Sleep

At MLT we believe that good sleep is the keystone to physical and emotional health. Disrupted sleep is a common symptom of stress, and often accompanies weight and eating disorders, as well as mood and anxiety disorders. Insomnia can take many forms, including difficulty falling asleep, early morning awakening, difficulty staying asleep through the night, or restless/disturbed sleep. We offer cognitive-behavioral therapy for the treatment of insomnia (CBT-I), a highly-effective scientifically-supported treatment that results in improved sleep in just a few short sessions.

Mood Disorders

Depression
main line anxiety disorder therapistDepression is a disease characterized by prolonged low or sad mood, and or a lack of interest or pleasure in things once enjoyed. Accompanying these core symptoms are disruptions to sleep (sleeping too little or too much), changes in appetite (eating too little, eating too much, or experiencing cravings), loss of energy, irritability, difficulty concentrating, low self-esteem, and feelings of guilt or worthlessness. Feeling sad or going through a stressful time is normal and something that everyone experiences, but Depression is more than that. It is a serious condition that can be devastating for those who have it and for their families.

Depression is often common in individuals with weight or eating disorders, and MLT specializes in treating the two disorders concurrently, to foster the quickest possible progress. Instead of focusing on either depression or the weight or eating disorder at one time, we use combined treatments that combat symptoms of each disorder simultaneously and bring relief as quickly as possible.

Dysthymia
Dysthymia is similar to depression but tends to be milder and more long-term than a single depressive episode. Symptoms last for at least two years, and clients often report that they have felt depressed and/or inadequate their whole lives but they don’t know why. Dysthymia can significantly disrupt normal functioning and interfere with relationships.

We use evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatments to combat mood disorders. In a supportive and compassionate environment, we help clients to explore the patterns of thinking, emotion and behavior that keep causing problems in their lives and relationships with others. Treatment is tailored for each client’s specific needs, and clients may set the pace of their own therapy.

Anxiety Disorders

Panic Disorder
Panic attacks are experienced as a sudden onset of very unpleasant physical feelings, which can include dry mouth, difficulty breathing, sweating, shivering, shaking, tightness in the chest, nausea and terror. Sometimes they feel so bad that a person may believe that they are having a heart attack, or that something terrible is happening to them, and go to the ER. Most people will experience a panic attack at some point in their life, and infrequent panic attacks can be a typical response to stress. When panic attacks become frequent and debilitating, this becomes Panic Disorder. Sometimes this leads to an avoidance of leaving the house or going certain places, for fear of having a panic attack in public. This condition is called “agoraphobia.”

Luckily Panic Disorder is very treatable with cognitive-behavioral therapy. In a recent study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania and Weill Cornell Medical College in NY, researchers found that CBT was highly effective at treating panic disorder. We use the same highly successful techniques that were used in that study to help clients combat panic attacks and get their lives under control quickly.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Frequent Worries)
If you are someone who experiences frequent, exaggerated worries about lots of different things, you may be suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). People who suffer from GAD often tend to over-think solutions and worst-case scenarios, and may have difficulty making decisions in case they make “the wrong decision.” These people often have difficulty relaxing and they tend to feel restless much of the time. They are uncomfortable with uncertainty and may ruminate about a certain worry, not being able to “let it go.” Often catastrophic outcomes are considered over and over again and clients cannot focus on other, more pleasant parts of their lives.

Treatment of GAD involves a triad of cognitive, behavioral and mindfulness approaches. We first use cognitive techniques to help the client to explore their beliefs about how worrying serves them. Sometimes people are worrying in an attempt to avoid other, more unpleasant emotions. We gently help the client to consider what they are avoiding with their worry and teach them how to tolerate the discomfort of painful emotions so that they don’t need worry to distract them. We also use behavioral techniques which help the client to learn to relax their bodies and minds. Finally, we use mindfulness techniques to help clients remain in the present moment. In this way clients can enjoy their lives again

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, is characterized by obsessions (repetitive focus on particular thoughts and fears with an inability to ignore those thoughts) and/or compulsions (behaviors that neutralize the distress caused by any given obsession). Obsessions can be extremely distressing. For example, a client might fear that their living space is unclean and that they will infect other family members with germs. These beliefs often lead to rituals (repetitive cleaning the kitchen in a particular order) or compulsions (frequent scrubbing of hands) in an effort to bring reassurance that the feared outcome won’t happen. While these compulsions may bring temporary relief, over the long-term they only serve to feed the obsessions and a vicious cycle quickly develops.

OCD is highly treatable through exposure and response prevention (ERP), which involves identifying the client’s fears and compulsions, and in a supportive environment, exposing them to small doses of the events that they fear. This exercise helps clients to learn that what they fear is unlikely to come true, even when they refrain from engaging in compulsive behavior. Through ERP, clients to learn tolerate the anxiety caused by uncertainty about the future or themselves.

OCD symptoms are commonly experienced by clients with certain types of eating disorders. We address both the eating disorder and the OCD at the same time, such that clients can feel better as quickly as possible.

Resources:

Anxiety and Depression Association of America
http://www.adaa.org/

National Institutes of Mental Health – Generalized Anxiety Disorder
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=home

The Mayo Clinic – Dysthymia
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dysthymia/basics/definition/CON-20033879

National Institutes of Mental Health – Depression
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
http://www.afsp.org/

National Institutes of Mental Health – Panic Disorder
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/panic-disorder/index.shtml

Mayo Clinic – OCD
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ocd/basics/definition/con-20027827

National Institutes of Mental Health – OCD
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml

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