Carl H. Shubs, Ph.D. Licensed Psychologist since 1984 (PSY8912)

Anxiety is a part of the fear spectrum, so together we’ll explore what you are afraid of and why. What are the obstacles that keep you from moving forward as you would like to? What are the worst-case scenarios that you imagine stand before you, and what makes them so terrible? How do you understand that in the context of your life? I’ll go down this road with you, and together we’ll find ways to work it out.

PTSD is the label for an array of symptoms that often follow a traumatic event. They may include various levels and derivatives of anxiety and depression, including distressing recollections of the event; flashbacks; nightmares; sleep problems; emotional numbness; avoidance of places, people, and activities that are reminders of the trauma; feeling jumpy; and being easily irritated and angered; difficulties concentrating; low self-esteem; and self-blame, among others.

Depression is the pressing down of thoughts and emotions as a defense against what we believe would be dreadful alternatives. However, depression’s symptoms are real, not “all in your mind” and may have physical symptoms (ex. muscle tensions, headaches, and other body pains). Yet, what you fear may not turn out to be as horrible as you expect. By working through what causes depression, you can eliminate the need for it and be depression and symptom free, though medication may sometimes help.

Depression is the pressing down of thoughts and emotions as a defense against what we believe would be dreadful alternatives. However, depression’s symptoms are real, not “all in your mind” and may have physical symptoms (ex. muscle tensions, headaches, and other body pains). Yet, what you fear may not turn out to be as horrible as you expect. By working through what causes depression, you can eliminate the need for it and be depression and symptom free, though medication may sometimes help.

Addictions (substances or behaviors) are all defenses based in physical and/or psychological pain reduction. If we can eliminate the cause of the pain, the need for the addiction can go as well. While this may sound simple, that doesn’t mean it’s easy or painless to do. We will address the pains that lead you to your addiction and work through the obstacles to abstinence and sobriety, if that is what you want, whether you choose to do so via a 12-step program or without it.

Attachment theory, the psychological basis of relationship creation and fracture, has been my focus for decades, resulting in my new book, Traumatic Experiences of Normal Development, available on Amazon. It offers a new psychoanalytic understanding of trauma and its effect on attachment. Consciously or unconsciously, we have all been traumatized. It helps us to effectively treat anxiety, depression, crisis, trauma, addictions, eating disorders, affairs/infidelities, and relational patterns.

The current versions of psychoanalytic therapy all examine how a person’s mind works and affects their view of themselves and the world they live in. One central focus is that unconscious factors affect current relationships and behaviors. Psychoanalysis changed since Freud founded it. I focus on how the ways trauma and attachment are central to understanding how the mind works and impacts current thinking, feeling, and behaving, as in my new book, Traumatic Experiences of Normal Development.