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 New York City Psychotherapist Lana M. Ackaway, LCSW-R, NCPsyAv, CASAC.