Individuals

SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS, COUPLES AND GROUPS

All of us may need support and are why people search for a psychologist as different as they are many. Advice and assistance are provided according to each individual's needs, with experience, professionalism and full confidence.

Here you will find various information about services, advice and treatment options for individuals, couples and groups.

Information for the client at the beginning of treatment

Always at the beginning of treatment, the client must consult the client's information sheet and terms of treatment and confirm with his signature. Here you can download Client Information Sheet

The first interview

At the first interview, it is natural to feel insecure. The psychologist will welcome you and explain how interviews are conducted. The first interview is used to get to know the individual better and good information gathering takes place.

Note that unions are almost invariably involved in interview subsidies. In addition, the social services of the municipalities help to reduce the costs in many cases. We strongly urge you to investigate their rights with their union and with Iceland's health insurance.

Personal Interview

Some who seek a psychologist come because of specific problems such as communication problems in the workplace. Others come to seek treatment for problems that plague them in their daily lives, such as anxiety or depression. Before starting treatment, it is important to carefully map the problem and it requires a good history. The story lays the foundation for the treatment work. The length of treatment can then depend on the nature of the problem. An individual interview usually takes about 50 minutes.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (HAM) is the most commonly used form of treatment for anxiety and depression. HAM is usually a short-term treatment where there is a systematic problem-solving process. Numerous studies have supported the results of the treatment and it is recommended as the first intervention for anxiety disorders before drug treatment. In the treatment, the psychologist and his client examine the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behavior. There are often negative thoughts that can be traced back to some basic beliefs people have about things, situations and / or people. However, the basic belief is often not a fact in reality and together the psychologist and his client test the truth value of the belief.

Hópviðtal

Sometimes there may be problems in a group or a certain group will have the same experience. Either way, there may be a reason to meet with the help of a professional and either try to resolve disagreements or experience support from one another in the interview if the experience is shared. In a group interview, make sure everyone has the opportunity to express themselves. Individuals may experience the same experience in different ways and may need to discuss and open up their experience. Therefore, these interviews are usually 75 - 100 minutes instead of 50 minutes.

Analysis Interview

The analysis interview assesses why you or others who are close to you are feeling unwell. In order for psychotherapy to be effective, it is necessary to identify the factors that maintain the distress and identify the treatment options that are best suited at any given time. The diagnostic interview is therefore more often than not the first step in psychological therapy. However, it can also stand alone when seeking to understand the problem or make a formal analysis. It is common for people to request a diagnostic interview for depression, anxiety, ADHD, anxiety, stress, marital difficulties and irritability, to name a few.

More commonly, though, people have trouble understanding why it feels bad. It is difficult to put words to their distress. It doesn't know where to look. In addition, people can face insatiable and hopeless problems with their immediate emotional problems. In such a situation, the analysis interview can be a springboard towards the right remedy and the first step towards better well-being.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (HAM)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (HAM) is the psychological therapy that most research sources underlie in the treatment of mental and anxiety disorders. Over 300 success studies on the use of HAM in the treatment of mental disorders have been published. HAM benefits well with depression, general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, traumatic stress disorder, compulsive and obsessive, social phobia and specific phobia. Cognitive behavioral therapy (HAM) has become the first choice for a variety of problems.
According to clinical guidelines of the Medical Director of Health, HAM is the first treatment for anxiety and mild to moderate depression. In most cases, the effectiveness of HAM in the treatment of these disorders is comparable to or better than the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy and HAM go well together in some cases, such as when clients are dealing with very severe depression. But in other cases, there are several indications that drugs may interfere with treatment and possibly reduce the long-term efficacy of HAM. Then there is a risk that the individual will administer the drug rather than the result itself.

The idea behind HAM is that our well-being and behavior depend on how we interpret certain events or circumstances. Roughly speaking, HAM goes on to find the thoughts that contribute to the distress, reassess them and change them and to change the behavior that sustains the problem.

EMDR treatment

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitzation and Reprocessing) is a psychological therapy originally developed to address the consequences of traumatic stress disorder. Studies have shown that EMDR therapy is also useful for smaller shocks, such as bullying, low self-esteem and phobia, to name a few.
The specificity of EMDR is that the method utilizes other older evidence-based psychological methods; such as cognitive behavioral therapy (HAM). EMDR is about working out difficult memories, thoughts and feelings. The explanation of unpleasant feelings and even physical symptoms in daily life can lie in old, unexplained memories. When EMDR therapy is applied, the brain seems to record memories in a new way so that they no longer cause us distress. We feel that our attitudes are changing, emotional pain is diminishing or disappearing and physical experiences related to the memories disappear. Finally, future rescue plans are utilized.

EMDR is an individual therapy for people who have had difficult experiences that have disturbed their lives for a long time and even years.
The psychologist follows a specific script with specific instructions. Once a decision has been made on which memory to work with, the memory is systematically evaluated before the processing begins. In the process, eye movements are primarily used, but also two-sided stimuli such as tapping lightly on either the knee or following a point that moves from right to left. Initially, the treatment may prove to be heavy because the memory often comes to mind, but as the treatment progresses, the discomfort and pain decrease as the memory gains a new meaning associated with new thoughts and feelings.
It depends on the severity of the trauma and the duration of the treatment. Complex shocks or memories can take a long time and require many treatment periods.

EMDR treatment has generally shown good results and other trauma-focused approaches. Bisson et al (2007) analyzed 38 studies on traumatic cognitive behavioral therapy with individuals, group mental behavioral therapy, EMDR and stress management. The findings of Bisson and colleagues demonstrated that EMDR and traumatic cognitive behavioral therapy performed better than other traumatic stress disorder treatments and should be recommended as the first treatment for traumas. Bisson, JI (2007). Psychological treatments for chronic post-traumatic stress disorder: Systematic review and meta-analysis. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 190, 97-104.

Diagnosis of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Psychologists can diagnose ADHD for adults. The psychologist presents a diagnostic report and carefully examines the developmental history and schooling regardless of the age of the diagnostic process. The final diagnosis is then done in collaboration with a doctor, pediatrician or psychiatrist.
For the first time or when referring to a psychologist who performs the diagnosis, screening is done but diagnosis is not performed unless the symptoms appear to be inhibitory. Further analysis will then reveal whether there is a disorder that is consistent with ADHD diagnostic criteria.

It is difficult to predict the time taken for the analysis to be individual. When assessing adults, it is assessed whether there is a need for an intelligence test in each case. A lot of work goes into examining whether other causes (such as depression or traumatic events) can explain the symptoms in question. In adult analysis, it is important to have good information sources that can describe behaviors between the ages of 5-12, such as parents, siblings, or the old teacher in question. The symptoms need to be inhibited in more than two situations in life (for example, the symptoms are not enough only to inhibit work).

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is caused by neurodegenerative disorders. The symptoms can have a disruptive effect on daily life such as learning, communication and well-being. To diagnose the disorder, symptoms must have occurred before the age of 12 years. ADHD is divided into two subcategories, attention deficit with hyperactivity and attention deficit without hyperactivity. Individuals with hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder have symptoms in both symptom categories (hyperactivity / impetus and attention deficit disorder).

Main symptoms of attention deficit without hyperactivity:

• Poor focus, especially on tasks that are challenging or tedious
• Easily distracted by various external stimuli and having difficulty regaining good concentration
• Having trouble starting a project
• Avoid doing tasks and often do last-minute tasks
• Difficult to get angry about things, lose things or not know where things are
• Make careless mistakes eg in school projects because the person did not follow instructions
• Difficult to follow instructions
• Difficulty planning and planning ahead
• Be forgotten in everyday life

Main symptoms of hyperactivity / impulse:

• Great motoring
• Be on the move, for example, playing with a small part in your hands or legs constantly moving
• Difficulty in being in the seat for the intended time
• Much restlessness
• turbulence
• To run around and disproportionately
• Be very loud, for example, have trouble playing quietly
• Be on the move and have a hard time relaxing
• Talking a lot
• Hard to calm down
• Doing or saying things without thinking about the consequences
• To start a project without proper preparation
• Take action, for example, by answering questions directed to others
• For example, having a hard time waiting in line