Dr. Beth Potashkin PH.D.

Services Dr. Beth Potashkin PH.D. Offers

Adult Psychotherapy
I see adults in individual psychotherapy. You might come to me to discuss marital problems, issues of feeling alone, frustration in dealing with one of your children. You may have experienced a trauma, death in the family or just do not feel as happy as you think you should be. Medical illness may be a stressor for you and the family. All these issues, and so much more, have been shown by research to be helped by psychotherapy. There is an infinite number of issues that can be raised in therapy. The goal of the therapy is to help you achieve your own goals and feel free of issues by which you feel encumbered.

Young Adults (17-22yrs.)

This is an important, and sometimes, pivotal period in the developmental process. It is during these years that the brain finalizes its course of development. Consequently it is a period when problems that heretofore have not been detected emerge. This is an important moment in which differential diagnoses are extremely challenging. My experience is unique in providing me the opportunity to work with a full spectrum of disorders from which to cull my analysis of the problem. I am careful not to make assumptions based on symptoms alone at this age.

Adolescents: Individual Therapy
This is considered a critical developmental period, in theory, and most parents admit it is a critical moment in their relationship with their children. This is in part due to the increased knowledge teenagers have about the world and how people interact with each other, evidenced by their almost exclusive attention to peer group interactions. This is also a time when flaws in authority figures and parents are felt deeply. I tend to find individual therapy to be the intervention of choice. Involvement of parents is talked about in the first session. When possible, I try to facilitate a dialogue between you and your child . A note to a teen: you may think my job is deciding whether you are crazy or not and most likely think I will prescribe medicine that will make you feel like a “zombie”. I do not do either. I am sure you already have avenues by which you express yourself. You may write, sing, or draw. Your ideas and mine can make for very interesting conversations.

Children (5-10): Family therapy/Dyadic therapy
Depending on the age, issues with attention problems, learning disabilities, defiance to authority and peer group problems make an appearance. Most of the time these problems are normal and just require a little psycho-education for parents and the child on the problem. Therefore, I frequently see parents during therapy with this age group. I also, frequently, can treat a child's problem by just seeing you, the parent. I have a wealth of ideas on how to handle your most frustrating problems, whether it's homework or an embarrassing meltdown at the mall. While I do consider play therapy to be an effective modality of treatment with very young children it is often not the most cost effective way of helping. I sometimes replace that modality with sessions which encourage a dialogue between you and your child about limit-setting.