Healthy lifestyles can be challenging to sustain.
It can be even more important to maintain health practices if you have a chronic illness. Individuals seeking to make permanent changes to their current health situation frequently struggle because they are caught in the same behavioral patterns that have reinforced poor lifestyle decisions. They may grapple with weight regulation, have difficulty mustering the motivation to establish regular exercise patterns, or fail to adopt self-care behaviors that promote physical and emotional health. Therapeutic intervention can help to get on track and stay there.
Some people are hesitant to work with a therapist because they fear that those who seek therapy are mentally “unstable.” In fact, individuals who are otherwise emotionally healthy often see the fastest progress in collaborative therapy. Hence, you don’t have to be “sick” to benefit from the change strategies that psychologists employ.
Issues addressed may include the following:
- Identifying impediments to health practices
- Connecting personal values to promote behavioral change and personal achievement
- Motivation and compliance
- Goal generation and strategies for achievement
- Management of anxiety or mood conditions
- Role of exercise in modifying mind and body
- Role of sleep, rest and relaxation
- Weight management skills
- Disordered eating styles: chronic over-eating, compulsive binge eating, and excessively restrictive eating choices
- Long term health maintenance
- Assertiveness training
Individuals who are serious about adopting a healthy lifestyle will benefit from addressing the negative patterns that hold them back. Therapy can help people achieve better body image, experience better physical and mental health, and develop self-care routines that promote longevity, wisdom, and happiness.
Interventions are individually tailored to the person according to his or her presenting situation. Individuals with severe eating disorders will be referred to specialists, as my practice is geared toward behavioral change to support general health improvement.