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Counseling and Therapy Services

 

Restorative Alternative Wellness, LLC offers a wide variety of counseling and therapy services with Dr. Gina Pazzaglia, PhD, LCSW, LADC.  We are here to help in all aspects of your life to find your road to health and wellness!

 

         Divorce

Marriage & Couples         Counseling

      Anger 

 Management

  • 45-55% of marriages end in divorce

  • Marriage is a risk

  • Second marriages are greater risks

  • Over 50% of couples continue to have conflict after the divorce

  • People are happier when married

  • Society no longer supports lasting marriages

  • Over one million children are affected by divorce​

 

​Typical issues include
Finances, child rearing, sexual problems, addictions, poor communication, power struggles, lack of common interest, problems with relatives, blended family issues, lack of spiritual direction, and many others.

Most divorce is caused by barriers in interpersonal relatedness including:

  • Fear of rejection

  • Selfishness

  • Lack of safety

  • High conflict

  • Avoidance of dealing with issues

  • Withdrawing
    ​

Recovery from Divorce

  • Divorce demands a time of grieving

  • Divorce is not an event in time, but a life process

  • Divorce changes our current status (financial, family, social, etc

  • Divorce changes our children​


To begin the adventure of divorce recovery, we must:

  • Take responsibility for our part

  • Begin the grief process

  • Be fair and forgiving (not seeking retaliation)

  • Regain a sense of self identity before seeking out another relationship

  • Remember: the children did not divorce the other parent

 

Domestic

Violence

  • There is an ever-increasing problem with domestic violence in our country.  The causes are from a variety of issues, and especially worsen when families are facing financial stress, unemployment, housing problems, remarriages and blended families, pregnancy, as well as substance abuse.

  • Defined by law as “threatening, causing, or attempting to cause serious physical harm between family or household members.”

  • Typically, it has to do with power and control.  Violating one’s will or choice through:  Physical dominance- pushing, shoving, punching , kicking, twisting arms, tripping, biting, pinching, throwing down, grabbing, pulling hair,  slapping, choking, beating, using a weapon.  Also covers areas such as:

Emotional abuse- name calling, criticizing, mind games

Threats

Using male privilege

Intimidation

Isolation

Economic abuse

Sexual abuse

Using children  

PTSD

Post Traumatic Stress-The central theme of PTSD is that people who have lived through intense trauma and have not done adequate critical incident debriefing, may later re-experience the traumatic event in disturbing ways.

You May Suffer:

  • Intense, recurring, and vivid memories that dominate your life.

  • Actual flashbacks, when the memory seems to feel as if it is really happening in the present.

  • Nightmares that are so powerful they are more described as “night terrors”.

  • Sudden and unexpected terrible emotions and thoughts that inhibit usual functioning of daily life.

  • Feelings of emotional numbness.

  • Feeling outside of oneself (dissociation).

  • Panic attacks

  • Extreme sensitivity to light, touch, noise, etc.

 

PTSD Occurence

  • 13% of Suburban Police Experience PTSD

  • 15% of Firefighters

  • 30% of Military Veterns

  • 36% of Raped Adults

  • 45% of Battered Women

  • 50% of Abused Children

 

Keep in mind, these are also just the numbers of people who report their symptoms to a healthcare or behavioral health provider.  Many others go unreported and untreated every year!

Many people have problems with anger.  Sometimes we hold our anger in until it explodes, or explode before we think.  This can leaves us with feelings of regret and guilt.  We feel misunderstood and create distances from others, as well as affecting our own sense of worth and value.

 

  • The good news is that often how we express anger is learned behavior, and since just as we may have learned poor ways to manage or ignore our anger, we can learn healthy ways to deal with it.

  • Anger is both a healthy and normal God given emotion and energy.

  • It is meant to let us know when things are wrong, when we are feeling threatened,

  • or when something needs to change.

  • When we learn effective methods of identifying patterns of anger in our emotions, thoughts, and physical responses, we can learn to work with our anger to become more competent in communication, relationships, and appropriate assertiveness.

  • We will ultimately like ourselves better, and others can enjoy being around us.

 

Anger Management Class

  • This class is a condensed version of the domestic violence intervention material.

  • This class is meant to help you or someone you know who has a problem with anger learn how to deal with it more effectively.

  • It is meant for those who just simply feel they need help or have a minor first time offense.

  • It is an extensive 3-session class (three 1 ½ hour classes over a 3 week period), and is psycho-educational in content, with extensive practical application homework.

  • Certificates of completion are given for those who need evidence of attendance.  

 

 

Depression

       &

Anxiety

There are 9 million suffering from depressive illness during any six month period

  • Depression can last: weeks, months, or even years

  • Depression is a whole body illness-affecting our biophysical responses, our emotions/mood, and our thinking/perception.

  • Depression lasts for a prolonged period (usually over 3 months) vs. periods of sadness associated with unhappy events or circumstances. Sadness & grief are normal reactions and a temporary response to life’s stressors, which is very different from depression.

 

Depression IS NOT…..​

  • ​A weakness

  • Willed away

  • Something to “Just pull yourself together” from.​

Types of Depression

Major Depression- may occur once, twice, or several times in a lifetime, affecting work, eat, sleep, and other life activities

Bipolar illness- cycles of depression and mania and may be chronic and recurring

Dysthymia-  chronic, long-term, not necessarily fully disabling

  •  

Warning Signs of Depression

  • ​Sleep disturbances

  • Decrease in energy, feeling slowed down

  • Loss of interest in pleasurable activities

  • Persistent low, anxious, or empty feelings

  • Change in sex drive

  • Appetite &/or weight changes

  • Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism

  • Difficulty with concentration or memory

  • Chronic aches or body symptoms

  • Thinking distortions/suicidal thoughts





Anxiety Disorder

​
Everyone has feelings of anxiety and worry at times; however, this disorder is an overwhelming sense of anxiety.​

Symptoms of Anxiety Disorder are:

  • Feeling tense

  • Nervous or panic stricken

  • Pounding heart

  • Rapid pulse

  • Sweating

  • Nausea

  • Dizziness

  • Chest pain

 

​Causes of symptoms may be:

  • Long term, unresolved problems

  • Inherited genetic trait (other relatives have anxiety disorders)

  • Too much caffeine

  • Chronic pain

  • Medications

  • Drug abuse (especially methamphetamines, cocaine, crank)

  • Poor sense of coping with stress

 

Types of Anxiety Disorders

  • Phobic Disorders-Those who have a variety of fears, such as being in a crowd, fear of tunnels, bridges, animals, elevators, etc.  People who have phobias often end up homebound.

  • Anxiety States- Moments of feeling out of control, and may be followed or preceded by panic attacks.

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder-An obsession is a persistent and troubling thought that a person cannot get rid of.  A compulsion is a need to repeat an act, such as hand washing, counting, and touching (new research indicates that addiction may be considered a form of OCD).
    ​

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