Trauma is any event that is experienced by a person as too painful to tolerate.  Some events, especially life-threatening ones, or violent ones or ones that threaten one's ability to feel safe in this world, may cause symptoms of persisting anxiety or depression, resulting in a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  In my office, I utilize an integrative style of trauma treatment, incorporating psychodynamic theory with current thinking in the field to help a person learn to tolerate the thoughts and feelings that occur from experiencing or even witnessing a traumatic event.

A person suffering from depression does not have the ability to just get up and go, as some people think.  It is sometimes hard for a person who is suffering from depression to even reach out for help, but it is important to encourage just that.  A person with depression can experience a reduction in the severity of his or her symptoms by being in a therapeutic relationship with a mental health professional.  Together, a treatment plan can be made that will outline steps that can be taken to teach a depressed individual how to manage feelings of depression and go on living.

Anxiety can take many forms.  In my office, I treat patients with panic disorder, with anxiety from PTSD, or with anxiety from medical conditions, or from just having a general feeling of not being safe in the world.  In most cases, I treat anxiety from a psychodynamic perspective, working carefully with each individual to find the practice method that helps to promote healing.

Ms. Perkins offers social skills groups for children ages 7-14 in her offices every fall and spring.  Issues studied in these groups include:  how to make and keep friends, how to learn about social cues, how to listen, and how to say the right thing.  Treatment is also offered individually for children who would benefit form more individualized attention.

Psychoanalysis is a long-term treatment that is designed to bring about long-lasting change.  In this office, psychoanalysis is not considered a dirty word, but is considered a treatment that is capable of addressing the full range of emotional disorders. Psychoanalysis is practiced for those who want to lie down on the couch, although lying down on the couch is not a requirement.  

Play therapy is offered for children from the ages of 3-15.  Play therapy can help a child who is not comfortable putting all thoughts and feelings into words, but who suffers from symptoms of anxiety or depression.

Couples therapy is offered for committed couples who are experiencing difficulties communicating.  Usually, Ms. Perkins gets to know both members of the couple individually first and then she begins work with the couple once any long-standing issues or dynamics are understood.  In this way, she is able to help many couples learn to understand one another better and accept how each member of the couple can support each other emotionally.

Ms. Perkins offers a quiet, non-intrusive space for those on the autistic spectrum, a therapy process distinct from Applied Behavioral Analysis, which attempts to engage an autistic child to perform in ways that society feels are normal.  On a case-by-case basis, Ms. Perkins will evaluate and analyze what it is that an autistic child needs to receive from his or her environment in order to feel stronger within it, working with the parents to facilitate awareness of what each child needs.

Ms. Perkins works with individuals who have experienced sexual abuse or domestic violence, working with them to regain a sense of dignity and empowerment.