Arcadia Counseling Center’s licensed behavioral health providers are able to provide services to children, adolescents, adults, families and couples. The scope of our practice includes the following specialty areas:
- Mood Disorders
- Anxiety and Panic Disorders
- Marriage and Family (Blended Families, Divorce, Mother-Daughter Bond)
- Interpersonal/Relationship Conflicts
- Children’s Behavior Problems
- Gay and Lesbian Issues
- Coping with Trauma
- Grief and Loss
- Stress Management
- Body-Image and Eating Disorders
ACC does not contract directly with insurance companies, but provides receipts that clients may submit on their own for reimbursement.
Mood Disorders
Mood disorders (Dysthymia, Major Depression or Bipolar Depression) can be caused by a number of factors, including: chemical imbalance in the brain, environmental, and interpersonal, psychosocial factors. An estimated 20 million Americans suffer from depression; it can occur in both men and women. Participating in psychotherapy can alleviate the symptoms. By utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy techniques we can help identify and modify the irrational thoughts and beliefs that prolong the depressive feelings. In addition, we will promote increased involvement in previously pleasurable activities and/or exercise.
Anxiety and Panic Disorders
In many situations, anxiety is normal and healthy, and not something that needs to be treated. However, sometimes anxiety can rise to unhealthy and overwhelming levels which manifest in the form of anxiety and/or panic attacks, chronic worrying which interferes with normal functioning, specific phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). ACC utilizes a well-established, highly effective, and lasting treatment, called cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT; it focuses on identifying, understanding, and changing thinking and behavior patterns while teaching relaxation skills. In addition to CBT, we provide psychotherapy which involves working out underlying life stresses and concerns through talk therapy and analysis.
Marriage and Family
ACC works with couples and families to enhance communications skills and strengthen the common bond. It is critical for families and couples to first identify their goals in coming to counseling. We believe in exploring every participants thoughts and feelings in order to reinforce a sense of being heard, and to bring attention to each persons unique perspective of the problem. We then promote the skills of listening, negotiation, compromise, mediation and decision-making as a team. ACC teaches the skills of assertion, rather than aggression or passive-aggression. We further specialize in the following familial issues:
Blended Families: Assisting families in their adjustment to new dynamics, preventing unresolved problems from the first marriage to interfere and manifest again, letting go of the nuclear family fantasy, and redefining roles.
Divorce: Helping children and teens cope with divorce, and supporting parents in their quest to “do the right thing” in an inevitably difficult situation.
The Mother-Daughter Bond: Its strength and its venom. Youth and adult daughters and their mothers often have emotionally charged, conflicted relationships. Feelings and self-esteem are frequently sacrificed in order to uphold the fantasy and societal expectation that this relationship should be strong and impermeable. Laura Greenwood of ACC specializes in helping clients understand this bond and the dynamics of the relationship in order to more effectively cope in their personal lives.
Interpersonal Relationship
Interpersonal problems are typically the result of low self-esteem, daily stress, relational conflicts and unresolved feelings of hurt, fear and anger. acc encourages the use of therapeutic homework assignments so one can learn skills to effectively resolve their problems. We specialize in teaching clients the following skills:
Anger Management
Conflict-resolution
Communication
Cognitive Restructuring
Children’s Behavior Problems
If only children and all their unique eccentricities came with instruction manuals! ACC utilizes training and experience in working with families to help parents build upon their parenting skills. We encourage parents to look beyond the troubling behaviors in their children, and understand the feelings that are perpetuating the behaviors. ACC teaches the techniques of consistent limit-setting, implementing natural and logical consequences, negotiation and compromise, and preventing power-struggles. Our specialty areas include:
Parenting Skills
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
Behavior Disorders
ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder
CD (Conduct Disorder)
Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Bisexual (GLBTQ)
We’ve come a long way since the early ’70s regarding sexual orientation, however, the psychological and societal influence regarding sexual orientation remains problematic for many children, adolescents, adults and their families. The impact of society, religious, and family beliefs can be overwhelming to the person struggling to come to terms with his or her sexual orientation. One only has to listen to news programs and read current articles in magazines or newspapers to have a sense of the intense struggle for the GLBTQ person to fit in with today’s society. The focus of counseling depends on the specific needs of our clients. This may include, but is not limited to, school, work, family, friends, and/or religious beliefs. We also refer clients to established community support groups that will assist with the anxiety surrounding sexual orientation issues.
Coping with Trauma
Everyone may experience some stress reactions as the result of major life changes, events or traumas. Some feelings don’t last long, and some may not appear for weeks or even months after the event. Reactions can take on many forms, such as: physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral. ACC works to equip clients with skills to best manage and anticipate difficult reactions to trauma and change, in order to avoid interference with other areas of their personal life. Specialty topics include:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Suicide
Abuse (Physical, Sexual, Emotional, Domestic Violence)
Natural disaster(s)
Grief and Loss
Similar to trauma, everyone may experience grief and loss in different ways and in varying stages. Loss takes on many definitions according to the individual, such as: death, divorce, moving, loss of pet, etc. ACC provides empathic listening while educating about the appropriate expectations in grief reactions. We also help to normalize children’s developmentally appropriate responses to grief and loss. ACC will often refer to and collaborate with The New Song Center, a program offering specialized grief support programs to youth, adults and families, in the Phoenix Metropolitan area.
Stress Management
With the pace and demands of our everyday life, it is only natural for us to become “stressed-out”. By utilizing cognitive behavioral techniques and physical relaxation training, ACC helps clients to develop effective stress management skills. Our goal is to help turn anxiety into awareness and action.
Body-Image and Eating Disorders
It was bad enough when youth were faced with air-brushed models in magazines and attractive actors on television; now they’re engrossed by “reality” shows promoting modeling, competitive dating, and the so-called real-life of young, thin, “beautiful” teens. The reality t.v. era is detrimental in that it perceives thin, beautiful, and people of questionable intelligence as successful and “having it all.” It is imperative to counter these messages to youth, and adults alike, in order to stop the internalization of such unrealistic and unhealthy ideals, and to prevent the occurrence of eating disorders, low self-esteem, and poor/distorted body image.