Sexual, Emotional, Physical Abuse Issues
Fairview Psychological Services provides confidential and caring therapy for men and women to explore the impact of abuse and to begin and complete the healing process. Experience working with survivors has taught us that, no matter what kind of abuse a survivor has endured, it is the whole person that is hurt. Most survivors feel some level of guilt and responsibility for their abuse, have difficulty trusting both themselves and others, have difficult relationships, have low self esteem and self doubt no matter what their achievements, and continue to experience shame and embarrassment about the abuse long after it has ended. In some cases, survivors may experience disturbing and vivid memories or feelings associated with the abuse which are unexpectedly triggered by innocuous people, activities, or events in the present. This can be especially difficult for the survivors and those close to them. Healing from abuse takes time to honestly acknowledge what happened, identify how these hurtful experiences affected the survivor when abuse was happening, how the survivor is being affected today, and what is needed for personal healing and resolution. Our goal is to provide a caring and confidential setting to help survivors gain the strength and support they need to address these issues, grieve their losses, restore self esteem, and develop strategies to reach forgotten potential. Top

Separation/Divorce Prevention and Recovery - Couples Counseling
Couples who are married or who are in an otherwise long-term, committed relationship make that commitment with a loving partnership, not conflict and disappointment, in mind. Unfortunately, couples sometimes lose sight of their relationship dreams and goals, and instead find themselves filled with stress, anger, and resentment, and on the brink of separation or divorce. Healing a troubled relationship is hard work, but separation or divorce is painfully hard too. At FPS our goal is to help partners learn to handle difficulties more creatively, find forgiveness for past hurts, develop healthier relationship skills, improve communication, find friendship, ignite their sexual relationship, and begin to recreate a healthier and more satisfying relationship.

If the relationship has already ended...
When clients call for our services after a relationship has ended, we offer assistance and emotional support in working through the grief that accompanies their loss. We encourage an honest look at both their partner's and their own contribution to the failure of the relationship, and an honest look at their entire relationship history. Our goals are to identify specific behaviors, relationship skill deficits, or patterns in relationship choices that may need attention in therapy. Our ultimate goal is to help our clients obtain the necessary self knowledge and skills to avoid old relationship pitfalls, and instead to create healthy and lasting relationship future. Top

Codependency and Other Relationship Issues
Codependency involves painful worry or concern over another person's behavior, and being negatively affected by their behavior, to the point that controlling that person's behavior becomes a major goal of the codependent person's life. Whether this other person is a child or adult, inside or outside the family, male or female, the outcome is the same - frustration, anger, blame, conflict, and finally feeling powerless and out of control. At FPS we work with clients to identify their codependent behaviors, eliminate unhealthy relationship patterns, and develop healthy expectations for themselves and others. Working on codependent behavior is often a part of work with clients with abuse issues, family of origin issues, marital problems, addictions or other compulsive behaviors, and any other type of problem that involves troubled relationships. Top

Stress: Life • Family • Work
Teaching stress management techniques is a part of virtually every client's therapy at FPS, because the issues clients bring to therapy are naturally stressful. At FPS our goal is to help clients clearly identify the sources of their stress and its affect on their quality of life, and then to develop a plan of action specific to their situation. More detail about specific sources of stress can be found in the descriptions of our other specialty areas. Top

Anger Management
FPS has seen a major increase in calls for help with managing out of control anger in the past few years. Callers often describe feelings of chronic impatience and frustration, with frequent lashing out at family, friends, coworkers and even strangers. Persons with anger management difficulties often experience much guilt and shame over their behavior, make apologies and promises to do better, and suffer themselves through unsuccessful white-knuckle attempts to avoid repeating the cycle again. At FPS we offer individual, couple, and family therapy to assist in changing this relationship-damaging behavior. Therapy focuses on learning new coping strategies, improving self-control and self-monitoring, increasing empathy, learning to respectfully settle conflicts, and looking at core issues that are often at the root of poor anger management. Top

Addictions and Other Compulsive Behaviors
Substance abuse or other behaviors practiced in excess can harm the person involved in these behaviors, their relationships with family and friends, their career, the general quality of their own life, and the life quality of those around them. Some common examples of these behaviors include abuse of alcohol or drugs and activities such as gambling, spending, compulsive eating, sex, too much time on the Internet, and other behaviors not mentioned here. At FPS, individual, couple, and family therapy, as well as support groups or group therapy are often employed in some combination to treat these behaviors when they become out of control and destructive. If more intensive treatment is needed for those addicted to alcohol or drugs, referral to structured in-house programs at area substance abuse clinics is available. If the person engaging in a destructive behavior is not willing to seek help personally, it is often vitally important that those affected by the behavior seek help for themselves. Top

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA) and Other Family of Origin Issues
Family of origin issues refer to present day difficulties that are associated in some way with harmful childhood family experiences. Some examples of these harmful environments are homes where a parent or guardian abuses alcohol or drugs; is addicted to activities such as spending, gambling, or sex; is angry, overly controlling, abusive, or violent; is physically absent; is suffering from a debilitating physical or mental illness; or is simply experiencing so much personal hurt that there is failure to provide a loving and nurturing home environment. At FPS our goal in working with any family of origin issue is to help our clients understand and identify how growing up in these stressful family environments can negatively shape their view of themselves and the world around them. Therapy can help identify the impact of these family experiences, facilitate healing, and improve current personal, family, and professional relationships. Of special importance, therapy can help clients avoid repeating the unwanted family patterns of their own childhood, and instead provide a nurturing and loving environment in their present home. Top

Eating Disorders - Anorexia - Bulimia - Compulsive Overeating
At FPS our goal is to assist our clients with eating disorders to change the way they approach their relationship with food and to change the often unrealistic way they see their bodies. Using both insight and cognitive-behavioral approaches, we work closely with our clients to identify and understand their underlying issues with food and body image, while developing behavioral strategies to change unhealthy eating patterns and misconceptions about diet and nutrition. Referral to a physician for medication, as well as referral to a registered dietitian for food planning is available if needed. Top

Depression
Almost everyone has experienced an occasional depressed mood that lasts for short periods of time. Usually the mood lifts after a few hours or days, and life returns to normal without the need for professional help. We become concerned that a person is clinically depressed when the depressed mood continues for a longer period of time and begins to interfere with the person's quality of life or ability to handle usual responsibilities. When clinically depressed, a person may experience crying episodes, difficulty sleeping, weight loss or weight gain, anxiety or panic, feelings of guilt, sexual difficulties, loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities, thoughts of death or dying, and thoughts or plans of self harm or suicide. Depression usually responds well to treatment, which may include both medication and psychotherapy. Many persons who are depressed do not want to use medication as a first approach to symptom relief, and we agree that medication is not always a necessary or superior treatment for depression. Especially when symptoms are mild to moderate, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, along with techniques to manage life stress often provide relief from symptoms and a return to normal functioning. In more severe cases of depression, medication, in addition to therapy, may be required for adequate symptom relief. Chronic depression is also frequently associated with a history of trauma, abuse, or other family of origin issues. If this is the case more information can be found under that specific specialty area. Top

Anxiety Disorders and Panic
Racing heart, chest discomfort, sweaty palms, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, dizziness, tingling hands, fear or dying or losing control -- this is the experience of someone having a panic attack. These feelings can come on suddenly "out of the blue" or predictably in a specific situation or circumstance. They can range from mild discomfort to paralyzing fear and can disrupt a person's life to the point of being unable to leave home. Treatment for mild to moderate anxiety usually involves relaxation training, stress management techniques, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. More severe anxiety may require treatment with medication for adequate relief. Anxiety symptoms are also frequently associated with a history of trauma, abuse, or other family of origin issues. If this is the case more information can be found under that specific specialty area. Top

Issues of Grief and Loss and Bereavement
When a person experiences loss, there is grief. What usually follows is a natural progression through the grief until finally grieving persons are able to resolve feelings about their loss and return to their usual range of emotions and activities. At FPS our goal in working with our grieving clients is to provide a safe environment to work through this difficult and necessary process. In some situations, especially where there has been no real opportunity to deal with a loss, grief can remain unresolved for years. For those who have, for some reason, been hindered in their grief process, our goal is to work supportively with them to identify and remove those blocks to healing and resolution. Top

Self Esteem Issues
Low esteem and feelings of self doubt are common complaints in therapy, and work on these issues is included when clients seek treatment in many of our other specialty areas. Most clients are surprised to find that one major way they hold onto a negative self image is by applying a much higher standard when judging themselves than they use when judging others. While the specific approach to treatment may vary according to a client's major reason for seeking therapy, self-esteem and feelings of self worth increase when clients identify this double standard and begin to evaluate themselves with standards similar to those they use when evaluating others.  Low self esteem is also frequently associated with a history of trauma, abuse, or other family of origin issues. If this is the case more information can be found under that specific specialty area.Top

Stepparenting - Blended Families
At FPS many of our clients of all ages have had past or current experiences in having to adjust to being part of a blended family. One thing we hear often from these clients is that the stepparent/stepchild relationship is especially sensitive to the stress of incorporating new members into the family. In working with our blended families, we offer individual, couple, and family therapy, depending on the needs of a specific family and its members. Our goal is to assist our clients and their families in successfully negotiating these new relationships through improved communication and conflict resolution skills, exploring and resolving questions of loyalty, grieving losses associated with family members who are no longer living together, and facilitating compatibility among all members in the blended family. Top

Child and Adolescent Behavior, Family, or School Difficulties
FPS offers a wide range of services for children and adolescents who are experiencing behavior problems or difficulty adjusting to their home, school, or social environment. We work closely with the child, parents, school, physicians, and other resources to identify problem areas, and then to provide treatment and to develop and coordinate intervention plans. Our goal is to provide comprehensive treatment that takes into consideration the individual treatment needs of children and adolescents, and their needs within their family, academic, and social environments. We offer individual and family therapy, consultations with school, medical, and other professionals, testing and evaluation, and referral for medication if indicated. Top

Evaluation and Testing: IQ, Academically Gifted, Attention Deficit Disorder, Hyperactivity, School Admission, Personality, Career
FPS offers a variety of evaluation and testing services. These assessment tools provide valuable data that is used, along with other information, as an aid in school admission decisions, admission to specific school programs, development of individualized curriculums, personality assessment, diagnostic and treatment planning, and professional development and career exploration. Some examples of the psychological evaluations offered at FPS are listed below:

Psychological Testing To Identify Learning Difficulties or Attention Deficits
This evaluation involves collaboration with parents and teachers, IQ testing to identify baseline functioning, achievement testing to ensure appropriate skills for learning, as well as a computerized attention test to measure distractibility and impulsiveness. Extensive feedback is provided to parents and recommendations are made for families and teachers to better accommodate a student's needs.

Psychometric Testing To Determine Eligibility for Academically Gifted Programs, Advanced Placement, or Early Entrance to Kindergarten
This evaluation includes IQ testing to determine appropriateness for an accelerated learning environment. The evaluation may include academic achievement testing and behavior checklists, when necessary. Extensive feedback is also available in both verbal and written form to parents regarding the results of such an evaluation.

Personality Testing To Identify Emotional or Behavioral Issues and Possible Treatment Modalities
Behavioral checklists completed by parents, teachers, or a partner or spouse (in the case of adult evaluations), and personality instruments administered directly to the patient are used for diagnostic assistance, recognition of severity of difficulties, classification of personality styles, and identification of treatment goals.

Career Testing
FPS offers career testing and counseling to assist the clients with decisions regarding professional goals, career exploration, or goals for higher education. Top