Elizabeth Van Hook, Ph.D.
I have been in practice for over 15 years, using primarily cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and biofeedback, in combination and separately, to treat psychological and medical issues. I find these approaches to be particularly suited to a whole range of anxiety-related problems such as fear of public speaking or social situations, panic attacks, phobias, insomnia, and reactions to physical pain.
Most people find anxiety itself to be a frightening state where body and mind seem suddenly disconnected from “reason”. The pounding heart, the sweating palms, the racing scarey thoughts can seem to come out of the blue. Or, they may predictably appear in specific situations despite a person’s best efforts to will them away.
When you come to my office, and after a detailed discussion of how, when and where your anxiety presents itself, I will begin to teach you to turn off the fight-flight response. This can be accomplished fairly quickly - in about 3 sessions using biofeedback training - and you can begin to enjoy your sense of control over the most distracting physical symptoms. We will also evaluate and work with the thoughts that arise when you are anxious, using CBT techniques. The latter approach emphasizes thoughts as being prime determinants of which emotional reaction people experience in a given situation.
I believe that there is no “right” starting point for therapy. Our day to day attitudes are the product of a lifetime of learning, observing and experiencing. Attempting to change present reactions will lead back to the past. Understanding the past gives us tolerance for who we have become.
From 1992 - 2006, in addition to seeing patients in private practice, I was the sole staff psychologist and Associate Director for Clinical Research at the New York Headache Center, a clinical facility dedicated to treating and conducting research on headaches and related disorders. In addition to coordinating, supervising and designing many clinical trials, I provided cognitive behavioral therapy and biofeedback training to thousands of patients suffering from migraine and tension headaches, facial pain, anxiety, panic and other mood disorders, and insomnia.
