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SPECIALITIES:
We specialize in the treatment of medical and emotional
trauma's for
individuals, families and groups including, but not limited to:
Mood Disorders:
Anxiety
Disorders | Stress Reduction | Depression | Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder Obsessive/Compulsive
Behavior | Panic Disorders | Social
Anxiety | Early
Life Trauma
Adjustment Disorders:
Grief And Loss Therapy | Weight Reduction | Self
Image Issues | Addictive Behavior;
Habit Control With EMDR.
Personal
Coaching And Performance Enhancement
ANXIETY: We
all experience anxiety as a normal part of living but, for millions of
Americans, anxiety becomes overwhelming and limits the ability to lead a
happy and fulfilling life. The bad news is anxiety disorders can be
serious, and even debilitating; the good news is that, fortunately, these
disorders are very treatable with therapeutic interventions. We use
a combination of psychotherapy, behavioral modification and clinical
hypnosis to treat anxiety disorders with very good results.
STRESS REDUCTION: Stress is a necessary survival mechanism in a world filled
with dangerous situations. The increase of blood sugar, heart rate,
adrenaline and cartisol all contribute to the fight or flight mode
necessary to remove us from danger.
The stress response is adapted for short-term responses to danger. When you are in a fight or flight mode for
a long period of time such as weeks, months or even years, stress ceases
to be a helpful response. It is detrimental to your physical health
and mental well-being. Evidence shows that extended exposure to cartisol weakens
bones, causes nerve cells in the brain to degenerate, weakens the immune
system, and is a contributing cause of hypertension, heart disease, stroke, depression and
digestive disorders.
Stress reduction is essential to good
health and absolutely responds well to therapeutic
interventions.
DEPRESSION: Clinical depression is not the normal
temporary feelings of loss, sadness or loneliness that we all experience
from time to time. Clinical depression can produce intense feelings of
despair, hopelessness and diminished interest in most activities. A
person with clinical depression feels deep despair every day, and people and
activities which used to bring pleasure no longer do so.
Irritability is also a significant sign of depression.
Regardless of
age, depression causes difficulties with thinking, poor concentration,
guilt and helplessness to name just a few affects. If left untreated,
clinical depression can last from several months to several years.
POST TRAUMATIC
STRESS DISORDER (PTSD): PTSD can follow any
exposure to a traumatic event such as physical or sexual assault,
witnessing a death, natural disasters, war experiences, physical violence
and any event in which a person perceives that they are in eminent danger
of serious injury or death.
Some of the symptoms of PTSD are
reliving the event (flashbacks or nightmares), avoidance of
places or situations relating to the trauma, emotional detachment,
difficulty sleeping, irritability, hyper-vigilance, exaggerated startle
responses, and in many instances leads to addictive behaviors.
OBSESSIVE/COMPULSIVE
DISORDER (OCD): People with OCD have frequent, repeated
thoughts leading to odd persistent behavior. They know these
thoughts and behaviors are irrational, but are unable to control
them. They are plagued with repetitive thoughts such as "Did I
lock the door, turn off the coffee pot", etc. The constant
barrage of nagging thoughts is exhausting to say the least, and many times
consumes so much time and energy that other areas of their lives are
diminished. Some get to the point where they cannot work, families
are neglected and socialization stops.
As with other
Anxiety Disorders, OCD responds well to therapy.
PANIC
DISORDERS: Panic Disorders produce
repeated episodes of intense fear. Those episodes occur without
warning when there is no outward threat or danger. Because panic
disorders occur frequently, people who suffer with this disorder not only
experience the initial attack, they also live in fear of when or where the
next one will occur.
SOCIAL
ANXIETY: Social Anxiety Disorder is a continuous
and limiting fear of social situations. In its most severe form it
disrupts daily life and relationships. People with social anxiety
have an intense fear of being watched and judged by others, and doing things that
bring about ridicule and humiliation. Physical symptoms of social
anxiety are rapid heartbeat, sweating, light headedness and blushing.
Most people with social
anxiety are aware their feelings are irrational. If they do manage
to confront these fears they generally suffer anxiety prior to, during and
after the social encounter.
EARLY
LIFE TRAUMA: Everything that resembles an
unresolved issue, i.e., self defeating behavior, relationship
difficulties, unrealistic fears, moodiness, depression and anxiety are
regressed states relating to early life or, at least, prior trauma.
The defense mechanisms in early childhood are only appropriate in
childhood, not as adults because of the dependent nature of the
relationship a child has with everyone. They have to accommodate
and sometimes resist authority at the same time.
Without intervention childhood trauma
responses continue into adulthood. The defense mechanisms
needed for survival as a child become liabilities that hinder growth in
adulthood. Decision making is distorted and self image is
lost. Therapeutic intervention using clinical hypnosis and EMDR are
highly effective in reversing the regressed state brought on by early life
trauma. Remember, it is never too late to become what you were meant
to be...a happy, free, well adjusted individual.
GRIEF
AND LOSS THERAPY: Whether it is a divorce,
death, loss of a pet, loss of a
job; any loss will initiate the grieving process. Usually grief is a
self-limiting process. For some that may be a matter of a few
months, while for others the grieving process may go on for years.
People deal with grief
in various ways. Some are surrounded by deep sadness, some cry, some
isolate themselves while others want to talk; most experience anxiety,
anger, guilt and loneliness. Physical manifestations of grief
include chest pain, tightness in the throat area, heart palpitations,
dizziness and nausea to name a few. Changes in appetite and sleeping
patterns also are present, as well as withdrawal from family, friends and
normal activities.
Working through the
grief period with a caring therapist can diminish the anxiety that
accompanies grief.
SELF ESTEEM: Good self esteem is essential to living a full, productive
and satisfying life. People who see themselves as worthless,
helpless, stupid and inferior to others do not expect success and, thus, rarely
experience it.
For many people,
childhood experiences have diminished, or even destroyed, their self
esteem. These issues are best addressed in a therapeutic setting.
Through her licensed counseling practice, Lisa specializes in self esteem
issues. Her acclaimed CD, INSTILLING
CONFIDENCE FOR SUCCESS can be
ordered by clicking here.
WEIGHT
REDUCTION: It has been said of America that the
whole country is either on a diet or considering going on one.
Almost 100 million Americans are considered obese i.e., twenty percent
above their ideal body weight. The mixed messages sent by the food
and fashion industries have complicated the weight issue even more.
Bad diet habits can produce
serious health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease
and cancer. Billions of dollars are spent on diet programs each year
with little success.
In dealing with weight
reduction issues, Lisa addresses the underlying causes of obesity and focuses on behavior
modification techniques to OBTAIN and MAINTAIN proper weight.
'Lighten Up' is a totally different weight loss program in that it is
designed to meet the individual needs of each person wishing to lose
weight. It is definitely not a 'one size fits all' program.
Each program is individually created by Lisa Levy, a renown behavioral
modification therapist. If you are one of the millions of people who
have tried, and failed, every diet program that came on the market then we
have the last program you are likely ever to need.
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Our program can be
used as a supplement to dieting programs you might already be using or
on it's own.
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Our program is
designed to specifically resolve the CORE issues of overeating. |
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In designing your
individualized weight loss program Lisa employs sound, scientifically
proven self-hypnosis and EMDR techniques to resolve difficult issues
that are the underlying cause of unhealthy eating habits. |
In order for our
'Lighten Up' program to work, or any other weight loss program, you must
take into consideration the relationship that you have with food such as:
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Craving or longing
for food and feeling total disgust after eating. |
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Love the eating
process but hating the consequences. |
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Becoming angry or
disgusted with yourself when you slip up with 'forbidden' food. |
Because this is an
individualized weight loss program these issues will be quickly and
effectively dealt with. The first step is to answer the question on
the Form by clicking here.
ADDICTIVE
BEHAVIORS: Behaviors such as smoking, overeating,
gambling, substance abuse, excessive computer use and other
behaviors that feel out of control, can interfere with your health,
relationships, finances, and employment responsibilities. Addictive behaviors are
programmed in the subconscious part of the mind; therefore, the best way
to change these behaviors is to reach that part of your mind that has the
power to make changes.
Addictive Behaviors
respond well to therapeutic techniques such as clinical hypnosis and EMDR
in making changes in the most time efficient way possible. Hypnosis is the
normal state between awake and asleep that everyone experiences. It
has been successfully used to change the pattern of thinking and behaving
that counteracts productivity and a sense of well-being. Once your
conscious mind becomes aware of the root causes of your behavior, you will
be able to use this awareness to maintain a wonderful new feeling and to
change your responses to positive activities. You will be able to
gain control over your life and maintain a high level of confidence.
Our licensed counseling practice has had many years of experience
with treating additive behaviors.
HABIT
CONTROL WITH EMDR – OTHER APPLICATIONS: This technique is
audio biolateral stimulation, the basis for Eye Movement Desensitization
and Reprocessing (EMDR). The visual biolateral stimulation is related
to REM sleep where eye movement activates the ability to dream to help
resolve problems. It has been further noted in developing eye movement
to encourage resolution of problems, that any alternating body
experiences also produces the stimulus to resolve issues. The technique
presented here is alternate ear listening while envisioning issues
desired to be resolved.
For some people blocking images,
feelings, and finding difficulty in remaining focused indicates you are
dealing with a problem that would need an EMDR therapist’s
intervention. It really means that you have come into an area of
problems that have been too painful to deal with and so they are blocked
out so that you can function.
Also, I would like to
add that like anything new, really getting the feel for it and getting
good at using this technique requires some practice and familiarity. If
you listen to the CD over a period of time it will relax you enough to
become more creative in resolving issues. You will also become better
at identifying issues for resolve. So be creative, practice, call if
you need help, and get to that positive place! The CD HABIT CONTROL WITH
EMDR can be
ordered by clicking here.
PERSONAL
COACHING AND PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT: Personal
coaching, mentoring, motivational coaching, or a life coach is descriptive
of a person who offers an individualized, structured program for
motivation and direction. The process is to identify desired and
achievable goals and work progressively to obtain these goals. It
imparts a sense of adequacy, competence, and confidence in the ability to
ultimately achieve other goals and enhance the quality of life. The
program is a way of organization around pursuing specific goals with
materials provided. The amount of time for the program to be
effective is individualized but generally starts to be effective within
approximately 12 weeks. For new habits to establish themselves it
might take approximately 6-12 months although contacts with the coach may
be less frequent after the initial program. This program is not
therapy in that it focuses on goals and the future while therapy focuses
on the past.
There may be very
specific areas of a person's life that would benefit from this type of
self improvement; i.e., career goals, realizing a life-long dream to
change jobs, careers, social life, geographical moves, dieting, getting
out of a rut, finishing a project, starting one, becoming proficient at
something you already do, starting something you only dreamed about,
etc. As you can see, the areas in your life which would benefit from
a personal coach are endless.
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