Counseling Services in West Lafayette and Lafayette, IN
Issues addressed in individual therapy
I work with patients on a variety of issues including,
Anxiety and depression
Depression and anxiety get in the way of enjoying life. Whether you deal with an occasional or frequent panic attack or regularly feel hopeless, sad, irritable, or are unable to sleep, these protective mood states make life difficult. Perhaps your anxiety and depression are something you have dealt with for many years or for a short time in response to some stressful and overwhelming situation or experience in your life. Regardless, it would be nice not to have your life plagued and tormented by these debilitating mood states.
Perhaps you have tried different ways to manage your stress and anxiety with varying degrees of success. You can think of depression as the shutdown state of your nervous system and anxiety as the fighter/flight state of your nervous system. The behaviors and ways people add energy to their systems or expel energy from their systems varies. For instance, some people may be drawn to exercise or some other form of physical activity to get rid of excess energy when they are in fighter or flight. When people are depressed, they may try to add energy to their system by taking a walk, calling a friend, or journaling. The important thing is that you are aware of the things that work for you to either bring energy into your system when you're depressed or to get rid of excess energy when you're anxious. When some people are in an extreme and intense state of anxiety, they may implement such things as counting, naming things in the room, or reading as a way to engage the thinking part of their brain in order to slow down and manage the feeling part of their brain. Talking to someone when you are anxious or depressed is also an effective way to calm down and regulate yourself through the other person being grounded and steady.
Perhaps you have used behaviors to manage anxiety or depression that no longer work. They have run their course and lost their effectiveness. This is sometimes when people seek therapy. The strategies and systems they have used have either worn out or don't work for the current traumatic or stressful circumstance and the person is open to new and additional ways of regulating and comforting themselves.
Trauma
Trauma can be anything from being emotionally neglected to being sexually or verbally abused growing up and everything in between. Trauma is any experience that are overwhelms your ability and resources to comfort, sooth, and regulate yourself as a result of it. It can result in negative and disruptive, thinking feeling and behaviors in an attempt to deal with the energy generated and you from the trauma. It can result in disrupted sleep, Reexperiencing of the trauma, and produce physical symptoms of pain in your body. Many times we need someone outside of ourselves to provide resources in the form of empathy, understanding, and kindness in order to process and work through trauma. We can struggle with the effects of trauma for many years, despite her best effort to overcome it. It can feel like you will never get over the effects of trauma, and that your best energy is devoted to thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to it. It may feel unfair that even though you did not cause or create the trauma, you are the one who has to work through it if you were going to get over it. All of these factors can make you feel that the trauma prevents you from living the life you were intended to or capable of living.
Marriage and couples counseling Things being tense and not being able to be there in satisfying ways for each other in your marriage can be incredibly stressful and difficult. Dealing with a spouse who can't understand or validate your experience and feelings leaves you feeling lonely and frustrated. Your spouse's inability to apologize or take an interest in your life leaves you feeling like everything is your fault, depressed, and that he or she doesn't value you. Your spouse dominating conversations and not receiving and validating your thoughts, opinions, and ideas on decisions can make you think it would be better to live on your own. Therapy interrupts this cycle of gridlock by introducing a new person into the system who can empathize with, validate, and understand each person in the marriage. Eventually, after many instances of being seen and validated, spouses can experience enough strength in themselves that they can put their own need to be understood on the back burner in the name of listening to and understanding their spouse.
Improving communication skills Relationship issues Anger and stress management Family of origin issues Abuse Pornography addiction Substance abuse Addictions Obsessive-compulsive disorders Emotional dysregulation Lack of purpose and motivation Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Divorce recovery Coping with grief and loss Attachment issues Trust Boundaries Bipolar Disorder Personality Disorders Adolescent counseling
Fees and Insurance
I am an in-network provider with the following insurance companies:
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Aetna Cigna Humana Multiplan UMR United Healthcare
I will submit the claims to your insurance provider once a month. Your plan will determine your financial responsibility in terms of needing to meet a deductible or paying a co-insurance. UHC and UMR reimburse for my services if Medicare is primary and UHC is secondary. Medicaid does not reimburse for my services.
I accept cash, check, Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle as forms of payment at the beginning or end of each session.