Therapy Services

Individual and Group Therapy

We Offer a Number of Therapy Services to Meet Our Clients Needs

We help clients who want to create healthy relationships with themselves and others. 

We use an integrative approach that fits the clients’ needs. The therapy sessions will look different according to your preferences. Some of our clients prefer a flexible process centered on their presenting problem, while others choose a more structured approach. In both methods, we provide psychoeducation and use evidence-based techniques. Structured sessions focus on exploring and identifying patterns of negative thoughts and/or behaviors and learning coping skills to improve their life.

Our therapy goal is to help you heal from past experiences, cope with symptoms of depression and anxiety, teach you coping skills to increase confidence, self-esteem, emotional regulation, healthy boundaries, and practice communication and conflict resolution skills. 

During the first session, we will discuss your presenting problems, establish therapy goals and frequency, choose a therapeutic process, and develop a treatment plan. 

Online Therapy: We offer HIPAA-compliant online therapy. If you are located within Florida state at the time of the session and have a smartphone, tablet, or computer with video capabilities,  you can qualify for setting up an online appointment.

Individual Therapy Options

(In-Person, Virtual/Online, or Both)

Trauma Treatment

Most people will experience trauma in their lifetime. While many can recover from trauma over time with the love and support of family and friends, others may discover lasting effects such as deep emotional pain, fear, confusion, or posttraumatic stress far after the event has passed.

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Types of Trauma include:

  1. Single incident trauma- an accident, natural disasters, single abuse or assault, sudden loss, witnessing violence, illness, or medical issue
  2. Complex trauma- ongoing abuse or neglect, domestic or community violence, war, recurrent physical or sexual abuse, and/or abandonment
  3. Developmental trauma- is always complex trauma that occurs within the caregiving system and interferes with healthy attachment and development, leading to adulthood with chronic relational problems and an innate sense of self as “bad” with a deep sense of shame and guilt

Trauma Symptoms according to the four types of symptoms listed in the DSM-5:

  1. Intrusive Symptoms- repetitive and unwanted thoughts, nightmares, or flashback
  2. Avoidance Symptoms- avoiding specific locations, sights, situations, sounds, emotions, or people that remind you of the traumatic experience(s).
  3. Hyperarousal Symptoms- anger, irritability, hypervigilance, sleep disturbances, aggressive, reckless, and destructive behaviors
  4. Negative Mood and Cognition Symptoms- loss of interest in enjoyable activities, difficulty with concentration and memory, changes in habits or behaviors since the trauma, negative beliefs about self or others, and problem to experiences positive feelings

Research has proven psychotherapy to be the most effective form of trauma treatment. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) are commonly used in treating trauma.

If you or someone you know matches the trauma symptoms listed above, I am confident that I can help and invite you to contact me today for a free consultation.

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Therapy for Anxiety

When it comes to treating anxiety disorders, research shows that therapy is usually the most effective option. That’s because anxiety therapy – as opposed to anxiety medication – treats more than just symptoms to the problem.

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If this sounds like you, we can help. Our practice offers the most effective forms of treatment, to get the relief from anxiety that you deserve.

Often, these are the symptoms of anxiety:

  • Nervousness, restlessness or being tense
  • Feelings of danger, panic or dread
  • Rapid breathing or hyperventilation
  • Increased or heavy sweating
  • Trembling or muscle twitching
  • Weakness or lethargy
  • Difficulty focusing or thinking clearly about anything other than the thing you’re worried about
  • Insomnia
  • Obsessions about certain ideas, a sign of obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • Anxiety surrounding a particular life event or experience that has occurred in the past, a sign of posttraumatic stress disorder

Therapy can help to uncover the underlying causes of your worries and fears, learn how to relax, look at situations in a new, less frightening way, and develop better coping mechanisms and problem-solving skills.

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Therapy for Depression

We want you to know that you are not alone, and we can help. Many of our clients find relief in realizing that their struggle does not own them and that there are many options available to once again have hope for their lives.

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  • I am worthless and can’t do anything about it.
  • I feel guilty for just wanting to eat, sleep and be alone.
  • I hate who I am these days.
  • I can’t stop crying, which makes me want to stay away from others.
  • I feel gut-wrenching pain, but no one understands.
  • My life and the world around me are dark. I hate it, but I can’t change it.

If you have had any variation of these thoughts and don’t feel like your usual self, chances are you may be suffering from depression.

We want you to know that you are not alone, and we can help. Many of our clients find relief in realizing that their struggle does not own them and that there are many options available to once again have hope for their lives.

We understand the social stigmas that come with a label of being depressed and thus aim to help clients sort out their environmental, biological, and circumstantial factors while offering support and care through a very dark time in their lives.

If you hope to finally lighten this load and feel like yourself again, contact us today for a free consultation.

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Coping Skills Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT is a short-term, problem-focused form of behavioral treatment that helps people see the difference between beliefs, thoughts, and feelings and free them from unhelpful behavior patterns.

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and feelings and free them from unhelpful behavior patterns.

 

CBT is grounded in the belief that it is a person’s perception of events – rather than the events themselves – that determines how they will feel and act in response.

CBT can help with:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Panic attacks
  • Phobias
  • Obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD)
  • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Substance dependency
  • Persistent pain
  • Disordered eating
  • Sexual issues
  • Anger management issues

Most people with clearly defined behavioral and emotional concerns tend to reap the benefits of CBT. If any of the above issues resonate with you, I encourage you to try cognitive behavioral therapy.

With CBT, you’ll be able to adjust the thoughts that directly influence your emotions and behavior. This adjustment process is called cognitive reconstructing, which happens through different CBT techniques.

Some CBT techniques are:

  • Journalling
  • Challenging beliefs
  • Relaxation
  • Meditation
  • Mindfulness
  • Social, physical, and thinking exercises

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is much more than sitting and talking about whatever comes to mind during a session. CBT sessions are structured to ensure that the therapist and the person in treatment are focused on the different goals of each session, which in turn provides that each and every session is productive.

If you or someone you know would benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, please contact us today. We would be happy to speak with you about how we may be able to help.

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Group Therapy Options

(Virtual Only)

Coping Skills Groups - Online Meetings

The Coping Skills Group is an online Cognitive Behavioral Psychoeducational group to guide clients in identifying thoughts and behaviors that keep them stuck. Participants will also learn and practice coping skills to help them manage stressful situations adaptively and healthily..

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It is a 12 weeks group will meet once a week to introduce and discuss a topic/skill. The focus of the sessions will be self-exploration, increasing healthy habits, learning emotional regulation, and increasing social support. It will be a small group to guarantee participation and growth

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Group Therapy for Anxiety and/or Depression

Learn coping skills that will help you deal with symptoms of anxiety that prevent you from living a meaningful life.:

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(1) identify different types of negative thoughts patterns that induce or maintain symptoms of depression or anxiety;

(2) identify and challenge core beliefs, biases, anxious and demeaning thoughts;

(3) monitor and improve sleep, mood, and lack of motivation;

(4) learn grounding and coping skills for anxiety;

(5) learn behavioral activation and self-regulation techniques to improve symptoms of depression

(6) learn to set boundaries and communication skills to increase relationships; and

(7) follow up support groups for managing anxiety and depression.

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Get Started With Balanced Today

Surgey Figueroa | Balanced Behavioral Health

Address

4300 Bayou Blvd, Suite 21, Pensacola, FL 32503