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| Ann McIntosh, Counselor |
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Counseling With You in Mind
Hello, and welcome. As a licensed counselor, psychotherapist and certified clinical hypnotherapist, I provide counseling and therapy services to people from all walks of life -- couples, homemakers, students, athletes and executives. My Austin, Texas, counseling and therapy practice focuses on these areas:
Marriage, Couples and Families
Weight Loss and Dieting
Eating Disorders, such as Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating and related Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Stress, Anxiety and Depression
Life Coaching and Executive Coaching
To help you understand more about counseling and therapy in general and my therapeutic style, please view a brief video in which I discuss the benefits of talk therapy. In addition, please "hover" on the top menu bars to find articles on topics that may interest you.
To contact our offices, please call 512-306-9992,
or scroll down and complete the quick form at the bottom of this page.
All inquiries are held in the strictest confidence. Please understand
that no counseling will be provided via the Internet or e-mail. Working
with you in person is the best way to help you achieve your goals.
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| Map to Our Westlake Hills Counseling Practice |
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Could You Benefit from Talk Therapy?
By: Harvard Women's Health Watch (August 2004)
“Maybe you should consider seeing a therapist...”
Every year, one in five adults in the United States experiences a mental disorder or an emotional problem serious enough to warrant treatment. Although psychotherapy is a cornerstone of psychological treatment, the initial suggestion — whether it comes from your physician, spouse, or best friend — can raise many questions. Are my loved ones tired of discussing my problems? Does my doctor think I’m crazy? Can talking really help? Would medicine work just as well? Will my insurance help pay? How do I find the right person to talk to? This article discusses how psychotherapy works in treating depression and other common psychological conditions.
What is psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy — often referred to as talk therapy — addresses troubling symptoms and emotions using psychological techniques rather than, or along with, medication or other physical approaches. There are many theories and styles of psychotherapy, but the two most popular forms are psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Which works best? There’s no simple answer. Just as many forms of aerobic exercise can help you achieve cardiovascular fitness, many types of therapy can help you understand yourself better, change behavior that is wrong for you, and help relieve bothersome symptoms. You may do better with one type than with another, or find that a blended approach, drawn from different schools of psychotherapy, suits you best.
Your regular participation in the process is more important than the type of therapy you choose. Most important is the match, or rapport, between you and your therapist.
Although most therapists emphasize one type of intervention, a good therapist can incorporate elements of others as well. Whatever approach the therapist adopts, she or he should develop a trusting alliance with you, suggest fresh ways for you to perceive your problems, and help alleviate your symptoms and your sense of isolation.
Psychodynamic therapy
Psychodynamic therapists believe that past experiences and feelings of which you’re not consciously aware can influence your present emotional well-being and ability to function. Through regular discussions with a therapist, you can gain insight into your motivations and conflicts and learn more productive ways to cope with them.
“Psychodynamic therapy can be very helpful if you feel like your life is repeating old patterns or you aren’t clear what direction you want to take,” says Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Margaret S. Ross, M.D.
The process of psychoanalysis developed by Sigmund Freud may be the most familiar form of psychodynamic therapy, but it’s not the most common. Psychoanalysis is designed to uncover the unconscious roots of your symptoms and help you apply this understanding to your current life. Classic psychoanalysis is time-consuming (it requires meeting several times a week, possibly for many years) and not widely used today. However, it’s still influential in the thinking behind much psychodynamic therapy, which can be short- or long-term, and may focus broadly or more narrowly on a particular issue or symptom.
Another common focus of psychodynamic therapy is an individual’s interaction with other people. Psychodynamic therapy can help you identify what you seek in a relationship (your needs), the healthy and unhealthy ways of meeting those needs, and ways to improve your ability to communicate. Such therapy can help people cope with the loss of a relationship, conflicts within relationships, or the demands of shifting roles (such as retirement or caring for a parent).
One system of therapy with this emphasis, called interpersonal therapy, combines elements of psychodynamic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and other techniques. Therapy is limited to three or four months and focuses on psychological difficulties sparked by recent conflicts or transitions. While not widely available, it is coming into more common use.
The cognitive behavioral approach
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is less focused on the underpinnings of feelings and instead emphasizes how to change the thoughts and behaviors that are causing problems. CBT can be used to alter difficult behaviors, such as smoking, procrastination, or phobias, and can also help address conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Cognitive behavioral therapists believe that you can change your feelings by changing your thoughts and actions. For example, you may have patterns of distorted thinking — excessive self-criticism or guilt, always anticipating the worst, attributing untoward motives to others — that make you vulnerable to feeling bad. CBT teaches you to recognize these patterns as they emerge and alter them. The “behavior” part refers to learning more productive responses to distressing circumstances or feelings — such as relaxing and breathing deeply instead of hyperventilating when in an anxiety-provoking situation.
Body and mind
Psychological disorders have physical symptoms — fatigue is a hallmark of depression — and many medical disorders have psychological symptoms. For example, an overactive thyroid can make you irritable, depressed, and anxious; an underactive thyroid can make you depressed and slow-thinking. It’s easier to treat these symptoms if their medical basis is recognized. Otherwise, psychotherapy alone won’t relieve even the psychological symptoms, and failure to treat the medical condition can be dangerous.
If you consult your primary care physician about psychological problems, a physical exam and testing can rule out a medical disorder. If you go directly to a psychologist, social worker, or other therapist who isn’t a physician, that person should keep in mind the possibility of medical problems and suggest a medical evaluation if appropriate.
Not going it alone
Most talk therapy involves one-on-one meetings with a psychotherapist, but other configurations can be helpful, too, depending on your needs.
Group therapy. Several people meet in regular sessions with a therapist. Interacting with others and hearing their problems can support your efforts to change and reduce your sense of isolation.
Group therapy can be particularly helpful for people with difficulties in social interaction because it provides a place to practice and get feedback from others. A group may be organized around a single topic, such as anxiety, bereavement, or a medical condition — or it may be concerned with more general issues, on the understanding that most people cope with similar problems.
Before joining a group, you will be interviewed by the therapist and may be asked to commit to a certain number of sessions. Group therapy may be combined with individual sessions.
Family therapy. This involves the family unit. It’s usually brief and focused on problem solving. It can help families correct miscommunication, change dysfunctional patterns of blame, or adjust to altered circumstances, such as a chronic illness or adult children moving back home. It may be especially helpful when an individual’s psychological problem affects other members of the family.
Couples therapy. Also called marital therapy and marriage counseling, couples therapy focuses on your relationship with your partner. The process may be much like individual psychotherapy, or the couples therapist may act as a mediator, finding acceptable compromises when there is conflict. The therapist helps you and your partner examine your patterns of interaction and determine what changes are needed for each person to be satisfied.
Support groups. Support groups are usually organized around a specific issue, such as bereavement, a particular illness, divorce, or recovery from addiction. A professional usually does not lead them, and, strictly speaking, they are not a form of psychotherapy. But they can be extremely helpful for individuals or families confronting certain circumstances or striving to sustain healthy behavior changes. Like group therapy, support groups may be time-limited or ongoing. Insurance doesn’t cover all support groups.
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Contact us for more information
To contact us, simply complete the form to the right and click the "send" button. Or call 512-306-9992 and leave a confidential voice mail.
Due to the nature of the Internet, we do not counsel clients by e-mail.
All
information will be held in strictest confidence.
During a business week, our office will contact you within 24 hours
after receiving your inquiry. We respond to weekend inquiries during
the following business week.
Please note: Space is somewhat limited on the form to the right. It's best to summarize, using brief sentences or phrases. We can communicate more fully when we contact you by telephone.
Thank you for your interest in our services. We look forward to receiving your inquiry.
Ann McIntosh, MA, LCSW, Counseling and Therapy
Office: 4407 Bee Cave Road, Building 5, Ste. 513, Austin, Texas 78746
Voice: (512) 306-9992
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