Dr. Gregory J. Harms 655 W. Irving Park Rd. Ste. 209 Chicago, IL 60613 773-983-1479 gjh1975@peoplepc.com
Many people come to me seeking help for psychological
problems, health issues, relationship concerns, or work problems. These
problems can include anxiety, depression, substance use, chronic pain,
difficulty handling interpersonal or romantic relationships, or career
indecision. Working together we can identify solutions to your concerns
and try them out to see how well they work for you. At this
time I only work with adults, ages 18+.
Individual Services
There is a strong connection between our
brains and our
bodies, and what affects one affects the other. I take an active
approach in my work with clients to help them improve their
psychological and physical well-being. This can be accomplished through
psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, biofeedback, hypnosis, and
mindfulness & coping skill development. With my background in
organizational development I am also able to help clients work through
career-related problems.
Please note that as a Psychologist, I am unable to
prescribe medications. If you feel that medication may be helpful in
your treatment, I am happy to provide referrals to a Psychiatrist who
can work with you around medications.
Psychotherapy: Therapy involves the two of us discussing what it is that is bringing you in for help to find alternate solutions that will be more effective in helping you change yourself and your situation. My goal is to help you achieve your goals as quickly and effectively as possible, whether they involve decreasing anxiety, stopping panic attacks, alleviating depression, or changing problematic relationship or workplace behaviors. Most therapy sessions last for 50 minutes.
I use a Reality Therapy approach, which was developed by Dr. William Glasser. Reality Therapy involves four stages; identifying what it is you want, looking at what you are doing to get it, evaluating how effective your strategies are, and if they are not getting you what you want, identifying and implementing new strategies. Each session goes through these four stages, and over the course of therapy, we will move through all of them with most of the session time spent in whichever stage is most relevant to us at that time.
I also am able to incorporate biofeedback and hypnosis into our sessions. If this is something you want to try, you can let me know at any time during our work together, or I feel that it may be useful, I will bring it up so that we can explore its usefulness for you. Using these strategies can often accelerate our progress towards your goals.
Behavioral Therapy: Many times when we are not
feeling well, we fall into bad habits that can temporarily help us feel
better, but in the long run make things worse. Skipping an exercise
routine can help keep our pain level low, but over time our muscles get
weaker and normal levels of activity become painful. Running through a
fast food restaurant may be less stressful than trying to cook a healthy
meal, but a regular diet of fast food can lead to other physical
problems.
Behavioral therapy involves identifying these unhelpful
patterns that we have fallen into and implementing new strategies to
change them. This may be difficult at first, but with repeated practice
clients end up with healthier and more enjoyable lives. An individual
behavioral therapy session lasts approximately 50 minutes.
Biofeedback: Biofeedback is the use of real time measurement of your body's functioning, such as your heart rate, to implement treatment. It is done by attaching a measurement device such as a blood
pressure cuff, thermometer, heart rate monitor, or EEG electrodes to the
body and collecting data on physiological functioning. This process
is non-invasive and painless. I use two specific types of
biofeedback; heart rate variability, and body temperature.
Heart rate
variability involves attaching a heart rate monitor to your earlobe or
finger and displaying your heart rate on a computer screen. Through the
use of breathing exercises, you can train your heart to maintain a
healthy rhythm, which can help to reduce anxiety, pain, fear, trauma
reactions, and insomnia.
Temperature biofeedback involves attaching a
thermometer to your finger and measuring your skin temperature, which is
displayed on a computer screen. Using breathing and visualization, you
can learn to change your hand temperature through improved blood flow,
which helps to treat headaches, anxiety, and depression, as well as
improve your sense of self-efficacy. Over time, regular practice of the
exercises you learn can lead to improved physical and emotional
functioning.
Biofeedback can be incorporated into an individual therapy
session or can be done as a stand-alone 30 minute session.
Hypnosis: Clinical hypnosis is a partnership
between the hypnotherapist and the client. It is nothing like you might see in a Vegas stage show or
in the movies where a person is made to do silly or dangerous things against their will. I cannot legally, ethically, or as a practical matter,
hypnotize you without your consent and without your awareness. You have
to want to be hypnotized in order for it to work. You will never be made to do
anything you do not want to do, and there are no after effects after
the session ends.
Hypnosis involves coaching you to enter a trance state in which you intensely focus your awareness on a thought or feeling. The more awareness you can develop, the more
power you have to change that thought or feeling and the situations that elicit them. As a hypnotherapist, I
will help you develop that focus and guide you through exercises to
increase the control you have over your body, including decreasing the
intensity of pain, improving your sleep, decreasing addictive cravings,
and increasing motivation to change bad habits or unhelpful patterns.
Hypnosis is very effective for the treatment of anxiety, phobias, depression,
pain, and addiction as well as for facilitating the development of positive habits and behaviors.
Once you come out of the hypnotic trance,
there will be no unwanted or lasting side effects; you will not cluck
like a chicken when I say a certain word or any of the other silly
things that you might see in a stage show. The goal is to improve your
well-being, not embarrass you or harm you in any way. You will remember everything that happened while you were in the trance and be able to apply the insights you gained in your everyday life.
Hypnosis can be incorporated into an individual
therapy session or can be done as a stand-alone 30 minute session.
Mindfulness & Coping Skills: Many times, chronic physical
problems cannot be changed. They can be managed, but will always be
there in some form. Many psychological problems that come with chronic
illnesses stem from trying to resist this reality. Developing coping
skills and cultivating mindfulness, which is simply an awareness and
acceptance of the way things are, can help to reduce the psychological
distress that comes with chronic health problems. As psychological
distress decreases, you should find yourself able to make better thought
out decisions that can help your health and improve your ability to
live and enjoy your life.
Career Counseling: Career counseling involves exploring potential options for new jobs or career paths, identifying roadblocks to achieving career goals, and implementing strategies to overcome those blocks and achieve your goals. Career counseling tends to focus on internal factors, such as decision-making, interpersonal skills, assertiveness, and/or communication styles. Depending on your specific needs, it can involve interest assessments to identify career paths that you might want to explore. It can also involve identifying how mental health or behavioral issues may be blocking progress in your career.
Career counseling is separate from career coaching, which tends to focus more on external issues. For more information on career coaching, please see the Coaching section of my website. Part of an initial session may be helping to decide what service may be more appropriate for you.
Fees & Insurance
The fee for a 50 minute individual psychotherapy or
career counseling session is $125. The fee for a 30 minute stand-alone
biofeedback or hypnosis session is $80 with multi-session packages
available at special pricing. I accept cash, check/money order, or
credit/debit cards, subject to the ability of my credit card processor
to process them. If you are using an HSA (Health Savings Acconut) card,
please be aware that they tend to be hit or miss when it comes to being
able to be processed. If your card is declined, you can pay by another
method and I will provide you with a receipt/superbill that you can
send to the plan and they will reimburse you directly.
I
currently accept BCBS PPO, Aetna PPO, Imagine Health, Multiplan (excluding
UnitedHealthcare/United Behavioral Health partnerships), First Health, and Medicare
Part B insurance plans (excluding United Healthcare Medicare Advantage Plans). Please note that not all insurance plans will
cover all
types of individual psychological services, including biofeedback,
hypnosis, or career counseling. If you wish to use insurance, your out
of pocket cost will depend on your deductible and co-pay. Please inform
me when scheduling your appointment if you wish to use insurance. I
can pre-verify your benefits and provide you with an estimate of your
out of pocket cost.
Depending on your financial circumstances, I am willing to discuss a temporary sliding scale fee.
Scheduling
An
initial session does not obligate you to continue in therapy. It is
important that we feel that I am able to help you and you feel
comfortable with me as your Psychologist. Determining this is one of
the most important functions of an initial session. Please see the
FAQs page for answers to common questions about therapy. If you have
any other questions or would like to schedule a session, please give me a
call at 773-983-1479 or send me an email at gjh1975@peoplepc.com. You can also click on the Client Portal button on the left to directly schedule an appointment. I'm
looking forward to hearing from you.
Illinois License Number: 071.009626 Indiana License Number: 20043088A Wisconsin License Number: 3500-57 California License Number: PSY 29793 New York License Number: 025033 Washington License Number: PY 61278750 Florida Telehealth Provider Registration Number: TPPY2093 (https://flhealthsource.gov/telehealth/) PsyPact E-Passport Number: 5999
The
information contained in this website is presented to acquaint you with
my services. It does not constitute actual or implied treatment nor an
offer to provide treatment. If you wish to initiate treatment, please
contact me to set up an appointment. If you are experiencing a medical
or psychiatric emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest
emergency room.
Dr. Gregory J. Harms