Dr. Richard E. Rawson has over 18
years of professional experience in the
delivery of psychotherapy, psychological assessment, behavioral
health, and consultation services
for individuals, couples,
families,
and other groups.
Specializing
in psychological and educational testing, and in the
assessment and treatment of cognitive, emotional, behavioral, academic,
and social difficulties in youth and adults.
What
are the initial five steps in my process?
Your
first contact
with me will likely be by telephone or email requesting
additional information
or wanting to make an appointment. During this conversation,
I’ll gather some initial
information about your needs, and we’ll discuss your
situation at no charge.
Normally,
the
next
step involves your scheduling an office visit for a
one-hour initial evaluation
session to more thoroughly review your concerns, gather additional
background
information, and begin to establish your goals and expectations for our
working
together. In working with a child, I often prefer to meet first with
the
child’s parents.
Prior to the first
office visit, you can conveniently download
from my
website an assortment of
checklists and questionnaires used in the initial evaluation, which
allows you
to spent more of your time in the office actually talking with
me.
In the initial visits, we'll
develop your game plan to address your concerns, which
will
serve as a beacon to guide our work and a benchmark by which to measure
your progress.
Subsequent
visits
will generally be devoted to implementing a plan of
action to help you achieve
your goals.
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Top
 Psychotherapy
When
people
ask me about my counseling methodology, I
generally
tell them that different
clients have different
needs and that my
therapeutic techniques are tailored specifically to
the needs of the client. I am particularly
adept at
drawing from various therapeutic
approaches and applying the right tools to get the job done right.
My
toolbox of techniques includes
interventions derived from the cognitive, behavioral, and
interpersonal therapies, which are scientifically
proven
and effective techniques
for addressing
various mental, emotional, and behavioral
conditions; such as depression and mood disorders, panic and anxiety
disorders, anger and stress management, relationship and family issues,
health-related concerns, work-related concerns, substance misuse,
somatization, and some
other conditions.
Generally,
a combination of
methods will be used to consider a minimum of four parts or levels of
any problem
-- behaviors, emotions, skills, and cognitions.
Treatment
goals are individualized according to the needs of the client, and may include:
- Alleviating
symptoms associated
with anxiety, stress, depression, and anger;
- Enhancing
self-image and
satisfaction with personal relationships;
- Enhancing
mental and emotional well-being;
- Developing
healthier, more effective patterns of behavior;
- Improving
interpersonal communication and
conflict-resolution skills;
- Pinpointing
life problems and identifying options for solving or improving them;
- Regaining
a sense of control of feelings and thoughts following a traumatic
experience;
- Improving
organizational
skills, goal setting, time management,
stress management, anger control, social skills, problem-solving
skills,
memory, follow-through, and motivation.
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Psychological
Assessment
Each
of my clients
receives a comprehensive diagnostic assessment as part of their initial
evaluation. Depending upon your particular needs and
circumstances, however, a more extensive psychological assessment may
be performed, using one or more psychological tests of cognitive,
psycho-educational, emotional, behavioral, personality, or
psycho-social functioning.
Psychological
testing generally
consists of a series of standardized tasks that are performed
by the person being evaluated, and scoring the person's
responses according to carefully prescribed guidelines. After the test
is completed, the results can be compiled and compared to the responses
of a normative reference group usually composed of people at the same
age or grade level as the person being evaluated.
Some
of the applications of psychological testing are
in the assessment of attention disorders (ADHD), learning disabilities,
memory impairment, executive functions deficits (planning, organizing,
sequencing, abstracting), personality functioning, pre-surgical
readiness and treatment planning (bariatric or gastric-bypass surgery),
and disability determination or return-to-work management.
Psycho-educational
testing is part of an objective examination that measures
educationally relevant skills or knowledge about such subjects as
reading, spelling, or mathematics. It is often used in conjunction with
intellectual or ability testing to evaluate persons suspected of having
a learning disability.
Some of
the uses of psycho-educational testing
include assisting parents in working with school personnel on academic
placements, recommending specific accommodations to address
learning needs, and qualifying students for gifted or special education
services.
Personality
testing
helps identify personal, social, and behavioral problems in youth and
adults for the purpose of problem identification, diagnosis, and
treatment planning for an individual. It can also measure normal
personality traits to evaluate work and relationship styles for the
purpose of personal growth, career planning, and relationship
counseling.
Neuropsychological
assessment involves the measurement of cognition and behavior
to examine the effects of any brain injury or neuropathological process
that a person may have experienced. A core part of neuropsychological
assessment is the administration of neuropsychological tests for the
formal assessment of cognitive functioning. Aspects of cognitive
functioning that are assessed typically include orientation, new
learning, memory, intelligence, language, visuo-perception, executive
control, and self-awareness.
Three
broad goals of neuropsychological assessment include:
Determining the nature of the underlying problem; Understanding the
impact of the problem on the individual as a means of devising a
rehabilitation program or offering advice as to an individual's ability
to carry out a certain tasks (for example, fitness to drive, or
returning to work); and Measuring changes in functioning over time to
determine the outcome of a surgical procedure or the impact of a
rehabilitation program over time.
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Consultation
Consultation
involves
working with health care providers, schools, agencies, employers, and
other entities to address various client needs,
including coordinating health care activities, working with another
medical doctor regarding your care, documenting and communicating
special needs to your school or workplace, and fulfilling legal
requirements.
Psychological Services for
Bariatric Surgery Patients
Psychological Services for
Chronic Pain Patients
Promoting
Healthy Lifestyle
Changes
Maximizing
Success After
Surgery
Improving
Adherence to Treatment
Building
Relapse Prevention
Strategies
Improving Coping Skills
:: Now that you know more about my
various services and health care options, read my success stories
and Case Studies of
individuals whose lives have been positively impacted through my work.
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