Judith J. Bucholtz, Ph.D., LMFT
West Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles
West Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles
My Psychotherapy Practice woks with a myriad of people who are struggling with some types of symptoms that make life more difficult. Are you struggling with a relationship and no longer able to communicate with each other? Do family and friends understand your feelings?
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What do you love most about your job?
I began my career as an elementary teacher in the South East Hollywood area where the school was completely diverse and naturally integrated. The school was a refuge for immigrant families who knew of "Hollywood." I began teaching 6th grade and enjoyed that age immensely. The reason I begin with this is I found that the other teachers there who were considerably older than I, did not enjoy students who were loud, talked a lot, had opinions, questioned the teacher, had a wild personality, or got into trouble. I loved these children and they were a challenge for me as I believed that their acting out behavior was just a way to say, "PLEASE LISTEN TO ME.....I AM TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING IMPORTANT." I also believed that they were important! I usually helped these teachers out by taking these special kids into my room where they seemed to flourish. Their "problems" did not scare me.
This was a career that lasted over 15 years and then I decided to go to Grad School whereby I could do this work all the time. This is what I do, I love the investigation between the client and me to help them figure out what they are trying to say. The clients are suffering or struggling with symptoms that make life more difficult for them and together we delve into their thoughts and feelings and help them relieve their symptoms. I believe in therapy, as everyone could benefit from it as a way to further understand themselves --their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. The goal is to feel better about themselves in a world that has many difficulties to overcome.
What inspired you to start your own business?
I was inspired to start my own business after I worked extensively in a clinic which focused on child abuse and education for the children's' parents who often were the perpetrators. This work was very challenging and I wanted to also become more diverse with different types of issues that we all suffer from. I wanted to be able to meet and work with clients who also felt that we were a good match. The idea of a good match is very important. In private practice I am free to work with clients who feel comfortable and are willing to do the work that psychotherapy involves. I also love my own office and the freedom to see people where our schedules are compatible. My own business, or my office as I call it, is a home away from home. It is comfortable, large, and safe!
Why should our clients choose you?
Why should Bark's clients choose me? What a great question. They should choose me or feel safe enough to make the courageous choice when we talk and meet on the phone before we set up our appointment. I always make time, for free, to speak to every client who is interested in coming to see me. This way we meet on the phone first and hear each other's voices. in this modality the client will get a feeling inside if it is a safe place to try. I ask what brings them to Bark and what they want to work on. In this way they have an experience of me and how I come across and work with them in this 10-15 minute conversation. It is a hard decision to select someone who you don't know when you feel somewhat vulnerable. I admire this and know it also from the inside out. I cannot imagine being a psychotherapist without having had the experience of being a client. Hope to hear from you!
The new modality in Psychotherapy the I will be able to perform after August will be EMDR.
"In the broadest definition of EMDR, a trauma is an experience that causes one to develop erroneous beliefs about oneself or the world and to behave in ways that are not skillful. For example, a child who is abused may come to believe that she is bad and the world is not safe. She may have difficulty in intimate relationships. These experiences also become tied in the body-mind in the form of irrational emotions, blocked energy, and physical symptoms."( Parnell, 2007) This way helps people who struggle with old traumas from life 's insults. This process allows one to clear the feelings attached to the traumatic incidents whether they are BIG "T's" or little "t's." "BigT" traumas are usually those that affect one dramatically such as war, assaults, rape, childhood physical and sexual abuse, disasters, accidents and losses. They jolt one out of one's usual perspective on life. Often these traumas lead to serious PTSD with associated symptoms. It may cause one to question oneself and the order of the world in which they live.
The "little t" are those experiences that give one a lesser sense of self-confidence and assault one's sense of self-efficacy. It causes one to develop narrow and limiting views of oneself and the world, keeping one from living to one's full potential and causing suffering. For example someone who was in a car accident may find themselves unable to drive at all. This often makes one view oneself as not good enough incompetent, and flawed.
These experiences become locked into its own memory network as it was experienced--the images, physical sensations, tastes and smells. Often a reminder of the accident may trigger an emotional response because all of the memories related to the accident are locked in her nervous system and she is unable to process them.
Basically, and simply the method is to help the nervous system process the unprocessed feelings states that create non-rational beliefs of oneself. This is done using a small hand held stimulator that allows the brain to process the feeling states it has not done biologically.
This modality is not fully explained here as there is not enough space to fully offer one a true full representation of the issues. If interested please refer to books by Francine Shapiro and Laurel Parnell.
