Mental Health Counseling

KUADRA Consulting and Counseling Service helps individuals and families to recognize, understand, and cope with problems and conflicts they are experiencing.

We assist individuals and families in solving personal problems by providing counseling and by helping them locate other services.

Individuals and families may seek help with the following:

Drug Addiction and Alcoholism

School problems

Problems taking care of aged parents

Caring for adult children with disabilities

Teenage pregnancy

Neglectful or abusive family members

Foster care

Adoption

Home studies

Supervised Family Visitation

Individuals can receive assistance in becoming more self-reliant, in problem solving, and in becoming more resourceful in seeking the help they need. Our counseling service also helps individuals independently use community resources, including other social services; take advantage of natural support systems; and function within the family. Other services included within Individual and Family Services are:

Diagnostic psychological study and evaluation necessary to determine the appropriate plan of service.

Social development through therapeutic groups.

The development of skills for better social functioning.

Please call us to inquire about how we can assist you and your family at (210) 314-7687.

Where can individual counseling help?

Personal enrichment

Self-determination

Dealing with depression and anxiety

Dealing with loss and trauma

Struggling with an addiction

Deciding on a career path or thinking about making changes

KUADRA helps people to understand their feelings and needs. Together with you, we develop the steps and daily tools necessary to initiate positive changes in your life. This is how we do it:

Discuss current problems or goals

Identify early problem-solving skills

Examine patterns of relating to others

Develop goal-oriented strategies

Assess personal resources

Learn tools and techniques for changing old patterns of behavior and implementing decisions and choices

Here's what Life Coaching offers you:

As your Life Coach, we'll help you discover:

What's really most important to you in your life.

Then we'll help you design a plan to achieve those things.

We'll work with you to eliminate any obstacles or blocks that stand in your way.

We'll partner with you all the way to success.

Then we'll celebrate with you.

Changes within the family or changed relationships hit adolescents particularly hard. Different from adults, adolescents cannot draw on positive solution strategies from their past.

What is important when working with adolescents is to form a working alliance with the child's parents or caregivers. To achieve positive changes, the child's environment is just as important as the work we do in therapy. Parents and family members should work on trying to understand the problem just as much as the child to be able to create a positive foundation for the therapy success.

adolescent

Our therapies for adolescents focus on the following areas:

Behavior disorders

Divorce or separation

Learning challenges & school performance

Loss

Play therapy

Trauma

We help couples at every stage of their relationship improve their communication skills and resolve their problems. Couples are created from two people with different backgrounds, different personalities  and different ways of handling conflicts. These differences can be helpful. Couples who  depend on one another’s strengths and help each other in areas where they are weak can become closer and stronger. However, these differences can also cause conflict, misunderstandings and communication breakdowns.

We work closely with couples to help them communicate successfully, maintain closeness, stay connected during major life transitions, and to grow together rather than apart. We offer couples help with the following:

Infidelity

Pre-marital counseling

Parenting conflicts

Trust building

Communication skills

Parenting

Once considered a heritable brain disorder, one in nine children in the United States have been diagnosis with ADHD. A growing number of parents

and researchers alike have questioned whether the growing trend of ADHD has to do with hasty medical evaluations, increasing advertisements for ADHD drugs, and increased pressure on teachers to ensure students pass standardized tests.

Now researchers are drawing attention to a possibility that Inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive behavior maybe more closely the result of trauma childhood experience, stress, maltreatment, abuse, divorce, family substance abuse, alcoholism and domestic violence.

It’s not clear how many children are misdiagnosed with ADHD annually, but a study published in 2010 estimated the number could be nearly 1 million. One thing is for sure - If your psychiatrist diagnoses your child with ADHD, ask more questions. Ask how he was able to come up with this diagnosis in your short 15-30 minute visit.

If you suspect ADHD or a psychological condition, we recommend that you schedule an appointment with a mental health professional for a comprehensive evaluation. You may have had this social history that you took in the beginning, but unless you open up and share more about what’s going on in the home, the psychiatrist often won’t have the opportunity or

think to connect the two.

More than 20 million Americans suffer from depression, according to the National Institute of Health. Symptoms may range from feelings to physical manifestations, including the following:

Frequent or constant feeling of sadness

Lack of appetite

Insomnia or, conversely, a tendency to sleep unusually long hours or

consistent reluctance to get out of bed

A sense that life isn’t worth living

An unusual loss of weight (five or more pounds) without any attempt at a

reduction program

A reduction in your activities or regular feeling of being immobilized

A lack of desire to socialize with others

And lack of interest in sex

Kuadra Approach to Depression Treatment

Researchers recognize that depression can be relieved in up to 50 percent of patients by the expectation and belief that are associated with the placebo effect, and not just by drugs. When drugs are used, researchers have determined that the positive response of patients to antidepressants medications maybe due to the expectation-belief features of the placebo response rather than to the drug itself. Perhaps most important for the average patient, the impact of the placebo on depression can have relatively long lasting effect-but usually without side effects of medications.

During my doctoral studies, I spent some time comparing the placebo effect to the effects of a wide variety of antidepressant drugs, including the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as sertraline and fluoxetine, using a data source from the National Institute of Health. An analysis of the data revealed the power of the placebo effect in relieving depression. Patients reported that the antidepressant drugs were slightly more effective than the placebos, but patients generally tolerate placebo better than drugs.

My research and experience working with patients dealing with depression, let me to focus treatments with the use of Hypnotherapy, progressive relaxation techniques, guides imagery, Advance integrative therapy, regression therapy, Energy psychology, Reiki Healing and Shamanic healing. I also use Cognitive Behavioral therapy, Soul Retrieval Shamanic practice, Recovery of animal power totems to reinstall spiritual, mental and emotional strength and positive beliefs systems in the patient.

Post Traumatic Stress disorder is common in the United States with about 8 percent of Americans having PTSD at some point during their lifetime. We know that this disorder affects veterans with some estimates showing 11 to 20 percent of service members potentially having PTSD after having deployed. It is also not unusual for individuals to develop late onset of PTSD due to early childhood traumas, sexual abuse, sudden loss, difficulties with adjustments due to life changes, domestic violence, stressful and unsatisfying work place and more.

Although there are several effective treatment options for PTSD, many individuals including service members choose not to come forward to get help due to the stigma regarding psychological health care. Many of the beliefs people hold about PTSD and mental health in general are actually false, and these myths perpetuate the stigma and keep people who really need help from reaching out. It’s critical that individuals and service members understand the facts about PTSD and seek care.

The following are basic symptoms pf PTSD:

Difficulty thinking clearly

Feeling slowed down

Recurrent thoughts that will not leave the mind

Difficulty concentrating

Difficulty remembering new information

Losing interest in things that used to be pleasurable

Mild to severe headaches

Feeling tired, having no energy in spite of eating a balanced meal and taking vitamins

Sensitivity to noise, light or repeating phrases / patterns

Depression, sadness

Recurrent nightmares

Anger, feeling violent, wanting to smash something

Nervousness / anxiety

Avoidance of crowded areas, people or things that remind you of the event

Insomnia / trouble falling asleep and staying asleep

Flashbacks

Easily startled or feeling keyed up

Feeling to check and recheck things​

Kuadra uses a variety of healing modalities that promote both personality transformation and spiritual transformation. We recognize that healing from PTSD requires approaches that address the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual body.

Anxiety refers to a group of emotions that may include a specific fear of an actual event in progress (such as giving a speech); a generalized sense of worry that may be hard or impossible to link to a particular cause; or some uncertainty about the future, even if it is unlikely that the feared event will occur.

Anxiety can encompass a wide range of symptoms. Those who suffer from what is often called performance anxiety may “tighten up” at the prospect of having to take a test, give a speech, or perform some other public acts on which they expect to be judged. They may experience shortness of breath; shaky hands or voice, perhaps including an inability to “get the words out”; copious perspiration; rapid heart rate; pounding heart (palpitations); or inability to focus the mind on the task at hand. A musician giving a recital, for instance, may suddenly “go blank” before an audience and completely forget notes that have been memorized. Some types of anxiety are harder to analyze. Generalized anxiety disorder or a “free-floating anxiety”, for instance, cannot be linked to a specific event or source but still causes the person to experience increased irritability and restlessness. Physical symptoms may include rapid breathing, hyperventilation (a sense of lacking adequate oxygen intake in the lungs) or gastrointestinal problems, such as queasiness or diarrhea. An anxiety attack may become more severe in the form of a panic attack or panic disorder. Symptoms may include the above anxiety symptoms but the physical manifestations are usually more pronounced, with a feeling of choking, symptoms of a heart attack or even dying.

Treatments

Because anxiety symptoms may be caused by or related to other serious medical problems, it is essential to consult your physician about proper treatment. You may suffer an upset stomach or nausea when under stress, but the underlying cause of the symptoms may be due to an ulcer or thyroid problem, another condition that requires appropriate medication or medical procedure. Even with conditions caused entirely by anxiety, such as panic disorder, your doctor may prescribe anti-anxiety drugs but standard medical treatments are not the only answer. With most types of anxiety- regardless of whether or not the patient is being treated with standard methods, such as with prescription, drug-mind-body approach may serve as a significant player in the treatment plan. Find out more about treatments offered by Kuadra by clicking here

Bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness, is a brain and mood disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. Symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They are different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through from time to time. Bipolar disorder symptoms can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives.

Substance abuse and addiction, is a condition that is characterized by a self-destructive pattern of using substances that leads to significant problems and distress, which may include tolerance to or withdrawal from the substance. About 8% of people in the United States will suffer from substance abuse and addiction at some point in their lives.

It is not uncommon for disorders such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, personality disorder, to exist in a patient along with substance abuse. When this occurs, mental health professional term this as a co-occurring disorder or dual diagnosis. Although drug use disorders have no single cause, there are a number of biological, psychological, and social risk factors that can predispose a person to developing a chemical use disorder.

Symptoms of a drug use disorder include recurrent drug use that results in legal problems, occurs in potentially dangerous situations, interfere with important obligations, results in social or relationship problems, tolerance, withdrawal, using a lot of the drug or for a long period of time, persistent desire to use the drug, unsuccessful efforts to stop using the drug, neglecting other aspects of life because of their drug use, and spending inordinate amounts of time or energy getting, using, or recovering from the effects of the drug.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.

People with OCD may have symptoms of obsessions, compulsions, or both. These symptoms can interfere with all aspects of life, such as work, school, and personal relationships.

Obsessions are repeated thoughts, urges, or mental images that cause anxiety. Common symptoms include:

Fear of germs or contamination

Unwanted forbidden or taboo thoughts involving sex, religion, and harm

Aggressive thoughts towards others or self

Having things symmetrical or in a perfect order​

Compulsions are repetitive behaviors that a person with OCD feels the urge to do in response to an obsessive thought. Common compulsions include:

Excessive cleaning and/or handwashing

Ordering and arranging things in a particular, precise way

Repeatedly checking on things, such as repeatedly checking to see if the door is locked or that the oven is off

Compulsive counting

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Treatments and Therapies

OCD is typically treated with medication, psychotherapy or a combination of the two. Sometimes people with OCD also have other mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphic disorder, a disorder in which someone mistakenly believes that a part of their body is abnormal. It is important to consider these other disorders when making decisions about treatment.

Our assessments at Kuadra are comprehensive, in that we use Personality Assessment Tools, comprehensive intake and more to obtain an accurate diagnosis. We look at the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of the presenting problems and treat OCD from its root cause.