EXPERTISE

Self Destructive Behavior If you've made resolutions, bought self help books, or experienced success only to find that you repeatedly end up in a bad relationship, financial problems, or just plain unhappy and isolated; it may be something you are doing but not aware of it. Focusing on unconscious patterns of destructive behavior can turn years of destructive behavior into positive changes.   Anxiety Dizziness, dry mouth, apprehension, nervousness, rapid heart rate, and intrusive, negative thoughts are often signs of anxiety.   Anxiety can be treated effectively. Focusing on the places tension usually occurs can lead to important knowledge about important issues that are being overlooked, thereby setting the stage for dramatic relief.   Relationship Conflicts Relationship issues frequently involve each partner acting out each other's early dysfunctional communication styles. Couples intervention can teach couples how to discern and untangle the circular web and conflict that creates misery, misunderstanding and chaos in relationships.   With the proper approach to conflict resolution, improvement within the home and at work is often rapid and dramatic.   Depression Depression is the number one treatable mental health condition in the United States today.   Symptoms can range from lack of concentration, limited or excessive eating, forgetfulness, fatigue, back pain, quick to anger, sadness, and inability to work.   By placing special emphasis and focus on the causes of depression, not just the symptoms, our clients have experienced a reduction in their symptoms that lasts. This is usually done without medication.   Trauma A personal experience or observation of a situation that involves actual physical injury, or threat of serious injury, accompanied by intense fear, helplessness, or horror is traumatic.   Traumatic reactions are associated with observation of violence or carnage; being the subject of emotional or physical abuse, as well as having expereinced a traumatic accident or natural disaster. Such experiences may be deeply debilitating emotionally, even though it may appear to others that you are doing fine. Individuals experience trauma require sensitive and supportive intervention to avoid the potential of life-long repetitions of their pain.   Mourning and Bereavement Parents who have lost their children or other significant persons through divorce, illness, conflicts because of custody disputes or other life circumstances have found significant relief and renewed inspiration through appropriate intervention and support, either through individual or group counseling.   Illness Prevention/Alleviation Daily emotional stress takes a tremendous toll on people worldwide. It interferes with work, love, and relationships.   Stress causes and contributes to a number of debilitating physical conditions, including cardiovascular problems, back pain, stomach upset, hypertension, and headaches, to name a few. Research has shown that stress even contributes to susceptibility to the common cold.   Organization of one's life to reduce stress can make a healthy difference.   Studies also indicate that individuals who receive counseling have fewer days off the job and are more productive at work. Talking about one's stress in the proper context has been shown to reduce or eliminate many physical ailments, freeing individuals to enjoy life and relationships more fully.   Employment Related Difficulties Often, an employee's performance on the job is a reflection of their personal life.   Work-related problems, such as absenteeism, lack of motivation, and negativity can be eliminated by offering employees a place to work out personal issues before they escalate into serious work related difficulties or lawsuits.  Dr. Craig M. Hands offers outplacement counseling and other services geared to facilitate smooth employment transitions.   Critical Incident Debriefing Employees who have been exposed to a traumatic incident may commonly experience insomnia, nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, and a desire to avoid the place where it occurred.   Group discussions, led by a trained professional, have been shown to lessen the impact of the tragedy and allow employees to normalize their feelings and get on with their lives.