Specialized Treatment

• Creative Art & Self-Expression
• Psychological Assessment
• Counseling for Seniors
• Addictions Counseling
• Trauma & Abuse Recovery
• Counseling for Children & Adolescents
• Anger Management
• Transitions

Creative Art & Self-Expression

In our intellectual and rational culture, it is sometimes difficult to access parts of ourselves that help us understand our emotions and relationships. When we feel stuck or start to process issues only in our “head,” we sometimes need creative ways to get to our “heart.” Art is one way to explore our inner dynamics, emotions, and relationships. Sometimes words don’t do justice to our experience. In addition, creating works of art can be an integrating experience, as we pull together emotion and expression.

Art is not limited to someone who can draw, paint, or has some artistic ability. Therapeutic art is simply a way to identify feelings and express them in a way that transcends typical thought processes.

Art or some form of artistic expression can be used to:

• Move from your “head” to your “heart”
• Move beyond a sense of “stuckness”
• Express yourself when words fail you
• Capture inner feelings and dynamics through the use of shape and color
• Integrate experiences of trauma
• Assist children and adolescents in therapeutic work
• Keep you working through issues in between therapy sessions

Psychological Assessment

One of the distinctive roles that psychologists have in providing mental health services is the ability to perform psychological assessment. The need for psychological assessment arises when a client is not clear on his or her diagnosis and needs this information for a physician, therapist, or for personal clarification. The process of assessment usually involves an extensive clinical interview, one or more personality measures, collaborative information from family (if appropriate), and other specific tests as indicated by the referral question.

Journeys is pleased to offer this service through Dr. Roxane Thorstad.

Reasons to consider psychological assessment:

• To understand how personality dynamics inform a clinical diagnosis, such as a depression or anxiety.
• Clarification on diagnosis to inform a medication consultation with a psychiatrist or primary care physician.
• Understanding the effects of trauma and how it manifests in personality changes, emotion, and relationship dynamics.
• Informing current treatment with a therapist.

Counseling for Seniors

The aging process (regardless of your age) can be a difficult and awkward time for many of us. Getting older can be irritating, bothersome, uncertain, frustrating and confusing. Often times we need encouragement, information and an understanding of aging issues and solutions. Sometimes we are bothered by unresolved conflict or issues in our past or depressive symptoms or trying to deal with unfulfilled dreams and goals. Maybe our identity is in question and we are having a difficult time accepting the aging process and loss of youth, health and relationships/partnerships.

A caring and experienced therapist can help you with many of these issues or situations.

A Journeys counselor will help you with:

• unresolved issues or conflict – such as family conflict or relationship issues
• depression symptoms
• anxiety and worry
• grief and loss
• life skills
• life transition issues – transitioning from being married to becoming single or widowed
• coping with mood changes
• dealing with changes to your health and mobility
• end of life concerns

Addictions Counseling

Abusing drugs, such as heroin, opiate pain medications (oxycontin, oxycodone, vicodin, percoset), cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, benzodiazepines (valium, ativan, xanax), and alcohol, may lead to becoming physically and emotionally dependent on those drugs and alcohol. The first step to take to begin to feel better is to start the process of getting sober. Getting sober and starting a recovery program is a difficult decision for many of us to make. The good news is counseling will help you deal with the adverse repercussions of addiction which can include joblessness, legal trouble, family or social conflict, relationship difficulties.

Please answer the following questions regarding your drinking or drug use.

• Are you using more of the same substance (drugs or alcohol) to reach the same level of intoxication/high?
• If yes, then your tolerance for the drug/alcohol is increasing.
• Do you think about (obsess about) your drug or alcohol throughout the day?
• Are you spending more time getting your drug?
• Do you experience withdrawal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, shakes, body aches, etc)?
• Have you experienced blackouts (a blackout is when you experience memory loss after a day/night of drinking or drugging)?
• Are you drinking first thing in the morning just to get going or using your drug upon waking to prevent withdrawal symptoms?
• Are you isolating more and more while using your drug and drinking?
• Are your problems piling up because you are not addressing them?
• Are you experiencing problems at work such as missing work and being late due to your drinking or drugging?

If you answered yes to 3 or more of the following questions, then you are at great risk for being dependent on your drug of choice or alcohol. Seeing a professional and experienced substance abuse counselor will help determine the nature and severity of your substance abuse/addiction.

Counseling will help you begin to feel better and start the process of getting sober and developing a recovery program. You will discover:

• how you became addicted and began abusing your drug of choice
• the underlying issues of why you use drugs to cope and self medicate
• how to find meaning in your life again
• begin the healing process from your past issues and hurts
• repairing damaged relationships and building healthy relationships
• how to reconnect with your career, hobbies or developing new interests and hobbies
• addressing anxiety and depressive symptoms
• managing and controlling your impulsive behaviors
• developing a recovery plan to help you stay sober and on track.
• improving you mood, memory and energy level
• understanding your addictive behaviors
• developing strategies for coping with cravings and maintaining abstinence from all mood altering chemicals

Trauma & Abuse Recovery

People can experience a wide range of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Children and adults experience trauma when their physical safety is compromised. Sexual trauma includes any sexual experience that was unwanted or forced and is not limited to rape. Verbal threats, silence, or rage from a parent or authority figure can be equally terrifying. Even if physical safety is not compromised, we often cannot differentiate between the threat of harm or actual harm. The common element in all of these situations is the tremendous fear experienced and the breach in physical and emotional safety. Because abuse is often perpetrated by caregivers or entrusted loved ones, spiritual safety may also be threatened. Once abuse has been identified, children and families often need help navigating the healing process. In addition, many adults recognize that early abuse or exposure to trauma continues to impact their adult relationships and experiences. 

The experience of trauma is not limited to abuse. Many people experience a traumatic event through other situations, such as a motor vehicle accident, the death of a loved one, or being in a war zone. 

Clinical experience and research have demonstrated consistently that people often respond in similar ways to traumatic experiences. Trauma for many people changes their physical reactions to events, the way they experience emotions, their sleep patterns, and their ability or desire to connect with others. In addition to these physical and emotional responses to past abuse or trauma, our sense of meaning in the world can be disrupted. When trust is broken by caregivers, our view of people, the world, and God can be severely damaged. In learning to manage our physical reactions, expressing our feelings, and connecting with others, we can begin to heal. 

A Journeys counselor can help you identify abuse and trauma in your life and begin recovering from the effects.

Counseling for Children & Adolescents

Children and adolescents are not “little adults,” so therapy often looks very different for these younger clients. For young children (5-12 years old), therapy often incorporates elements of play to help them tell their story, express their feelings, and develop ways to deal with their experiences. For adolescents (13 -18 years old), therapy can have elements of play, creative art, or conversation.

For both children and adolescents, the family plays an extremely important role in healing. For this reason, therapists often want to see the parents of the child or adolescent as part of the assessment process and may include a parent or both parents in ongoing sessions. Although there are many common elements in therapy with children and adolescents, each situation is unique and a treatment plan is largely dependent on the situation and different family members involved.

When to Seek Therapy for your Child or Adolescent:

• You notice symptoms of depression or anxiety
• Your family is going through a transition or loss
• Divorce
• Trauma or Abuse has occurred
• Early signs of substance use, abuse, or dependence
• Inappropriate sexual behavior
• Anger management

Anger Management

Anger management has become a popular phrase, even rising to fame in the media with its very own movie title. Although we often make light of having anger issues, anger and its repercussions on relationships, physical health, and stress levels are very serious. Anger and the expression of it can be unhealthy and damage close relationships. However, anger in and of itself is not inherently bad. Anger is an emotion that helps us understand something about ourselves and others. And, there is often a place for experiencing anger and even expressing it in constructive ways.

A Journeys counselor will help you understand and express your anger by:

• identifying your emotions, including anger
• naming your emotions
• expressing your feelings through healthy communication
• recognizing cycles of anger
• understanding that anger can be used as a form of control over others and damage your relationships
• considering appropriate outlets for your anger

At Journeys, our team offers specialized help with anger management. For men, in particular, anger is often a default emotion. Terry Thorstad has a special interest in helping men identify and understand the role that anger plays in their lives. And, Dr. Paul Forsythe, enjoys working with men and women on how to understand what Biblical principles can be applied to the concept of anger and working with the common issue of being angry at God.

Transitions

Life transitions can come at us unexpectedly through a divorce, death of a loved one or the loss of a job or career or naturally through the aging process. If you are experiencing a difficult, frustrating, or uncertain life transition, one of our empathic and skilled therapists can assist you. We will work on developing coping and problem skills to manage and maneuver the life transition. We will help you with understanding what is happening and how it happened. Any fears, worry, uncertainty and concern you may be experiencing will be addressed.

We can help with the following situations:

• going through a painful or difficult separation or divorce
• loss of a job or career change
• death of a family member, loved one, friend
• medical issues or a difficult medical diagnosis
• the aging process – “Now What?”
• moving to a new city or state
• loss or death of a dream
• loss of physical mobility or athletic/sporting abilities
• becoming a caregiver for a loved one, ailing parent or child
• change in lifestyle or loss of a lifestyle
• drastic changes in income