Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people become more psychologically adaptable. ACT encourages you to be more fully in the present. Accepting your deep emotions, traumas, or negative coping mechanisms is key in this therapeutic approach.
ACT maintains that to adapt and grow, a person must fully accept themselves as they are. Therapists practicing ACT believe that suppressing or ignoring painful emotions or experiences is counter-productive to growth and change.
You must investigate your current patterns of thinking to change. After examining these patterns, you can better understand the way your thinking impacts you. This acceptance of your patterns and habits helps you change your behaviors.
Trying to stop ways of thinking can be detrimental to ACT. Your therapist will help you understand how and why you think a certain way. Your ACT therapist will encourage you to accept yourself within a given moment. This acceptance is ultimately the catalyst for change.
After fostering the acceptance of the present moment, with all its thoughts, beliefs, and experiences, your ACT therapist will encourage you to develop a new, more compassionate relationship with your experience.
Individuals experiencing a wide range of psychological issues can benefit from ACT because it emphasizes their unique relationship with their problems.
I believe that therapy should be driven by the individual. I work to empower individuals to create the change they want to see in their lives, promote healing, and strengthen relationships. I believe the most important indicator of success is a trusting and supportive relationship with the therapist. I know that finding a therapist that meets your needs can be overwhelming. I am happy to provid...
"Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional" ~Old Buddhist saying~ Pain is a part of life but it does not have to rule your life. Suffering is not a part of life. We do it to ourselves by allowing our pain to take over our lives. We may try to cope by ignoring, rejecting or holding onto our pain by addictive behaviors (e.g. drugs, obsessive thinking about the past and ourselves). Thus, we onl...
AMES | DES MOINES THERAPY clinical team provides therapy approaches and techniques which are evidenced based. DR. MOONEY, PHD, LMHC, NCC, ACS, 21 years’ experience and has been with Liberty University as an Associate Professor of Counseling Education. DR. AUGSPURGER, MD, DLFAPA has over 34 years’ experience in psychiatry. CALLIE LAWERENCE, MS, TLMHC, CRC, Lecturer for University of Iowa. VICENT...
Do you feel overwhelmed by the stress, emotions, or transitions of parenthood? Is pregnancy or parenthood nothing like what you expected? I am here to tell you are not alone. These major life transitions present us all with challenges that test our emotional well-being. My role as a therapist is to offer support, uncover your strengths, and help discover meaning to overcome challenges. I believ...
Dr. Schwartz is a psychologist with many specialties including anxiety (OCD, GAD, Specific Phobias, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety), depression, eating disorders, trauma and PTSD, insomnia, and substance use disorders. He typically works with late adolescents and adults from a variety of backgrounds. Dr. Schwartz primarily uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) though he frequently incorporate...
Psychotherapy is a process of collaboration, discovery, acceptance, and change. Together, we will explore the many factors impacting your life and your experiences. We will make space for you to listen inward and reflect. You will be encouraged to clarify your values and set clear and achievable goals. Along the way, I will offer feedback, encouragement, and support. We will observe your curren...
Do you worry your teen or young adult may be struggling? Maybe you've seen a change in their mood, grades or social situation? You can't understand their behavior, and attempts to reach them either land on deaf ears or backfire completely. These years can feel like a rollercoaster ride. Young people experience increased emotionality, heightened stress sensitivity and greater impulsivity that is...
Poet Maya Angelou wrote: "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you". Opening oneself is a courageous and vulnerable act and I want you to know that I will provide you a space to explore at your own pace, and a place to feel known, heard and accepted as you journey in your healing. As part of the process I help you identify and foster your own personal strengths while...
I specialize in providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and other primary anxiety disorders. I also specialize in providing CBT for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), stress, depression, and body dysmorphia, as well as Habit Reversal Training (HRT) for body-focused repetitive behaviors (e.g.,...
I am an experienced professional LMFT licensed in CA and NV, I work with children, adolescents and adults for individual, couples, group, and family therapy. I studied depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. I possess skills in crisis management, trauma resolution, life transition, behavioral issues, depression, anxiety, stress management, grief and loss, and family conflict. My approa...
You struggle in your relationship, or your doctor handed you a terrible diagnosis. Maybe there is something important you need to talk about, but you don't know who you can trust. On some days, it may feel your mind is spiraling out of control. Getting out of bed may have become so much more difficult lately. You experience dread too much of the time. You feel alone and sometimes wonder "what i...
What if anxiety, depression, anger, and negative thinking aren't symptoms, but strategies? What if we considered those emotions, thoughts, and body sensations to be trailheads to discover parts of us that are working hard to protect us and to navigate a challenging world filled with stressors and complicated relationships? And what if we considered the roles those parts are playing and directed...
Difficult emotions tend to multiply in our hearts when we put off dealing with what’s causing them. My therapeutic approach helps your heart and mind work together to approach the problems in your life with education, emotional insight, and a full repertoire of coping skills and self-care strategies. I work with areas of anxiety, including OCD, Social Anxiety, General Anxiety and Phobias. I als...
Relationships are hard work. You may find that your relationships follows a certain pattern of conflict and connection that you can't escape. You probably have talked to your friends, your family, a religious leader, but nothing seems to work. You may feel alone. You may wonder if this relationship is worth the trouble. In couples therapy we will work to uncover the negative pattern of connecti...
Are you feeling stuck? Stressed, anxious, or depressed? Maybe you’re having trouble navigating a transition or finding direction? Or maybe you already know your goals, and you just need a little help getting there. My job is to help you learn and develop long-lasting, effective skills for handling overwhelming emotion, coping with distress or trauma, communicating more assertively, and feeling...
