Programs

My Unique Holistic Approach
From my earliest medical training, I was struck by how little we did for the emotional suffering of people with chronic medical conditions.

It is not enough to cure the cancer by cutting it out, many patients need help to mourn their losses, and to overcome their fears of recurrence.

It is not enough to tell someone with severe facial burns to be happy he is alive and grateful it won't get worse, if he is completely isolated and depressed because he can't bear the stares.

It is not enough (or even appropriate!) to send someone newly diagnosed with MS to an MS support group, where many people have more advanced disease.

I was convinced that more could, and should be done, that healing was possible, with or without cure. Two of my early patients stand out: one with bowel cancer caught so early she had curative surgery without even needing a colostomy, who is so sure she will die of this that she is deeply depressed and has practically stopped living, another with only one MS episode, now completely well, who is unable to function, crippled not by MS but by anxiety. These are tragedies. From the medical perspective, these two patients are very well, but their quality of life is dismal. I have developed a unique approach, where people with different conditions meet together in the same weekly therapy group.

To those of you who are coping well, I suggest that this is a good time to learn how to prevent problems such as depression and anxiety. We don't wait to get osteoporosis, we try to prevent it. As physicians, we encourage patients to take medication to lower blood pressure, we don't tell them to wait till they have a stroke. Life usually gets harder as we get older, even if your illness remains stable. The patients with chronic illness who get some psychological help early, ideally right after diagnosis, usually do better over the long term.

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How Do My Programs Work:
Some support is good, but it can become a crutch. My programs provide the the benefits of support groups, and much more. This is medical psychotherapy, a treatment which challenges you to grow. The resulting psychological improvements are long lasting.

For patients with chronic medical conditions, my weekly psychotherapy sessions include these elements:

We always begin with an individual session, in which we get acquainted, and I make sure that my treatment is appropriate for your problems and your goals. If you decide to enroll, I help you get ready for the group psychotherapy process by providing detailed information, and answering all your questions.

Benefits of Therapy
Patients report reduced or eliminated depression and anxiety, less overall distress, more energy, improved relationships, and sometimes that illness symptoms and flare-ups are reduced.

Bystanders: A Special Program to Help Partners/Relatives of Patients
BYSTANDERS is a separate psychotherapy program for partners/relatives of patients with chronic medical conditions, which meets once per month. It is painful to watch someone we care about suffer. Because it is only natural to try to avoid pain, there is often distancing in relationships, even when people care deeply about each other. The result is that the support that is needed more is available less. The patient might also withdraw, because of feelings of guilt for causing the loved one frustration and distress. These relationship difficulties can often be resolved very quickly, especially when both participate in my programs. Some couples report that their relationship is now better than it ever was, even before the illness problems began.

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