Intake
The first session in the treatment is an assessment session. The goal of the session is to get a complete description of your concerns, a family history (including family history of mental health issues), and questions regarding other behaviors, emotions or thoughts your CDCW clinician may feel relevant. This usually can provide some preliminary sense of the nature of your concern(s).
In many instances, the assessment will be ongoing, continuing beyond the first session.
Your clinician will keep you and any referring bodies, such as physicians, informed regarding their thoughts and concerns (with your written permission).
A more formal assessment may be suggested if questions arise that may require more specific exploration (see Psychological/Neuropsychological Evaluation section below).
Individual Therapy
The primary (and most popular) mode of therapy with adults is individual, one-on-one therapy. Comfort with your therapist and trust in the confidentiality of the process will help you see therapy as a safe and private place to talk about any problems. Although commonalities and differences exist in theoretical orientations and approaches, please note that individual therapists will proceed in different ways and find success using their “favored” approach. Feel free to ask questions and express concerns as they arise.
People often express themselves through art, music and writing. Our clinicians are trained in using various modes of communication. During therapy, individuals are encouraged to utilize preferred means of communication to express themselves in order to maximize treatment effectiveness.
Family Therapy
Family time and interactions are significant in many people’s lives. As a result, enhancing the good interactions and minimizing the occurrence of detrimental interactions is essential. This may require meeting with family members together in therapy session to discuss areas of concern and celebrate things that are going well. Although this is not commonly used in therapy with self-referred adults, your therapist will discuss this if you or he/she feel it may be beneficial.
Group Therapy
We spend much of our lives in social situations with family, friends, and co-workers. If you are comfortable with this, group therapy is a natural therapuetic use of this skill. If you struggle with social situations, group is the perfect forum in which to work on these concerns. Groups are typically 8-weeks but new members are always welcome. Please inquire with us regarding the specifics on groups currently running and visit our Group Therapy page.
Psychological/Neuropsychological Testing
Health professional realize how difficult an accurate assessment and diagnosis can be. Emotionally, it can be difficult to differentiate between anxiety, sadness, oppositional behavior, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and mania. Psychological evaluations can often aid in sorting out such issues. Comprehensive reports include specific recommendations to aid in addressing any issues uncovered and/pr clarified during the evaluation.
The following issues can often be effectively clarified through formal assessment:
- Academic Achievement
- ADD/ADHD/Attention Difficulties
- Anxiety
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Bipolar Disorder
- Cognitive Functioning
- Depression
- Developmental Disorders
- Emotional Dysregulation
- Executive Functioning such as planning, problem solving, memory, forethought, etc.
Comprehensive evaluations are most often suggested by physicians (family doctors, pediatricians, psychiatrists, and neurologists), mental health professionals and school personnel. However, if you have some questions you feel may benefit from a formal assessment, please ask to speak to one of our clinical psychologists or assessment specialists.