Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy

Unlike traditional Psychiatry and Psychology, which rarely looks at the brain, Friedel Clinic partners with the Amen Clinics offering brain imaging technology to identify patterns in the brain that may benefit from various forms of psychotherapy.

What is Psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is also known as talk therapy and is used to help people with a range of mental health, emotional, and relationship issues. The goal of psychotherapy is to help you learn how to minimize bothersome symptoms and enhance your own sense of well-being. There are many different types of psychotherapy that involve a variety of helpful tools and strategies. At Friedel Clinic, we offer several approaches to psychotherapy including EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Marital/Couple Therapy, Individual Therapy and more. (See below for more information about these types of psychotherapy.)

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therapy-session

At Friedel Clinic, we find that various forms of psychotherapy can improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other conditions when used as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Some types of therapy can help you learn to cope better with emotional trauma from the past, stressful situations, and life challenges. Various forms of therapy can introduce you (and your loved ones) to better ways to gain control over your mind and thinking habits to promote better moods. It can also help you develop healthier ways of interacting with your loved ones to improve family dynamics and relationships.

Types of Psychotherapy

Friedel Clinic offers several approaches to psychotherapy that help people work through their problems.

Individual Therapy:

Individual psychotherapy (also called counseling or talk therapy) is an extensively researched and effective approach that has been used to treat emotional, behavioral and social problems in people with a variety of concerns. It involves an interactive process of self-discovery between you and a qualified mental health professional in a safe, caring and confidential environment.

Psychotherapy is most successful when brain imaging has been performed so you can address specific brain health issues. By optimizing the brain, you are more likely to have greater motivation to alter the aspects of your life that no longer serve you or are contributing to your difficulties. Enhanced brain health also makes you better able to stick with the new approaches, techniques, or new ways of thinking you learn in psychotherapy.

Marital & Couples Therapy

No one ever said marriage or being in a relationship was easy! Children, illness, financial problems and stress can all take their toll. What is often forgotten is that brain function determines the behavior of each partner. Your brain is the organ of character, personality and every single decision that you make. If the brain isn’t working properly, even the strongest of relationships can degrade over time.

Family Therapy

Is someone in your family struggling with a mental health problem, addiction, memory loss, or other cognitive or behavioral issue? Then you know first-hand that when one person is suffering, the whole family suffers. Most people want to blame all the stress and drama on that one person, but in reality, each and every family member (and their brain) contributes to the dysfunctional dynamic. By looking at the brains of the entire family, it can shed light on any family dysfunction. At Friedel Clinic, when we scan entire families, we often discover that one or more family members has a diagnosable Brain health condition that has gone undetected. Without this knowledge, the family unit would likely continue to struggle. When you have an understanding of Brain health issues within the family unit, family therapy can help you address specific issues, improve relational skills, and build stronger relationships.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based, action-oriented psychological treatment that focuses on the way people think (cognitive) and act (behavioral). Every time you have a thought, your brain releases powerful chemicals that change the way you feel and behave. Positive thoughts help you feel happy, motivated and relaxed, while negative thoughts make you feel sad, mad, anxious, angry, or out of control.
The problem is that most people tend to believe that all of their thoughts, including the negative ones, must be true - never taking the time to evaluate and question them. Left unchecked, automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) can ruin your life.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT focuses on correcting negative thinking patterns and developing accurate, more positive thinking skills, which in turn changes your behavior and can help boost your mood, motivation and determination. Research shows that these techniques can be as effective as antidepressant medication for anxiety and depression.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an extensively researched psychotherapeutic technique that can produce quick and lasting relief for a variety of symptoms and issues. EMDR is primarily used to treat people suffering from emotional trauma, but it is also being used for people struggling with other conditions. People with the following conditions may benefit from EMDR:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Insomnia
  • Panic attacks
  • Addictions
  • Mood swings
  • Performance anxiety
  • Phobias
  • Traumatic or disturbing memories
  • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

EMDR is similar to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Therefore, EMDR can be thought of as a physiologically-based therapy that helps you see things in new and less distressing ways.

What the Research Says About EMDR

In addition to the Amen Clinics research on EMDR, numerous other studies show that EMDR therapy offers benefits for emotional trauma and PTSD that typically take years to achieve in psychotherapy alone. A 2014 review of the existing research showed that in some studies, 84% to 90% of people who have experienced a single trauma found relief from PTSD symptoms after just three EMDR sessions that lasted 90 minutes each. In a study by Kaiser Permanente, people who had experienced a single trauma or multiple traumas underwent six 50-minute EMDR therapy sessions. In a follow-up study, 100% of the single-trauma patients and 77% of multiple-trauma patients no longer had PTSD.

Based on this growing body of research, the American Psychiatric Association and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs have recognized EMDR therapy as an effective treatment for PTSD. A growing body of research has found that eye movement desensitization and reprocessing shows promise for the treatment of other conditions as well.