a serious medical problem. Therapy is often cognitive behavioral in nature and will focus on understanding these worries, assessing the accuracy of the concerns, and understanding the ways in which worries and behaviors such as constantly researching health problems or seeing many doctors for reassurance, for example, are making them feel worse. https://pvdpsych.com/anxiety-disorders/