ANXIETY
Anxiety is characterized as a feeling of uneasiness, dread or fear, that can range from mild to severe. It can be a normal reaction to stress, but it will be temporary. Anxiety as a disorder is not temporary, and when it persists, it can get worse over time. Anxiety in its mildest form presents symptoms of uneasiness and worry. Anxiety disorders can cause severe anxiousness, panic attacks and distress and interfere with daily functioning. Untreated anxiety tends to grow and gain momentum and become worse over time. Untreated anxiety can contribute to impulsivity, continuous overthinking, overcompensating and over-doing.
Therapy for anxiety consists of using an evidenced-based treatment called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and it is highly effective at treating anxiety disorders. Through CBT treatment, patients will learn to identify and learn how their thoughts and thinking patterns greatly contribute to the intensity of anxiety symptoms.
DEPRESSION
Everyone experiences sadness at times, but depression is something more. Depression typically presents feelings of quilt and low self-worth, accompanied by a disturbance in appetite, sleep, feelings of hopelessness or despair, and lack of energy. Depression interferes with activities of daily life, jobs, relationships, creates an inability to concentrate, and patients tend to isolate and withdraw from the world. Thoughts of self-harm, death and suicide are prevalent when depression is in its most severe form or if left untreated in its severe state.
Fortunately, depression is treatable. Therapy provides a treatment to identify the origins of depression and to reduce the painful and lonely feelings experienced by those with this disorder. Treatment includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness and a focus on improving the quality of thoughts, behavioral activation and coping tools to improve wellness.
STRESS & BURNOUT
Americans are struggling with many new stressors brought on since the Pandemic and throughout the aftermath. The American Psychological Association reported in 2022 that approximately 57% of Americans cited food, rent and money as their main source of stress. Other polls cite workplace stress and job security as another stressor affecting Americans. Typically, people will continue to work in stressful environments because they must survive and pay bills. When our coping skills are overrun with too much stress, a cycle of ongoing frustration and anger will appear until we hit a “burnout” phase, a consequence of trying to manage too many big emotions caused by ongoing stress. Stress and Burnout can become serious conditions that lead to other mental health problems, including experiencing a sense of helplessness and disengagement from people and activities. Often the elements of loneliness and sadness lurk behind the presenting anger. Our treatment will help you recognize, reverse and build resilience to burnout, address deeper issues, and help you re-organize life to reduce the stress.
GRIEF/LOSS
The emotions of grief and loss can exhaust and emotionally drain a person to a point where they struggle to function. Grief emotions can be the most powerful of all experiences, and many people struggle with these overwhelming emotions. Many people will experience normal or common grief and will, in time, adjust to the loss; others will experience more severe grief reactions such as prolonged or complicated grief. Mark Walker LCSW spent many years working with patients and families experiencing grief and loss. He is trained in the Grief Recovery Method and has helped many families and patients get through their loss experience at Gilbert Family Counseling. Dr. Hernandez was certified by the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) in Thanatology from 2007-2014 and has worked with hundreds of patients in emergency rooms, ICUs, surgical units and in counseling centers providing grief support and therapy.
RELATIONSHIP ISSUES
Whether you are seeking Marriage Counseling, or trying to improve a plutonic relationship, a major problem can be the way in which communication is handled. Communication itself is not the problem, but people often struggle to express their needs, wants, feelings and emotions effectively, and when that happens in any relationship, poor communication is sure to follow. There are many other aspects to a healthy relationship that must be in good working order for it to survive; relationships need safety, respect, a collaborative vision for the future, and a collaborative attitude for the here and now. Schedule a session to learn more about: Why couples wind up in the same patters again and again, What we really want in a relationship, Why we feel so angry so quickly with our partner/spouse/lover, What causes our communication to derail over and over again.
TRAUMA/PTSD STRESS
Trauma or PTSD can develop when an individual experiences a traumatic event such an assault of any kind, accident, military combat, exposed to violence or a death. People suffer from past traumas but stuff those thoughts, feelings and emotions deep down inside, hoping they will go away. But they don’t go away. In fact, they can linger for years, causing changes in our thoughts and beliefs and changing our behaviors. As the person struggles to cope with the stress of re-experiencing memories of trauma, their mind and body can take a significant toll, eventually leading to significant long term behavioral health consequences. Dr. Hernandez is trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) which is an evidenced-based treatment for PTSD and related trauma disorders, meaning it has been proven to be effective through rigorous scientific research. If you’re suffering from a trauma event and need counseling support, contact Dr. Hernandez.
ANGER MANAGEMENT
Anger is an emotion that will arise in response to injustice, loss of power, or a response to a threat. When controlled it can be a natural driver to take effective action. When anger is uncontrolled, it can quickly become a detrimental experience for all involved and pugnacious behaviors are likely to follow, such as screaming, making verbal threats and up to physical altercations. Anger management treatment is designed to help learn self-awareness techniques and coping strategies so that one never gets to those uncontrolled levels of anger. We utilize treatment therapies that include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Biodyne Advanced Clinical Psychotherapy to help explore etiology and to reshape new effective behaviors. If you or a family member need Anger Management treatment, contact us to schedule your first session.
TEEN SUBSTANCE ABUSE
For parents looking for treatment for their teenagers who are using substances, we utilize a well-documented treatment approach to treatment entitled Teen Intervene, an evidenced-based program developed by Dr. Ken C. Winters, designed for youth ages 12-19, who are displaying the early stages of addiction and substance use problems. Contact us and we will get you and your adolescent scheduled in for treatment.
ADDICTION
Addiction will take a toll on one’s relationships, employment, finance and so much more. The First Step to addiction recovery is to recognize you have a problem and that you need professional help in your recovery. Healing from any addiction is a long and difficult road for most, but we have the therapists that can help. Let us help design a custom treatment plan to help you learn effective coping methods, learn about your specific triggers and vulnerabilities and teach you how to defend yourself from past behaviors. We will help you build a healthy environment and lifestyle to help you achieve all your treatment goals, including adult substance abuse, gambling, and virtual addictions.