Behavioral Treatment

Behavioral treatment can help improve medical conditions like insomnia, chronic pain, headaches and migraines, GI problems, weight gain, diabetes, pre-surgical preparation, and post-surgical recovery. Working with a psychologist on these kinds of problems is like working with a coach.

Patients are provided techniques for managing their symptoms and then go home and practice those skills in their daily lives. Patients monitor changes in symptoms and note successes and difficulties in applying the skills and techniques. Follow-up sessions are used to troubleshoot any obstacles to using the techniques, address new concerns that come up, and add more techniques, if needed.

Sleep problems are often triggered by a stressor such as a major life disruption, medical illness, or shift work, but sometimes sleep problems start without an obvious cause. Sleep treatment starts by identifying the cause of the sleep problem and resolving it, which typically resolves the sleep problem.

Sleep problems without an obvious cause generally improve with a treatment called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi). This treatment fixes environmental factors that contribute to poor sleep and changes sleep behaviors during the night to help patients fall asleep quickly and eliminate middle-of-the-night awakenings. CBTi is highly effective and results in permanently improved sleep (without the use of medication) for about 80% of people who complete treatment.

Diabetes is much more than a medical disease or blood sugar problem. Many daily actions that patients with diabetes take (or don’t take) have a big impact on the stability of the disease. Many patients are given lifestyle advice by their doctors, but struggle to act on the advice in daily life.

Behavioral treatment for diabetes can help patients effectively apply doctors’ recommendations to their daily activities, which results in patients feeling more in control of their illness, improved blood glucose stability, and reduced effects of uncontrolled sugar, such as hypoglycemic episodes and medical complications from persistently high sugar levels.

No health concern is too big and no goal is too small to benefit from working with a health psychologist.

• Maybe you have been diagnosed with a chronic illness and don’t know what to expect going forward.
• Maybe you had a bad experience in a healthcare setting that triggered medical anxiety.
• Maybe you’re caregiving for a loved one with medical illness and need support in providing care.

For any health concerns you have, we encourage you to meet with one of our psychologists to discuss your concerns and explore options for how we can best address your needs and concerns.