Specializations

Disruptive behavior in children and parenting challenges affect the family as a whole by upsetting the dynamics and structure. In order to effectively raise children into healthy, functioning, and contributing members of society, the parenting techniques should be tailored to the children’s specific needs.

If you are the parent of a child struggling with ADHD, Autism, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, behavioral problems, or a Learning Disorder, you understand the all-consuming stress of trying to help your child thrive while keeping the rest of the family in order.

At Crespo Mental Health, we can help your family overcome its challenges. We will help you develop better communication skills, conflict resolution techniques, healthier sibling and parent-child relationships, and ultimately help the child, and family, function more productively and positively in everyday life.

As social beings, our lives revolve around our relationships with others. Oftentimes when these important relationships are not going in a positive direction we experience stress, sadness, fear, and anxiety.

Difficulties in relationships are very common and can entail a variety of challenges. Some of them include problematic communication, inability to maintain healthy relationships, repetition of maladaptive patterns, destructive arguments, and important life transitions such as marriage, birth of a child, and relocation, among others.

By engaging in individual, family, or couples therapy you will be able to identify relationship dynamics and challenges, break through destructive thought and behavioral patterns, build self-esteem, reestablish trust, improve communication, heal old wounds, and increase verbal and emotional intimacy.

Anxiety:

Anxiety Disorders are a group of mental illnesses that cause people to feel excessively frightened, distressed, or uneasy during situations in which most other people would not experience these same feelings. They are quite common among American adults, affecting about 20 percent of the population at any given time. The symptoms of an Anxiety Disorder can last months or worsen if left untreated, at times they can be so severely impairing that they can make functioning in everyday life very difficult. Anxiety disorders can further cause low self-esteem and lead to substance abuse and social withdrawal.

There are many different types of anxiety disorders, but the underlying symptoms of each is excessive distress and uneasiness. Anxiety Disorders include:

  • Panic Disorder
  • Phobias
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  • Social Anxiety Disorder
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Not everyone experiences anxiety in the same way and not every treatment approach is effective for every client. The therapist and the client will collaborate to develop a tailored treatment plan to address the main causes of anxiety. The goal is for the client to understand and recognize triggers for anxiety; examine the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; develop coping skills to manage emotions; and master relaxation techniques including mindfulness and meditation.

Depression:

Depression is an emotional state that significantly exceeds temporary feelings of sadness or sorrow. Major Depression is a serious psychiatric illness that affects the person as a whole. It has a severe impact on the person’s thoughts, feelings, behavior, mood, and physical health.

Depression is very common in both adults and children. In fact, the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) estimates that 25 million Americans will have an episode of major depression this year alone.

Individuals suffering from depression will experience a variety of symptoms, including but not limited to:

  • Significant weight changes (gained or lost)
  • Lack of concentration
  • Anger or irritability
  • Significant loss of interest in daily activities
  • Loss of energy
  • Unexplained aches or pains
  • Self-hatred, feelings of guilt and worthlessness
  • Difficulty focusing
  • Reckless behavior
  • Feeling hopeless
  • Suicidal thoughts

If left untreated, depression can lead to serious impairments in daily functioning, and even suicide. As painful as depression is, most people can alleviate their symptoms through counseling. There are many different approaches to treating depression, and as with Anxiety Disorders, our therapists will collaborate with you to design a treatment plan that best suits your needs.

Self-esteem is the combination of beliefs and emotions you have towards yourself. It is the judgment of oneself and the assessment of our worth. Such beliefs are established from very early on as a result of our interactions with our parents, family members, friends, culture, the environment around us, and other life experiences.

No one’s self-esteem is perfect. We are all flawed and we all fall prey to insecurities from time to time. It isn’t your insecurities that define you, but how you respond to those insecurities. You don’t have to live a life plagued by labels, comparisons, criticism, and limiting beliefs.

When talking about self-esteem it is also important to explore the concept of self-compassion. These two concepts are intimately connected. Self-compassion is the ability to acknowledge our own shortcomings with kindness and understanding. Practicing self-compassion during difficult times prevents us from judging ourselves in ways that would lead to feelings of depression, self-deprecation, anxiety, or worthlessness.

By participating in counseling you will be able to explore the negative perceptions and beliefs you hold about yourself and transform them into healthy, productive ones. It is our goal at Crespo Mental Health to teach you how to cope with low self-worth by exercising self-compassion and self-acceptance. We want you to live life to its fullest and be all you can be!

Behavior issues in children can be caused by any number of factors including low self-esteem, academic or social struggles, traumatic events, conflict within the family, ADHD or learning disorders, a plea for attention, depression, lack of boundaries, and poor discipline among other things.

Adolescence can be a particularly challenging time for both teens and parents. The rush of hormones, peer pressure, and media influence may set the tone for a challenging few years ahead. This storming period is very important given that teens begin to define their identity and place in the world at this stage. As rebellious and disconnected as they may seem, teens long for support and understanding during this time.

At Crespo Mental Health, we will help you better understand your child in order to get to the root cause of their problems. Once we identify potential causes and triggers to your child’s behavior, we will develop a solution aimed at achieving the family’s goals. We will help the child learn to control his or her impulses, improve the family’s ability to identify and communicate feelings, and provide workable solutions to effectively guide and discipline the child – making for a happier, more peaceful home.

Acculturation refers to the process of adopting to the cultural traits and societal patterns of another group. Adapting to a new culture requires a significant amount of flexibility, understanding, patience, acceptance, and a willingness to learn. While immigration can be an exciting time symbolizing the start of a new and better life, many immigrant families quickly realize it is a lot harder than they initially anticipated.

Assimilating to the culture in which you have been immersed can be troubling and stressful on parents and children alike. Learning the school system, making friends, and excelling in your work require considerable effort and time. Very frequently when children are struggling with the acculturation process, it manifests as behavioral problems or learning difficulties at school.

Many families may struggle with raising their children in a country in which they did not grow up. It is natural to raise children in the same manner we were raised; however, when the cultures are different some of the familial expectations and parental rules come into conflict. These circumstances can lead to significant stress on the family.

Our bilingual and bicultural counselors can help you and your family adapt, understand, and thrive in the culture around you.

Grief consists of the natural response to the loss of someone or something the grieving person loved. Most people associate grief with the death of a loved one; however, we can grieve the loss of a job, relationship, social status, and possessions among other things. Grief is multifaceted and it affects us not only emotionally but cognitively, spiritually, and physically.

Everyone deals with death and loss in different ways. In fact, grieving is a process with different stages which do not necessarily occur in order. The grieving process can be overwhelming and sometimes the intervention of a professional is advisable to help the person cope.

The therapist’s goal is to provide supportive psychotherapy while educating the client on the different stages of grief. Therapist and client will collaborate on designing a course of treatment that will address the client’s difficulties in this process. The therapist will also help the client adaptively undergo such a difficult life transition and develop appropriate coping skills.

Educational struggles are a prevalent challenge among children and adults. They are sometimes difficult to identify as they can be mistaken for behavioral problems. Some of the features of educational struggles are difficulty learning, trouble focusing and prioritizing tasks, procrastination, difficulty meeting deadlines, and inconsistent grades.

Through therapy and the development of different strategies the client can learn how to organize, plan, and prioritize activities in order to increase effectiveness and productivity.

Learning Disabilities – As part of our services, we perform full assessments and evaluations to determine the presence of a specific learning disability. Based on our findings we can formulate personalized recommendations to best assist the client in the academic environment.