Psychological Services

In addition to his special emphasis in health psychology outlined below, Dr. Urtz provides a broad range of psychological treatment services for:

• Anxiety, panic and phobias
• Post-traumatic stress
• Depression and bi-polar disorders
• Alcohol and other substance abuse
• Stress, crises and life adjustment issues
• Marriage, family and relationship problems
• Anger, grief and loss
• Work-related problems

Dr Urtz is broadly trained and uses a multi-faceted treatment approach based on cognitive-behavioral psychology and psychodynamic principles.

Health Psychology Services

Health problems can significantly impair lives and challenge our psychological coping abilities. Chronic pain, for example, often produces depression; cardiovascular conditions frequently trigger anxiety and fear; and serious injuries, accidents or traumatic events can produce powerful stress reactions involving disturbing memories and overwhelming emotions. In these conditions, as well as other ailments such as back pain, migraine and chronic headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, diabetes, asthma, and temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) among many others, psychological stress becomes an additional problem for the individual.

When experiencing such conditions, people feel vulnerable and can benefit from learning the most effective psychological approaches to their health problems. Psychological evaluation and treatment can help individuals learn to deal better both with life stresses and with the distress caused by the health problem itself.

• Chronic illness, for example, frequently leads to feelings of being overwhelmed and sad and often increases marital or family conflicts.
• Life changing medical conditions such as cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis and scleroderma among others can produce feelings of desperation and dread. Yet individuals often cope more effectively and function more fully after a combination of individual and couples or family psychotherapy improves their understanding of their condition and the best methods of coping with it.

Psychological treatment services for these health conditions can consist of various combinations of short-term and longer range psychotherapy, relaxation and self-management skills training, mindfulness and acceptance based therapy, as well as cognitive-behavior therapy and more traditional psychotherapy. During the assessment process, Dr. Urtz provides clients with his best recommendations regarding these treatment options. In many cases, short term treatment coupled with periodic follow-up sessions can provide substantial benefit to the individual.