From the moment you enter and meet our receptionists who are sensitively aware of confidentiality, you will recognize that we are here to help you. Our clinical staff consists of psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists and nurse practitioners. We look for solutions, if at all possible, solely through self understanding via talk therapy. On the other hand our staff is trained to be alert to situations in which referral to our Nurse Practitioners or Psychiatrists for medication evaluation are necessary. Medications do not change one's personality and make you a different person. They can be useful to help address fears or relieve suffering, for instance, in anxiety and/or depression. At times the combination of medication and talk therapy can be more helpful than either remedy alone. We want to emphasize that Introspect is NOT A MEDICATION MILL but a facility where the use of medication is carefully considered.
We have found that many individuals benefit within their first twelve sessions.
INTROSPECT Specialty Treatment Areas
As you proceed through your daily life and suffer discomforts, you may wonder: Is my anxiety just everyday anxiety or is it something more?, Do I have the blues or am I really depressed?, Are these everyday mood swings, or is this something more serious?, Are my feelings of grief excessive?, Do I have an eating disorder or do I experience disordered eating?, Is my child a high energy kid or does he have ADHD?, Is my, or my parents, forgetfulness part of normal aging or Alzheimer’s Disease?
A sampling of areas in which we may be of help:
Anxieties and Worries - Long term anxiety, worries, and/or fears."I can never relax", "I worry about everything", "I’m constantly irritable"
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Thoughts or behaviors that you must repeat over and over. Intrusive thoughts that you cannot remove from your thinking. Irrational thoughts that you feel you must act on. It feels as if these thoughts are starting to take control or are controlling your life.
Panic Attacks- "My heart is racing, I can't breathe, I feel like I'm going crazy, I think I'm having a heart attack".
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - A shocking event in your life that you can't get out of your mind. Dreams or daily events that would have been meaningless before this event, brings back the memory and the fear.
Phobias - Fears of heights, elevators, going outdoors. If your child is missing significant school time for illnesses when your doctor says he/she is not ill; your child may have a school phobia.
Social Fears - You may fear groups or speaking in public even though you enjoy or desire being around people.
Separation Fears - Your child may struggle or be unable to separate from you or displays expressions of panic (verbal or non verbal) when he/she separates from you.
Depression and Moodiness Depression - You feel depressed, and in addition to feeling depressed, you may experience low energy, sadness, loss of appetite, loss of pleasure, poor concentration and insomnia. In teenagers it may appear more as constant irritability. In men it can appear as generalized anger.
Seasonal Affective Disorder - In addition to the depression characteristics noted above, your depression is confined to the winter months and is also characterized by food or carbohydrate craving, excessive sleep and marked withdrawal. In the summer months or when vacationing in a sunny climate your depression disappears.
Bipolar Disorder - Formerly known as Manic Depressive Disease. Sometimes you feel subtle highs and lows and in some individuals, dramatic mood swings of high energy not sleeping for days and then other periods of lows, with inability to function in one's daily life. Often the highs may be accompanied with irritability, racing thoughts, high overspending and a high sex drive. Recent research leads us to believe, if left untreated, this disease may get worse over time.
Eating Disorders, Anorexia, Bulimia, Compulsive Eating and Binge Eating - People who worry excessively about their weight or their body and must starve themselves or binge and then purge or use other potentially harmful means to try to remove the food or calories from their bodies. You or a family member may use food to cope with painful feelings or you may feel that you don't have the will power to control your impulse to eat. This is a highly specialized area and we are skilled in evaluating and treating your problem. We recommend hospitalization only in the rarest of circumstances. We believe these difficulties usually can be handled on an outpatient basis. See Eating Obsessions Quiz.
Neuropsychological Assessment – an evaluation of how the brain is functioning, to assist with diagnosis of a brain injury or a neurological illness, or to assist with treatment planning following diagnosis.
Bariatric Surgery Preoperative Evaluation - We provide preoperative evaluation and counseling for those considering surgery. Also we provide postoperative counseling for the inevitable adjustments that often may occur.
Problems of Aging - Aging is another step in our life cycle with its unique challenges. It can involve medical, memory, family and/or financial problems which can be further complicated by anxiety and/or depression. You may be concerned about your parents coping with their life and struggle with inadequate information to help them. A full assessment can provide the required information for better short and long term care.
Marital and Relationship Problems - As you proceed through your relationship, there are inevitable struggles. At times a skillful and well trained listener can help you sort out these differences and clashes and facilitate mutual growth and understanding.
School Problems and ADHD - There are many reasons that children struggle in school and we carefully evaluate your child's individual situation. Besides the clinical interview we use evaluation scales for ADHD and we believe that school feedback is often essential in determining what is the best ongoing care.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome - Please click on this link to learn more about treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.