Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on the interaction and/or link between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Emphasis is given to the concept that negative thoughts lead to negative emotions that can result in negative behaviors often times becoming a cyclical pattern. CBT techniques include but is not limited to cognitive restructuring which helps individuals challenge their patterns and beliefs replacing errors in thinking such as overgeneralization and catastrophizing with more realistic and effective thoughts, thus decreasing emotional distress and self-defeating behavior.
Insight-Oriented Psychotherapy
Insight-Oriented Psychotherapy is a client centered approach that assumes the client’s problems lie within their faulty thinking. This approach helps the individual by allowing them to gain understanding and insight into themselves by expressing feelings, motivations, beliefs, fears and desires within their sessions.
Psychodynamic
Psychodymanic approaches aim to increase a client’s self-awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior. In its brief form, a psychodynamic approach enables the client to examine unresolved conflicts and symptoms that arise from past dysfunctional relationships and manifest themselves in the tendency to repeat dysfunctional patterns. The psychodynamic approach includes all the theories in psychology that see human functioning based upon the interaction of drives and forces within the person, and see our behavior and feelings are powerfully affected by unconscious motives.
Solution-Focused Therapy
Solution-Focused Therapy is a goal directed, often short term, non-confrontational therapeutic approach that most often focuses on the present and/or future. Solution-Focused techniques include shifting the individual off the problem encouraging them to find the exception to the problem, and the strengths they posses that seem to overcome the problem. Miracle Questions are also used as means to help determine what the individual envisions their life to be like if the problem didn’t exist.
Positive Psychology
Positive Psychology is primarily concerned with the use of psychological theory, research and intervention techniques to understand the positive, adaptive, creative and emotionally fulfilling aspects of human behavior. The goal of treatment is to find and nurture presenting genius and talent to make normal life fulfilling rather than merely treating mental illness.
Behavior Modification
Behavior Modification focuses on altering an individual’s behavior through the utilization of positive and/or negative reinforcement. Incentives may be used in intervals to encourage positive behavior. Therapists may also work with the individual and families surrounding limit setting as a means of extinguishing negative behaviors.
Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy
Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy (DBT) combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing with concepts of distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindful awareness largely derived from Buddhist meditative practice. This approach was primarily developed for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder and those presenting with chronic suicidal ideation.
Family Therapy
Family Therapy focuses on the involvement of the family as a system. In this approach a family therapist may identify maladaptive patterns among multiple members within the family unit which is creating a larger problem then that occurring within the individual. Such problems may include structural issues such as a misalignment between parents, or poor boundaries regarding the roles each individual plays within the family. Additionally, maladaptive roles are at times played out by each member to include but not limited to enabler, scapegoat, hero and/or lost child. A family therapist can help to identify and provide solutions to maladaptive patterns.
Play Therapy
Play therapy is used with children as a way for them to express their experiences and feelings through a natural, self-guided, self-healing process. Children use the play experience often as a parallel to their experiences and knowledge of life surrounding them; it becomes an important vehicle through which problem solving, self-acceptance, and comprehension of one’s environment can occur.
Couples Counseling, Relationship Therapy, and Communication Therapy
Couples Counseling, Relationship Therapy, and Communication Therapy help couples of all types recognize and resolve conflicts and improve their relationships. The emphasis is placed on improving communication, which is often at the core of most relational discord. Thoughtful decisions about rebuilding relationships, altering views of the relationship, decreasing emotional avoidance, and navigating relational issues can transpire through this modality. Examples of challenges that can be addressed in couples counseling include ineffective communication, sexual difficulties, conflicts regarding child rearing or blended families, substance abuse, financial problems, anger, infidelity, and divorce, among others.
Divorce Mediation
Divorce Mediation offers a method of finding solutions to issues such as child custody, spousal support, parental visitation arrangements, and financial distribution of assets. Divorce Mediation is an alternative to the formal processes typical of divorce with the interest of preserving the family’s wealth and maintaining as cordial a relationship possible among the parties involved. In mediation, both parties and their attorneys can use professionals from the Massler Center for Psychological Wellness, P.C. as a “mediator” and an objective third party that can assist the parties in negotiating a resolution to their divorce in a more amicable and fiscally-beneficial manner when compared to traditional divorce. Parties have the opportunity to discuss their challenges, mitigate disagreements, and arrive at a mutual agreement; mediation is fair to all concerned. The Massler Center professionals can be substantial assets to those experiencing divorce, as solutions can be offered by an intermediary who is not emotionally invested in the outcome. Mediation is a confidential process that avoids lengthy and emotionally exhausting litigation, saves money in attorney fees, and reduces the stages those engaged in the divorce process typically have to experience.