Nancy Williams, MSW, LCSW
455 I St. Suite 201A
Arcata, CA 95521
(707) 822-4186 |
The secret of health for both mind and body
is not to mourn for the past,
not to worry about the future,
or not to anticipate troubles,
but to live the present moment
wisely and earnestly.
~The Buddha
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Nancy Williams, MSW, LCSWCounseling and Therapy For Humboldt County
Treatment Modalities
Therapy is about personal growth and change, which always involves commitment by the therapist and client. I have a variety of methods to choose from based on what is most natural and effective for you.
These conditions can be helped by the following methods below:
Anxiety
Depression
Bipolar Disorder
PTSD
Psycho(mind)soma(body)tic Disorders
Body Image Issues
Chronic Pain
Stress
Life Transitions
Relationship Problems
Imagery is an effective tool that can help you hold a vision and create an attitude that will help you achieve your goal. Imagery is the process of creating pictures in your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind "thinks" in pictures. Imagery is an idea, a thought form, in picture. By starting with a picture, you take a shortcut directly into your subconscious. No words have to be "translated" from conscious ("left-brain") language to subconscious ("right-brain") language. You transport a simple, clear, direct message right into your subconscious mind. Your mind then sets up the circumstances and events for this your images to come true.
Guided Imagery Indications and Effectiveness: Reduce fear, anxiety, and panic. Decrease chronic muscle tension and pain. Boost immune function. Speed recovery from medical and dental procedures. Change unhealthy coping mechanisms to good ones. Reduce stress. Relieve sleeping problems.
Relaxation and stress reduction exercises. These techniques will help you cope with stress more efficiently, make your thoughts more calm and peaceful, and help you learn to relax, while you build self-esteem and self-confidence.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) developed by Francine Shapiro, PhD, as an effective technique for treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety disorders. Over the years it has been expanded to successfully treat other emotional issues, including grief and loss, depression, dissociation, and addiction, among others. The technique involves identifying negative beliefs and attitudes that arise from life events, and tracking their emotional and physical effects. The eye movements directed by the clinician stimulate the right and left hemispheres of the brain to work together, thereby accessing more aspects of experience, usually with more tolerance. When one feels stuck at a particular level of experience, such as negative thoughts, sometimes progress can be stimulated by attention to another level of experience, such as emotions, sensations, other memories or counter thoughts. Similarly, positive new beliefs and ego strengths can be "installed" with EMDR. I am trained in Level I and II EMDR. For more information about EMDR, look at www.EMDRIA.org.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) emphasizes the important role of thinking in how we feel and what we do. Our thinking is one of the things that can cause us to feel and act the way we do. Therefore, if we are experiencing stressful feelings and behaviors, it is important to identify the thinking that is causing the feelings / behaviors and to learn how to replace this thinking with thoughts that lead to more desirable reactions. For more information visit www.nacbt.org
Client-Centered Therapy is a non-directive approach to therapy. In client-centered therapy, the focus is on the client's concerns and interests. Counseling techniques explore the personal meaning a client gives to issues discussed.
Solution Focused Brief Therapy is an approach to counseling that is brief because it is future-focused and because it works with your strengths by making the best use of your resources, and it can bring about lasting change precisely because it aims to build solutions rather than solve problems.
Couples Counseling Attitude is key when it comes to improving your relationship, your attitude toward change is more important than what action to take. Effective change requires insight and action. Through the process of individuation you will increase your knowledge about yourself, your partner and the patterns of interaction between you. Therapy becomes effective as you apply new knowledge to break ineffective patterns and develop healthier ones.
The key tasks of couples therapy are increasing your clarity about:
- The kind of life you want to build together
- The kind of partner you aspire to be in order to build the kind of life and relationship you want to create
- Your individual blocks to becoming the kind of partner you aspire to be
- The skills and knowledge necessary to do the above tasks:
- Communication Skills
- Effective Listening Skills
- Relaxation Exercises
- Intimacy Exercises
Family Systems Approach: A family system, just like any other system, has its own natural order and when that order is disrupted, the effects are felt by subsequent generations as the system tries to correct itself. This approach helps each family member realize his/her appropriate and actual place, find his/her roles in life, take care of himself/herself and avoid intervening in other's destiny.
In using these methods I regularly see individuals, couples, and families become more mindful, happier, empowered, reach goals, and increase their health and well being. I feel you will find the environment for therapy to be welcoming, relaxing and safe.
Nancy Williams, LCSW is not responsible for the content of the above sites and does not endorse the information of these organizations.
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