Services

Working with Kids & Teens

I am more than happy to work with your child or teen, and at the same time, some of the best work you and I can do for them is to address the issues that are triggering your own issues.

Depression

Think of the word depressed this way: when you are depressed, your system is demanding and taking “deep rest.” Get in the flow of what your body is asking for, and you can transcend your depression.

Pornography Issues

Here’s a different and fresh take on pornography issues. As a culture and society, we have used different approaches to curtail the viewing of pornography, but if anything, pornography use continues unabated and is even rising. We even resorting to insanity in our approach because we continue to relate to this topic in the same ways while getting the same disappointing results.

ADHD

Remember: ADHD isn’t about deficits of attention; it’s about deficits of interest. A person with ADHD has plenty of attention, just not for things that aren’t immediately rewarding. ADHD is difficulty with inhibiting behavior. If you think you or your children may be struggling with ADHD or ADD, come in for an assessment and get help!

Anxiety

I see the presence of ADHD in one’s life according to Gabor Mate MD’s view that ADHD is a trauma response. Be sure to check out my video on trauma. ADHD also happens to be mislabeled as it doesn’t represent a deficit of attention but rather a surplus. As it’s a response to trauma . . .

Panic & Trauma

Panic
While like anxiety, panic issues have a sudden and intense onset and typically last for no longer than 15 minutes. Panic is terrifying and incredibly painful, but you can easily learn how to relate differently to your panic and eliminate panic attacks.

Trauma
Trauma isn’t about what happens to you—trauma is all about your body and mind’s unique way of relating to what happens to you. Trauma is all about experiencing excessive emotional reactions with no help to found; it’s about feeling helplessness while in extreme pain. Thank goodness traumas to your system can be healed.

Marital Therapy

In marital therapy at LifeWorks Counseling, you’ll learn how to take good care of yourself so that you can show up freely and fully to love and be loved by your partner.

 

OCD

Having OCD is not the same as being picky or persnickety. You’ll hear people say they are OCD about the way the dish washer is loaded or about the organization the preparation of their food. They do not have a disorder, just a strong preference. If their preference for a particularly organized dish washer were at the level of OCD . . .

 

Counseling can help you:

  • Increase your self-confidence
  • Identify and move toward your life goals
  • Move on peacefully from pain and trauma, past and present
  • Manage your thoughts and feelings effectively
  • Embrace the happiness available today
  • Improve and enjoy your relationships
  • Become a better parent
  • Overcome your problems rather than you being overcome by your problems

Seminars and Classes

I offer seminars on a variety of mental health issues from ADHD and anxiety/depression to pornography addiction. I frequently do 5th Sunday lessons for the LDS Church on pornography addiction, and I present for firesides and Relief Society activities. I do the 5th Sunday lessons, firesides, and Relief Society activities free of charge. I like my classes to be fun and entertaining while at the same time informative and helpful.

Therapeutic Modalities

Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is one of the few forms of psychotherapy that has been scientifically tested and found to be effective in hundreds of clinical trials for many different disorders. In contrast to other forms of psychotherapy, cognitive therapy is usually more focused on the present, more time-limited, and more problem-solving oriented. In addition, patients learn specific skills that they can use for the rest of their lives. These skills involve identifying distorted thinking, modifying beliefs, relating to others in different ways, and changing behaviors.

Acceptance Commitment Therapy
ACT differs from traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in that rather than trying to teach people to better control their thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories and other private events, ACT teaches them to “just notice,” accept, and embrace their private events, especially previously unwanted ones.

ACT helps the individual get in contact with a transcendent sense of self known as “self-as-context”—the you that is always there observing and experiencing and yet distinct from one’s thoughts, feelings, sensations, and memories. ACT aims to help the individual clarify their personal values and to take action on them, bringing more vitality and meaning to their life in the process, increasing their psychological flexibility.

Psychodynamic Therapy and Psychoeducation
Psychodynamic Therapy, also known as insight-oriented therapy, focuses on unconscious processes as they are manifested in a person’s present behavior. The goals of psychodynamic therapy are a client’s self-awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior. Psychoeducation refers to the education offered to individuals with a mental health condition and their families to help empower them and deal with their condition in an optimal way.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) treatment is a cognitive-behavioral approach that emphasizes the psychosocial aspects of treatment. The theory behind the approach is that some people are prone to react in a more intense and out-of-the-ordinary manner toward certain emotional situations, primarily those found in romantic, family and friend relationships. DBT theory suggests that some people’s arousal levels in such situations can increase far more quickly than the average person’s, attain a higher level of emotional stimulation, and take a significant amount of time to return to baseline arousal levels.