Christopher Deviney LCSW, LCAS

In my experience self-esteem issues are at the core of nearly every diagnosable condition: whether they are a cause of the symptoms or a result of them. I have often found these issues are the result of forcing ourselves into boxes we don't fit into and were never meant for us. My experience involves helping each Client discover who they really are, and how to step into thriving in our own world as opposed to struggling in someone else's.

Worry, fear, Anxiety: they all have one thing in common; the belief that we are in some way incapable or imcompetent to handle the problems life throws at us. I have successfully assisted numerous clients at recognizing these beliefs and the harm they have done under the surface while experimenting with new behaviors and thought exercises to challenge these beliefs with new, adaptive views of the world.

Addiction has always been close to my heart. Since childhood, I have witnessed the negative impacts of addiction on my own family. Early in my career i devoted myself to assisting clients as a therapist in a medication assisted treatment facility for opioid use disorder. Since then I have expanded to include work with alcohol, marijuana, gambling, gaming, and more. My approach is to find out what this addiction is doing for us, and how to meet those needs in a more effective way.

Motivational interviewing is one of the core skills needed for work with addiction among other conditions. It involves identifying the "why" behind change beyond the obvious want for a better life. I work with clients to identify the values that drive change and why it's important even when the world makes it difficult to want to continue.

Sometimes in life we are faced with problems that are, simply put, unfair. Things like childhood abuse, infidelity in relationships, layoffs at work, etc. all create feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness in our world. In these situations, I have utilized training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to accept life circumstances for what they are and commit ourselves to change.

CBT is the bread and butter of my approach to Therapy. Much of my college experience, academic literature I consume, and continuing education trainings I have completed center around CBT. Together I help clients recognize the complicated interplay between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and how these impact our mood for better or worse.