Therapy Changes Welcomes Dr. Haim Shemer
By: Other | March 30, 2018
Written by Haim Shemer, Psy.D.
I am happy and thrilled to be a part of Therapy Changes! I look forward to working with the Therapy Changes team and the clients we serve.
Being a therapist has been a dream and a goal for me from a very young age. During my teen years, I loved to help influence others around me and serve as a source of support, love, and care for my family and friends. Working as a licensed psychologist for the past eight years was nothing short of that dream come true. I am happy and thankful for the opportunity to continue fulfilling that dream at Therapy Changes.
My therapeutic practices for the past four years have focused on the importance of self-care. One’s nutrition, activity level, and especially sleep are strong passions of mine. I believe that sleep disturbances are very common and carry great impact on our mental, physical, and spiritual functioning. I often begin therapy by assessing the client’s level of self-care. Sleep disturbance is often revealed as a common issue.
After clients take steps toward more restorative sleep, they feel more refreshed and motivated, and I am always thrilled to have helped them reach that point. I often hear from clients that with their improved sleep, negative moods are less negative and more manageable. Clients also share that their appetite is healthier and meals more regulated. Activity level increases. All such improvements lead to better well-being and more enjoyment from life. Much of our population takes self-care for granted. I believe my role is to make a place for it in the therapy room.
I say to myself — and share with my clients — the notion that we are what we think. I center my work on helping others bring awareness to identify and modify non-workable thoughts as a way toward well-being. I incorporate tools from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused Therapy (SFT), and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) in service to help my clients. Such tools have proven useful since much cognitive and behavioral work goes into sleep restoration.
Many of us carry negative and non-workable thoughts about our sleep. These thoughts often lead to maladaptive behaviors bringing on a sense of frustration and helplessness associated with future sleep. With the help of the tools noted above, my clients and I embark on a journey together bringing awareness of maladaptive thoughts and behaviors and ways to modify them. The expected result includes improved sleep, emotional states, and overall well-being.
Aaron Beck, regarded as the father of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, explained the art of CBT as follows:
“Cognitive therapy seeks to alleviate psychological stresses by correcting faulty conceptions and self signals. By correcting erroneous beliefs we can lower excessive reactions.”
Click to view Dr. Shemer’s Bio
