Group
Individual
Couples Therapy

Classes: Past and Upcoming Classes

Upcoming:

"Starving to be Heard: Fear of Fatness
in Eating Disorders"
March 13, 20, 27, 2008
time: 7:30-9:00 pm
cost: $90 pre-registration, $95 at door
contact: NCP at 310.478.6541
Eating disorders can be thought of as attempts to provide self-regulation. We explore some of the issues of attachment and differentiation that may set the stage for eating problems. We consider how reflective thinking gets derailed, resulting in the conrete fear of fatnesss and distortion of body image.

On-Going:

Weighty-Issues Groups
see below

Object Relations...Theory & Clinical Application
A Rich and Provocative Monthly Study & Discussion Group for therapists.

Workshops Presented:

October 14, 2006: HIJACKING THE BODY:
Psychosomatic and Addictive Disorders
To understand the language of the body, we must decode the message behind the symptom. We look at how mind and body become disconnected and thinking is distorted. The focus is on early trauma and later defenses in these life-long patterns.

September 16, 2006: Supervision Workshop
Los Angeles County Psychological Association
A workshop for therapists- Panel presentation from a Kleinian point of view at: Supervision from Four Theoretical Viewpoints: Learning from Other Clinical Orientations

April 29, 2006: Dream Workshop
The Wellness Community, Santa Monica
We are all artists in the night. Learn to work with dreams in the healing process. The Wellness Community is a place for cancer patients and their families to fight for recovery.

When Words Fail: Eating Disorders and Other Addictions
A psychoanalytic look at eating disorders and other addictions. This course provides an exploration of compulsive behavior and how problems in development contribute to eating disorders.
(Presented at New Center for Psychoanalysis- Oct/Nov 2005)

A Seminar on Eating Disorders
Held at the annual convention of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association, Oct/2005.

Treatment of Bulimia: A Case Presentation.
Co-presenter, St. John's Health Center, Medical Education Committee: February 14, 2006.

When Words Fail: A Psychodynamic Perspective on Eating Disorders and Other Addictions.
The Therapist Magazine, California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Volume 17, Issue 5, Sept/Oct 2005.

THE GROUPS... “Weighty-Issues” is group therapy for women of all “persuasions” of eating difficulties. There are two groups that meet weekly: one for women 30+ on Wednesday evenings at 7-8:30pm, and one for women between the ages of 18 and 30, held Tuesday 5 to 6:30pm. Each participant is encouraged to be in individual therapy with her own private therapist. Prospective members are interviewed to determine if group therapy is an appropriate modality. If you or someone you love is seeking treatment for an eating disorder, call Dr. Janet for a consultation at  310.473.6169, or email her at: drjanet@weighty-issues.com. Groups meet in West Los Angeles, California.

Treatment Philosophy... The group provides a safe environment for exploration of the issues behind disordered eating. When these issues can be understood, healing can begin. A group offers the opportunity to speak openly and listen to others in a private and confidential setting. Where there's an eating disorder, there's a voice that's not being heard. Groups provide a way to bond with others - to feel less alone and hopeless in the pit of the eating disorder. We make space and time to listen to the voice that's gotten lost or has been disowned.

Painful feelings are less overwhelming when they can be shared and understood. We address wishes and fears that make us feel freaky and disturbed and find we have more in common with each other than we thought. We debunk the “bad” voices that say we’re doomed so why bother? We laugh, cry and grow through understanding how and why we’ve turned to the eating disorder and away from our true selves.

In more psychological language, we address anxieties and defenses against feeling pain, guilt, envy, and fears of self-expression. We come to understand the reasons for self-destruction and self-mutilation and the wishes behind the ideal of thinness and the pursuit of perfection and how they apply to our own unique situations. We come to terms with the history of the eating disorder and how it affects relationships with others, our ego strength, our strivings to be all we can be and the obstacles that keep us shackled.

Individual Therapy... addresses the issues in a more concentrated approach, tailored to the unique concerns of each person, whether they are specific to eating disorders, or more general. Treatment is oriented toward self-expression and growth as well as relief of symptoms. The therapy helps to increase tolerance to feelings so they may be worked out and understood, to strengthen the core self and capacity to better deal with the outer world and increase self-esteem. Treatment is focused in the present but doesn't omit the significant past that continues to influence the present.

Couples Therapy... helps untangle conflicts and clarify issues between partners. It helps clear the field of problems that stem from unrealistic expectations and projections. We sometimes see our partner through a lens of a previous relationship or childhood experience that muddies the present reality. The therapy with couples improves communication. It aims to enhance the individual within the relationship and strengthen the couple.