Psychiatrists in 06119
Ericka Gardener
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, PMHNP
Verified Verified
West Hartford, CT 06119 (Online Only)
Ericka is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) who treats a wide range of mental health concerns including adjustment disorder, depression, anxiety, ADHD, mood disorders, thought disorders, sleep issues, and substance use disorders. She is passionate about providing holistic care and is a fervent client advocate, ensuring that the client's needs are at the center of care and ensuring that clients are connected to appropriate resources when gaps in healthcare are identified. Ericka received her Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Saint Joseph.
Ericka is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) who treats a wide range of mental health concerns including adjustment disorder, depression, anxiety, ADHD, mood disorders, thought disorders, sleep issues, and substance use disorders. She is passionate about providing holistic care and is a fervent client advocate, ensuring that the client's needs are at the center of care and ensuring that clients are connected to appropriate resources when gaps in healthcare are identified. Ericka received her Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Saint Joseph.
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Women's Issues Psychiatrists
How do you encourage a woman to go to therapy?
It’s helpful to express concern and love for the person while framing therapy as a tool for improving their life. Offering specific examples of how an individual may be suffering, and what effects it has on them, should be done with compassion and with empathy. It may be useful to devise a game plan—breaking the process down into parts, such as finding a therapist, making appointments, and looking into insurance coverage.
How can women prepare for therapy?
Women can prepare for therapy by being willing to talk about their past experiences and their private thoughts. Before a session, an individual may want to reflect on how they’ve felt since the last session and what’s happened in their lives. Between sessions, it can be useful to write down notes about their reaction to a given event or how they felt at a particular time.
How long does therapy for women’s issues often last?
As with any type of therapy, sessions depend on the individual and the challenges they face. Therapy types like Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Prolonged exposure therapy (PET), and Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) can be brief, most often ranging from between 5 and 20 sessions. In some cases, such as for women with eating disorders, residential treatment may be recommended for an individual who is judged to be at high risk of self-harm. For any therapy, the duration will depend on the progress made and results realized.
How can women overcome stigma around specific challenges in order to seek therapy?
Women dealing with domestic abuse, sexual assault, eating disorders, and any other number of troubles may feel a stigma around seeking help. It’s important to remember that these issues are not uncommon and there is no shame in getting help for them. Therapy is confidential, and women can talk about their experiences without fear of judgment. Seeking therapy can be a courageous and liberating act, and an important step toward healing and recovery.