Providing Evidence-Based Therapy
Doctoral students in our clinical psychology program provide evidence-based therapy
under the direction of a licensed clinical psychologist. We actively track clients’
progress to ensure they are making meaningful treatment gains with a variety of
assessment measures. This is done within the context of establishing a welcoming
and supportive environment for the client and a positive connection with the clinician.
A QCC therapist will begin by conducting an assessment to ensure the exact nature
of a client’s symptoms are understood. The clinician will then develop an individualized
treatment plan. After establishing treatment goals, the client will engage in weekly
therapy sessions and be asked to complete regular homework between sessions. We
provide therapy to children and adolescents; as well as adults seeking individual
or couples therapy. We specialize in offering intervention services for the following
types of presenting problems:
Anxiety, OCD, and Phobias
Psychological evaluation and treatment for issues such as panic attacks, agoraphobia, social phobia, intrusive thoughts, and anxiety are available for both adults and children.Many youth experience fears, worries, stress, and anxiety. Some are frightened to
go to school or refuse to go to school altogether, experience panic attacks, are
extremely shy in social situations, struggle to connect with others, or engage
in repetitive behaviors aimed at decreasing their fears. Adults may have similar
symptoms or experiences that prevent positive relationships, work productivity,
and overall life disruption. When these types of symptoms occur regularly,
cause distress, or negatively impact a person’s life, these issues may be reflective
of an anxiety disorder.
Several of our treatment teams specialize in treating clients with anxiety disorders.
We offer evidence-based treatments for anxiety disorders, many of which stem from
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Interventions for anxiety and related disorders
involve exposure (i.e., activities during which your therapist supportively and
systematically helps a client come face to face with the thing that causes you
fear until you become more comfortable and confident when faced with it). Treatment
can also include helping clients learn to think differently about the things that
initially cause you worry and fear, and to develop methods for calming your body
and mind.
Depression
Children, adults, and older adults may experience a loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyable, trouble with sleep, and feelings of emptiness and loneliness. These are some of the signs associated with depression.
It’s normal to feel down or sad from time to time, but when these feelings occur
frequently or last for quite some time, they might be a signal of depression. While
depression often involves extended periods of sadness or feeling down, irritability
can sometimes be more evident than sadness among youth. Depression typically involves
a change from usual functioning; individuals may show decreased energy or
a loss of interest in activities such as work or school, hobbies or sports, or
friendships that once brought them satisfaction. They may show changes in sleep
patterns or appetite that cannot be traced to illness. Feelings of low self-worth
or low self-esteem are often part of depression. In some cases, depressed individuals
might express suicidal thoughts or injure themselves (e.g., by cutting).
Several of our clinical supervisors have specialty training in treating people with depression. Treatment of depression can help individuals overcome current Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is often the first and best line of intervention. CBT typically involves a combination of behavioral activation (e.g., pleasant event planning and engagement) and changes in thought patterns.
Child/Adolescent Behavior Problems
Treatment for problems including, but not limited to, aggression, medical/health and school noncompliance, and difficulty in social and academic performance are available for children and their families. Therapeutic interventions designed to reduce parent-adolescent conflict is available also.
Even the best-behaved children can be difficult and challenging at times; however, if your child or teenager has a frequent and persistent pattern of anger, irritability, arguing, defiance, impulsivity, or otherwise problematic behaviors, therapy may be helpful. Some children with challenging behavior patterns may meet criteria for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), whereas others may seem to exhibit symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Even if your child does not meet criteria for a specific diagnosis, we can help them learn to identify and manage their emotions and behaviors, and we can help you develop more effective parenting skills.
Research has identified specific types of interventions that promote children behaving in more adaptive ways and help parents feel more confident. Many of these interventions have a few core components: helping parents establish clear behavior expectations, developing a system of rewards and consequences for child behavior, enhancing the quality of parent-child communication and relationship, and teaching children emotion regulation skills. Typically, parents are heavily involved in the therapy, although individual work with youth may also be a part of the therapeutic process depending upon the specific circumstances.
Some youth with ADHD do not have temper tantrums and other challenging behaviors, but rather struggle to focus, stay organized, carry out multi-step directions, listen to others for more than a few moments, and succeed academically at school. Although stimulant medications are effective in reducing ADHD symptoms and in improving children’s classroom behavior, it is not sufficient to return the child to age-appropriate functioning. Greater improvements are often found when medication is combined with behavior therapy and the use of combined therapy has been shown to lower the dose of medication to attain improvement. While we do not prescribe medication in our clinic, we can share information and consult with your child’s physician to facilitate that form of care.
Disorders of Late Life
Older adults and their families can receive evaluation and treatment for problems such as depression, anxiety, memory loss, sleep problems, relationship problems, and difficulty adjusting to stressful situations like declining health or loss of a loved one. Services are also provided to help individuals cope with stress of caring for an older adult.
Conjoint Problems
The relationships in which an individual is involved can hinder or help in the resolution of problems. Treatment for problems including but not limited to divorce adjustment, marital & family conflict, parent-child conflicts, other relationship problems, and individual problems such as depression and anxiety exacerbated as a consequence of interpersonal issues are addressed.
Our clinic offers therapy for couples who want to make their relationship the best
it can be. Whether you are in a relatively new relationship or have been married
for 50 years, and whether your relationship has a host of problems or hardly any
problems at all, we are excited to teach you skills and principles that will lead
to a healthy and lasting relationship. Couples come to us because they are struggling
to communicate, fighting too often, feeling unsatisfied with their sex life, struggling
with infidelity, and navigating new identities. We value working with all couples,
regardless of gender and sexual identity.
Sleep Related Disorders
Treatment of sleep disorders focuses on the connection between the way we think, the things we do, and how we sleep. CBT-I is a multicomponent treatment because it combines several different approaches. Sessions may include cognitive, behavioral, and educational components. Treatment often takes from 6-8 session, but the order and flow of each component can vary based on the provider’s approach and the unique needs of each person.