Several bright and insightful St. Charles High School students recently visited Plum Tree. They’re finishing Psychology courses and had great questions for a clinical psychologist. Here’s what they wanted to know:

1. How many years of experience have you had in being a therapist?

About 10 years.

2. What are your areas of expertise?

Psychological Assessment, IQ Testing, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Suicidal/Self-Injury Behaviors

3. How would you describe your treatment style?

Solutions-focused, collaborative, evidence-based, and genuine.

4. What type of therapeutic strategies do you think work most effectively?

• For ADHD: Coaching strategies, where the focus is on developing organization, improving attention, managing restlessness, improving time-management, and establishing priorities
• For Self-injury/Suicide: Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• For children’s mental illness: play therapy, behavioral parenting, and cognitive-behavioral therapy

5. Do you think our society overemphasizes happiness?

No, but society isn’t clear about how to achieve happiness. Particularly teens are bombarded by social media emphasizing fame, fortune, and beauty. In fact, none of these are linked directly to happiness.

6. What made you want to be a psychologist?

I enjoy a challenge. No science seems as complicated and nuanced as that of human thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

7. Why did you pick to work with children and adolescents?

I’ve always “spoke their language.” This population of people is easily misunderstood. There’s nothing so fulfilling as being the interpreter between a child and his/her caregivers, teachers, and other important adults.

8. How do you decide which approach is best for the patient?

I weigh a combination of patient (or parent) goals, treatment history, symptomology, research, and clinical experience.

6. What has to happen during a session for therapy to be successful?

The patient should feel validated and also supported to change.

7. What are the measurable criteria you use to assess how well treatment is working?

It varies per person. Every patient has a treatment plan with measurable goals and timelines. I also conduct intermittent screenings with psychological tests to monitor progress. Of course, patient (and parent) feedback is an important part of assessing the effects of treatment.

8. Do you believe the effects of labeling are true? In the way that when a patient is diagnosed with a certain disorder they act in that labeled way and also the people around them treat them differently according to their diagnosis?

A diagnosis is not a judgment; it’s a fact. Just as there are criteria and scientific evidence to medical diagnoses (e.g., diabetes, colds, cancer) mental illnesses have criteria and scientific evidence. So, just as it’s appropriate and effective to label someone with flu symptoms as having the flu, it’s appropriate and effective to label someone with anxiety symptoms as having anxiety.

Diagnoses (or, labels) are tied to evidence-based treatments, scientific literature, and clinical outcomes. So, when a patient is accurately diagnosed, then treatment pathways become clear. It also allows for different treatment providers to speak the same language about what issues/treatment goals are.

Overwhelmingly, patients can be relieved by learning about their diagnoses. They may have felt “different” all along. The knowledge that there is a name, a treatment, and a community of people with similar issues can be—in itself—an effective therapeutic experience.

Of course, there’s still a lot of public stigma around mental illness. People who have it can be embarrassed or feel inept. Since the idea of mental illness can make others uneasy, patients may experience some ostracizing. Public education is needed.

9. In your opinion, what is the most common diagnosis? Has that changed in the last several years, if so, how?

Trending shows that—for pediatric populations—Bipolar Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders, are on the rise. ADHD has been on the rise for at least a decade now, too.

10. Do you think that therapy is the best choice for all who may need it?

Yes.