INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

individual therapy

How does individual therapy looks like?

This is a preview of how therapy looks like when working with us after your intake session is completed.

Practice between sessions

Because of the active emphasis on behavioral-change you will be asked to engage in additional activities or exercises between sessions. Examples of these activities include reading a particular self-help book, practicing a particular skill discussed in the session, completing a log, etc. While we emphasize behavioral-change, it doesn’t mean that we’ll be pushing you to do something you’re not ready or in agreement with; in fact, we’ll always discuss with you about why a specific exercise is recommended, how to do it, and have an agreement with you about it. Research continues to show that therapy is more effective when clients are engaged on specific exercises between sessions.

Goals for treatment

At the beginning of treatment you and your therapist will discuss specific “goals” and “behavioral markers” as a roadmap for the therapy work. Sometimes people have the misconception that behavioral therapy is very mechanic, but we can assure you that our style is personal, caring and still skill-based.

Monitoring of treatment

On a monthly basis, you will be asked to fill out additional forms to monitor your treatment and you and your therapist will review that data together. We are definitely data driven in our work!

Length of treatment

It really depends of the goals for treatment. It’s recommended that you commit for at least 12 sessions in order to fully give yourself a chance to see whether therapy is making a difference or not in your daily life. The frequency and schedule of the appointments is determined based on the results of your intake appointment.. We do encourage our clients book session on a monthly basis so you can have the same date and time that works with your schedule.

Treatment outcomes of individual therapy

Description

34-year old client struggling with fears of embarrassment in social situations (social anxiety).

Intervention: exposure for social anxiety + social skills training

22 sessions, 80-minutes each session.

* DASS = Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale

Description

38-year old client

Major Depressive Disorder, single episode, severe

Interventions: cognitive flexibility training and behavioral activation.

15 sessions, 80-minutes each session

* DASS = Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale

Description

29-year old client struggling with panic disorder.

Intervention: interoceptive exposure for panic-related symptoms.

15 sessions, 80-minutes each.

* DASS = Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale

Are you dealing with intense OCD and anxiety?

Our intensive program will teach you all the skills you need to get back into your life!

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Why our clients love working with us

testimonials

therapy schedule, get scheduled, ACT Coaching

"I am very grateful for finding Dr Zurita. She is responsible for teaching my son skills that have changed his life socially and enabled him to leave home and attend an out-of-state university. This was the dream of a lifetime for him and it would not have been possible without her help. Her guidance has also made it possible for him to live a much richer life, full of experiences he would have never considered, prior to his time meeting with Dr. Zurita.

I encourage parents to start this process much sooner, if they sense their child is having difficulty at a social level. Had I understood what he has been going through all of these years, I would have started the process much earlier, so that his prior social experiences and especially those in school, would have been much fuller ....

"Working with Patricia Zurita Ona has changed and saved my life. I have struggled off and on for years with sever anxiety disorder and OCD . I have been to therapy throughout the years and have found some helpful but nothing really got to the core of the problem. I often felt crazy and that my incredible fear and my phobias would remain with me thorough my life, I would not drive on the freeway, eat certain things and had constant catastrophic thinking, thus creating a lot of depression.

I needed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which I saw advertised on many therapists’ websites. When I would call most of them they said they offered it and specialized with Anxiety Disorder/ OCD which was not the case. I had felt alone, hopeless and frustrated for the past 9 years. Never feeling like I was getting the help I needed. It was not until I started meeting with Patricia that I actually started to feel better and feel as if I had control over my life and started to live again ...

“Patricia and her team have completely changed my life! I cannot express my gratitude enough.

She helped me craft values and goals I wanted to have in my relationships, and walked me through each step of how to get there. Her methods are simple, manageable, and make sense when you are upset. I’ve been to therapists who have told me to take deep breaths, visualize calming colors, rip paper, go for a walk or scream in to a pillow when im angry. But in the moment, when im soooo angry, none of these world work. I would forget to do them, or I would already be so angry, that they were ineffective to help me calm down. Patricia’s methods are not only EXTREMELY effective, but they are easy to do, they make sense in the moment, and they bring about radical change when you apply them ...

“I do not know how it reflects on my credibility should I happen to brag about being a seasoned vet when it comes to therapists and mental wellness pursuits. Regardless, I am. And on top of that, I also happen to be a health care practitioner myself. This means, for the purposes of a review, that when I walk into a new Doctor’s office, there is an additional dimension of critiquing for me to process. I would never willingly put myself under the guidance and care of a Doctor who did not 1) Impress me as a capable and honest caregiver and 2) Impress me as a professional colleague.

– Empathy
– Knowledge
– Professionalism
– Respect

I think that these are the basic bulletpoints that strike me when I consider why I think so highly of Patricia. Dr. Zurita takes NOTHING more seriously than the pursuit of her profession. Except possibly you, the patient.

Some therapists really care.

Other therapists are extremely knowledgeable.

Very few therapists are both. Patricia Zurita Ona is one of those very few.”

"I have referred several of my most challenging patients to Dr. Patricia Zurita-Ona, and been extremely impressed both with her clinical skills and humanity. I recommend her most highly. John Melbourne McGraw, M.D. melmcgraw.net."

“Dr. Patricia Zurita Ona truly cares about her clients. Behavior therapy with her has benefited myself and my husband regarding my obsessive compulsive behavior. She has a gentle and kind approach and I would recommend her to others.”

“I was referred to Patricia Zurita Ona from my son’s psychiatrist for cognitive behavioral therapy treatment of his obsessive compulsive disorder (ocd) and anxiety which rose to a level which was out of control. Dr. Zurita Ona is very skilled at working with teens who suffer from anxiety, especially related to academic success and test anxiety. She helped my son learn coping mechanisms and stress reducing strategies to control his level of anxiety. Dr. Zurita Ona introduced my son to a great stress relieving app which involves deep breathing and meditation. She has an amazing ability to connect with teens and get them to open up about their struggles, create realistic plans of attack and create goals so they can lead joyful lives and not be so burdened with their stress. We saw her weekly for about 1-2 years and my son’s sessions with her were very beneficial to not only him, but our entire family as his stress was causing tension for us all. Dr. Zurita Ona explained to me why my son had certain behaviors and ways to help him learn new strategies to cope with his anxiety. If you have a teen who needs help to learn how to manage and control stress and anxiety, schedule a session with Dr. Zurita Ona! I highly recommend her services!”