How Do I Help
I will first speak to you on the phone when you first call. This conversation is brief. It lasts about 15 minutes. There is no charge for that phone call.
Then I meet with you for 2 to 3 sessions to assess what the issues are and provide a treatment plan. We will engage in a dialogue about the treatment plan. The goal of this dialogue is to hear your ideas (pros or cons) about my proposal
Then we start the therapy properly. Depending on what you need, it might simply be advice.
If the problems are deep seated, I suggest psychotherapy once a week. Sometimes twice a week. In the course of the therapy, we will evaluate together if it is helpful or not so as to tailor the therapy in ways that are more helpful to you.
What is PSYCHOTHERAPY?
Psychotherapy is talk therapy. It entails meeting with a skilled therapist who can both listen carefully and
provide insights There are various forms of psychotherapy: short term or long-term CBT ( cognitive
behavioral therapy ) or Dynamic Psychotherapy.
Both CBT and dynamic psychotherapy focus on self-destructive patterns of thoughts. However in dynamic
psychotherapy, there is the additional idea that there are unconscious forces that maintain the self-
destructive patterns of thinking and behaving. The work is both to change patterns of self-
destructive thinking AND discover the unconscious roots of the problems.
How does Psychotherapy help
When you feel safe, you will be able to open up. The very fact of opening up to a non-judgmental
other is in itself an enormous relief. Research has shown that the relationship with the therapist is %50 of
the improvement. A skilled therapist is also able to provide insights that lead you to discover patterns of
relating and thinking that were previously out of your awareness. It is these patterns that need to be
addressed and resolved.
If the problems are deep seated and long standing, PSYCHOANALYSIS can become the treatment of choice.
The method is the same as psychotherapy except that the patient and therapist meet as much as 4 times
a week. The use of the couch is recommended.
Medication
In certain instances it can be very helpful to also use medication. Alone or in combination with the talk
therapy. There are now powerful anti anxiety and antidepressant medications that can help in recovery.
