Treatment Focuses

Depression

According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Globally, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from the disorder. And the incidence of the disorder is increasing everywhere. Americans are highly concerned with happiness, yet they are increasingly depressed: Some 15 million Americans battle the disorder, and increasing numbers of them are young people.

Depression comes in forms ranging from major depression to dysthymia and seasonal affective disorder. Depressive episodes are also a feature of bipolar disorder.

Depression is a complex condition, involving many systems of the body, including the immune system, either as cause or effect. It disrupts sleep and it interferes with appetite; in some cases, it causes weight loss; in others, it contributes to weight gain. Depression is also often accompanied by anxiety. Research indicates that not only do the two conditions co-occur but that they overlap in vulnerability patterns.

Anxiety

Anxiety is both a mental and physical state of negative expectation. Mentally it is characterized by increased arousal and apprehension tortured into distressing worry, and physically by unpleasant activation of multiple body systems—all to facilitate response to an unknown danger, whether real or imagined.

The cognitive feelings of dread in anticipation of some bad outcome, and physical sensations such as jitteriness and a racing heart are designed for discomfort. Anxiety is meant to capture attention and stimulate you to make necessary changes to protect what you care about. Occasional bouts of anxiety are natural and can even be productive. Anxiety can be considered the price we humans pay for having the ability to imagine the future.

Trauma

The word “trauma” literally means wound, shock, or injury. Psychological trauma is a person’s experience of emotional distress resulting from an event that overwhelms the capacity to emotionally digest it. The precipitating event may be a one-time occurrence or a series of occurrences perceived as seriously harmful or life-threatening to oneself or loved ones. People process experiences differently, and not everyone has the same reaction to any event; what one person experiences as trauma may not cause distress for another.

Traumatic experiences undermine a person's sense of safety in the world and create a sense that catastrophe could strike at any time. Parental loss in childhood, motor vehicle accidents, physical violence, sexual assault, military combat experiences, earthquakes, the unexpected loss of a loved one—any sudden, violent disruption—are events that can lead to trauma. People typically replay the experience in their mind over and over and continually think about what happened. The experience leads to changes in brain function marked by a hypersensitivity to threats.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder in which people experience unwanted and repeated thoughts, feelings, images, or sensations (obsessions) and engage in behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) in response. Often a person with OCD carries out the compulsions to temporarily eliminate or reduce the impact of obsessions, and not performing them causes distress. OCD varies in severity, but if left untreated, it can limit one's ability to function at work, school, or home.

OCD is estimated to affect more than 2 percent of U.S. adults at some point in their lives, and the problem can be accompanied by other conditions, including anxiety disorders, depression, and eating disorders. It typically first appears in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.

LGBTQ Lifestyle

Affirmative therapy employs a positive and informed lens when working with LGBTQ+ clients, as it celebrates and validates their identities, as well as acknowledges the stigma and obstacles that these clients may face.

PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a trauma and stress-related disorder that may develop after exposure to an event or ordeal in which death or severe physical harm occurred or was threatened. People who suffer from the disorder include military troops, rescue workers, and survivors of shootings, bombings, violence, and rape. Family members of victims can develop the disorder as well through vicarious trauma.

About 6.8 percent of American adults develops PTSD in their lifetime, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. PTSD can occur at any age, including childhood. Women are more likely to develop the disorder than men, and there is some evidence that it may run in families. PTSD is frequently accompanied by depression, substance use disorder, and anxiety disorders. When other conditions are appropriately diagnosed and treated, the likelihood of successful treatment increases.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a chronically recurring condition involving moods that swing between the highs of mania and the lows of depression. Depression is by far the most pervasive feature of the illness. The manic phase usually involves a mix of irritability, anger, and depression, with or without euphoria. When euphoria is present, it may manifest as unusual energy and overconfidence, playing out in bouts of overspending or promiscuity, among other behaviors.

The disorder most often starts in young adulthood, but can also occur in children and adolescents. Misdiagnosis is common; the condition is often confused with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, or borderline personality disorder. Biological factors probably create vulnerability to the disorder within certain individuals, and experiences such as sleep deprivation can kick off manic episodes.

Addiction

A person with an addiction uses a substance, or engages in a behavior, for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeat the activity, despite detrimental consequences. Addiction may involve the use of substances such as alcohol, inhalants, opioids, cocaine, and nicotine, or behaviors such as gambling.

There is evidence that addictive behaviors share key neurobiological features: They intensely involve brain pathways of reward and reinforcement, which involve the neurotransmitter dopamine. And, in keeping with other highly motivated states, they lead to the pruning of synapses in the prefrontal cortex, home of the brain's highest functions, so that attention is highly focused on cues related to the target substance or activity. It is important to know that such brain changes are reversible after the substance use or behavior is discontinued.