Services

Life is often stressful and challenging. We are designed to both survive and thrive. However, if stress is overwhelming, we can get stuck in just surviving, which negatively impacts our experience of joy and things that are life-giving. Also, we can lose interest in our relationships and the things around us. Individual therapy, which is known as psychotherapy, can be helpful for you in identifying what may be missing or blocked internally and/or within your environment. Often, individual therapy sessions are 45–60 minutes depending upon the need. Our therapists value offering a safe and non-judgmental space for you to find answers, insights, and support.

The teenage years can be a hybrid of dependency and independence. Balancing these two components can prove challenging for both parents and teens. This developmental stage can be a unique challenge for families and therapists. We offer therapists who specialize in this age group and for families at this life stage. Our therapists offer both individual and family therapy, depending upon the needs of the teen and family.

We welcome children. Their struggles are usually unintentional. The difficulty for children often involves the gap between what they can perceive and what they can communicate. Our therapists who work with children use directive and non-directive play therapy to bridge the gap between what children experience and what they communicate in language. Talk therapy is limited at this age group; however, play therapy is how children naturally communicate in their world. We see children as young as 4 years of age.

Two healthy, mature individuals do not always ensure a healthy, mature relationship. Couples therapy focuses on the "space between us." Although it does not exclude the impact of each individual on the relationship, the relationship itself actually becomes the "client." Our therapists are trained to uncover what each couple desires in their relationship and what is blocking them from achieving their desired goals. The block might be skills, unhealed hurts, a lack of repair, or some family dynamic patterns. Whether insights, motivation, skills, or barriers, couples therapy can free relationships to heal, change and grow.

Family relationships can be so complex. So many individuals, so many levels of development and maturity. Past hurts or patterns from previous generations can guide or mislead all parties. Too many unmet needs and ineffective patterns of fight, flight or freeze can make things seem too far gone. We simplify family interactions, good or bad, by looking at the multigenerational systems which help our therapists make sense of why things work, or do not work, the way they do. Therapy where the whole family is involved can powerfully shift interactive patterns, fears, and rewards working in many lives at the same time by changing the rules, patterns and rewards of the entire family system. And, by effecting change in the system, every family member will often benefit.

Group therapy is a microcosm of the world around us. We can learn skills and build confidence in seeing ourselves reflected in the eyes of others, knowing ourselves fiercely, and honestly dealing with all the differences we find in the world, right in our group. Group therapy can be like starting over with a fresh new family, one where we are not stuck in roles that others need from us. We are seen with new eyes by others, and through them we gain new eyes to see ourselves.

Arden Woods has a number of groups that run for a limited time, and we are open to suggestions for groups that the community needs. Please email info@ardenwoodspsych.com for current group offerings and further information.

You know there is a family problem, but you are not sure just what it is or what to do about it. You may ask: is there hope for us? Do we need therapy? And if so, what kind? Individual? Couples? The whole family? Focused Family Assessment is a service offered by Arden Woods which is a 90-minute session with your family to get to the bottom of what has been troubling you and what sort of healing or repair or therapy is recommended.

This program is specifically designed for complex multi-generational families who have struggled over time or find themselves in crisis mode. This extended, focused session is with two of our top family therapists working together with your whole family, with a second 90-minute follow-up session available. Afterward, you will be given an assessment of what is going on with your family situation and recommendations of what to do about it.

The cost for the 90-minute session is $400 and often can be submitted to insurance for partial reimbursement. Contact us for more information at info@ardenwoodspsych.com, attention Mark Anderson and Tanya Berg.

Family Therapy Specialists is a monthly training program for any therapist interested in taking their therapy skills to the next level of insight, skill, competency, and confidence. Trainees offer live therapy with families while being observed by the senior trainer and cohort members. They receive mid-session guidance and post-session review of their work.

Using teaching, videos, and interactive learning, we address self-of-the-therapist, various theoretical perspectives, specific intervention techniques, and assist each trainee toward their personal learning goals.

For more information, please contact Mark Anderson, MA, LP, LMFT at familytherapyspecialists@gmail.com.

Since 2007, we have offered Friday Forums, interactive informational sessions for Christian leaders and health care workers in our community. We meet Friday mornings from 8:30am to 10:00am.

At each forum, a therapist or guest speaker presents on a variety of topics and invites questions and discussion from participants. Our desire is to serve the ministry and health care community by presenting psychological and mental health concepts that are helpful in their own ministry and personal lives.

If you'd like to be on our mailing list, please email info@ardenwoodspsych.com, attention Friday Forums.

We value supervision at Arden Woods, in part, because we value our clinicians as much as we value our clients. We honor the concept of "paying it forward" as we all have benefitted from mentors and teachers who have gone before us and we carry on their legacy in our work.

Our supervisory philosophy centers on the person of the therapist: we are "clinician-focused" in our supervision. In other words, we focus on what our supervisees need as they work with their client load. We believe that is also the best way to serve their clients. We diligently investigate the self-of-the-therapist as a powerful and important tool in assessment, interventions, and all aspects of therapy.

We believe you don't learn to do therapy in grad school; rather, you learn from your clients. We consider year one of supervision to be one where we focus on the strengths and natural abilities the supervisee brings to the field. We address ways to use these gifts and abilities to their greatest potential, and potential misuses and imbalances that might be part of one's natural approach. We consider year two of supervision to be one where we focus more on filling the gaps of tools and skills that are not a part of the clinician's natural gifting; some call them "weaknesses." We focus on areas of growth, stretching, and developing skills that are more of a challenge for the supervisee in the second year.

We do not teach any one particular theory or approach. We are open to work with whatever theory or persuasion the supervisee brings to our clinic. Our main goal is to teach clinicians to see and hear and accurately assess what is happening in the client and in the therapy room, and creatively and effectively respond with what is needed. We don't bring our theory to clients; we bring ourselves to our clients, and they tell us what they need, if we can just learn to listen and listen well.

If you are interested in supervision, either individual or group supervision, please email us at info@ardenwoodspsych.com, attention Mark Anderson, MA, LP, LMFT.