Our Services
Treatment for Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal emotion and a healthy reaction to the uncertainties in life. Who has not thought about the ‘what if’s in life’-health concerns, money woes, job security, or relationship issues? Anxiety becomes an issue when it persists despite rational thought and inhibits your functioning. It can rob you of opportunities, life experiences and consume an abundance of your energy. It can consist of cognitive, emotional and physical changes.
- Excessive worry
- Irrational fears
- Impaired concentration
- Difficulty sleeping
- Restlessness
- Irritability
- Avoidance behaviors
- Trembling
- Sweating
- Dizziness
- Recurring intrusive thoughts
- Rapid heart rate
Anxiety can be treated with talk therapy, medication or a combination of both. Psychotherapy typically focuses on the negative thought processes that influence the emotion of anxiety and associated behaviors, as well as the development of coping skills.
Treatment for Depression
Feeling unmotivated, sad, disinterested in things you used to enjoy, difficulty focusing, low sense of esteem, and negative thoughts can often lead to a sense of despair and hopelessness about your future. Individuals can also present with adverse physical and digestive symptoms. Depression is more than a sense of sadness. It is the persistence of these feelings, which adversely affect multiple areas in your everyday life (e.g., occupational, social, family life, etc.). Depression can be caused by cognitive, biological, and or social/situational factors.
- Depressed mood
- Lack of motivation
- Diminished interest or pleasure in all or most activities
- Fatigue/low energy
- Sleep problems
- Weight loss
- Excessive guilt
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Suicidal thoughts, thoughts about death
- Difficulty concentrating
- Blame of self or others
Feeling unmotivated, sad, disinterested in things you used to enjoy, difficulty focusing, low sense of esteem, and negative thoughts can often lead to a sense of despair and hopelessness about your future. Individuals can also present with adverse physical and digestive symptoms. Depression is more than a sense of sadness. It is the persistence of these feelings, which adversely affect multiple areas in your everyday life (e.g., occupational, social, family life, etc.). Depression can be caused by cognitive, biological, and or social/situational factors.
Treatment for Trauma
The direct exposure or witnessing of near death, death, serious injury, actual or threatened sexual or physical violence can result in long-lasting negative changes in cognitions and mood that are associated with the traumatic event.
- Traumatic nightmares
- Recurrent involuntary and intrusive recollections
- Dissociative reactions
- Physiological reactivity after exposure to trauma-related stimuli
- Intense or prolonged distress after exposure to traumatic reminders
- Avoidance of trauma related stimuli
- Inability to recall key features of the traumatic event
- Negative expectations or beliefs and expectations about oneself or the world
- Negative trauma related emotions (e.g., horror, anger, fear, shame or guilt)
- Self-destructive behaviors
- Sleep disturbance
- Hypervigilance
- Concentration difficulties
Treatment for trauma includes different types of trauma focused psychotherapy and medications to manage symptoms.
Psychological Evaluations
Psychological Evaluations: A series of formal or structured psychological or neuropsychological tests as well as clinical interviews designed to identify and describe emotional, behavioral, or learning problems, as well as provide treatment recommendations.
Neuropsychological Evaluations: Utilizes standardized assessment tools and the integration of findings with other data to determine whether cognitive decline has occurred, to differentiate neurological from psychiatric conditions, to identify neurocognitive etiologies, and to determine the relationship between neurologic factors and difficulties in daily functioning. Such evaluations aide in determining the following diagnosis: Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, ADHD, Cognitive and Learning Disorder, etc.
Immigration Evaluations: A mental health assessment provided for an immigrant to submit as part of their legal case
- Asylum Cases–Explains the psychological reasons why a client missed the one-year filing deadline; and detailing how PTSD symptoms provide evidence of the persecution they suffered
- Extreme Hardship Cases–Identifies the unique factors contributing to a client’s psychological distress such as: illness; disability; professional, financial, or academic hardship; or adverse home-country conditions that would affect the petitioner or their family members
- VAWA Cases–Details the client’s psychological symptoms, which are common for domestic violence victims; assessing credibility; and where useful, explaining less common phenomena such as ways in which men are abused by female partners
- N-648 Cases– Provides a cognitive or mental impairment assessment in a request for exception to the English and civics testing requirements for naturalization because of physical or developmental disability or mental impairment.
We Cater To:
Stress Management
Feeling overwhelmed, underperforming, disorganized and a lack of control can induce unyielding stress. Psychotherapy can help with managing stress, which can ultimately improve one’s quality of life, relationships, and productivity.
Relationship issues
All relationships have ups and downs. Infidelity, communication problems, sexual issues, co-parenting, family of origin issues, blended families, and absolving relationships are among the most common relationship struggles. In contrast, pre-marital counseling promotes insight and increases the debt of knowledge about each other in a relationship. Couple counseling help address these issues and the relationship dynamics between each other.
Personal Growth & Development
What makes you feel happy and fulfilled? Gaining a better understanding of yourself, your needs, desires, wants, strengths, weaknesses, and boundaries. Counseling for personal development can help define life’s purpose and goals, as well as increase esteem and personal enrichment.
Modalities of Treatment
Individual eTherapy– One-on-one online counseling to address stressors and associated responses, as well as assist with coping skills, life transitions and personal development.
Group eTherapy– Theme based or support group online counseling sessions with peers.
Couples eTherapy– Online counseling intended to address relationship struggles between 2 individuals.
Family eTherapy– Parents, children, and extended family members address familial issues and conflicts in online counseling at the same time.
* The information contained on this website is not intended as a substitution for medical or psychiatric treatment. Using this website does not constitute a client/therapist relationship with Dr. Chanelle Richards, PhD. A full intake assessment is necessary in order to establish that relationship. If you are in an emergency state or situation, please stop and call 911 for help.
Cost of Therapy/Fees:
A typical eTherapy initial session cost $250. Thereafter, session fees vary from $115.00 – $180.00, depending on the session length (30/45/50 min). We accept all major credit cards and Health Savings Account (HSA) credit cards.
Some plans may provide partial reimbursement for Out-Of-Network services and may also allow you to submit it to your Flexible Spending Account. Please consult your insurance carrier for more details about your specific health care plan and we will gladly provide you with a receipt for therapy services (i.e., Superbill).
Resources
NATIONAL SUICIDE HELPLINE: 1-800-273-8255
National Alliance on Mental Illness (http://www.nami.org/) NAMI supports millions of Americans with mental health conditions.
The Loveland Foundation (https.thelovelandfoundation.org) provides financial assistance to Black women and girls seeking therapy.
The Boris Lawrence Henderson Foundation (http://borislhendersonfoundation.org) also provides information on nonprofit organizations who offer programs for mental health issues in the African American community.
