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Heart to Heart
By: Lana M. Ackaway, LCSW-R, NCPsyAv, CASAC
I like to help others manage and resolve difficulties of the heart - love, loss, and work during significant life changes/transitions; for example, career change, death/illness in family, early "recovery," relapse with addiction(s), divorce, new marriage, new success, etc. As a first step in this process I help you identify your issues. This is accomplished with your participation in a specialized two-session personal "Heart To Heart Checkup." The Heart to Heart confidential checkup is at my office. I am committed to providing high-quality professional assessment (a two-session Heart to Heart Checkup) and counseling/psychotherapy to people who have not yet accessed help from a therapist or have had prior unsatisfactory experiences with psychotherapy.
Suggested examples for a personal Heart to Heart checkup:
• Recent mood change lately or behaving differently than "normal"?
• A chronic or life threatening illness?
• Major changes in sleep habits?
• Noticed a change in overall health; e.g., unexplained aches or pains?
• Much difficulty explaining needs or feelings?
• Problems with important relationships?
• Lonely most of the time?
• Thoughts of suicide?
• Difficulties in remembering or concentrating?
• Use alcohol, drugs or prescription medications in excess and/or when not "intending to?"
• Preoccupied with personal appearance or looks?
• Ongoing anxiety and/or depression?
• Lost interest in things, which were once exciting?
• Experiencing a highly stressful event?
• Frequently get into arguments without resolution?
• Continuing diminished energy level without explanation?
• Repeat actions not leading to desired changes?
• Involved in an abusive relationship?
• Life emptier than before?
Anyone who answers "yes" to one or more of the questions, each of which evaluates a separate area of emotional functioning, may want to explore a two-session Heart to Heart checkup.
Major issues for a second opinion:
I’ve developed the following brief list of considerations to help you better understand the value of second opinions in mental health:
• Too long in the same therapy
• Much insight/understanding without any significant behavior change
• Much unresolved anger with the "therapist"
• A long stalemate in therapy with seemingly little change(s)
• Frequent power struggles with the therapist
• In many different therapies or therapists
• Never been in therapy
Click Here to learn more about Lana M. Ackaway, LCSW-R, NCPsyAv, CASAC.
Link: Find a Therapist
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