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Services Provided

Overview

I am Dr. Ana Sobel, a licensed psychologist and member of Capital Psychological Associates, Albany NY.  My doctoral degree is in Clinical Psychology.  I work with a variety of clients including adults, children, and adolescents. The following sections should help you learn more about the psychological activities I perform and my approach to therapy and assessment.

Individual Therapy 

I have worked with clients who have presented with a wide range of concerns including depression, anxiety, learning/attentional difficulties, relationship problems, eating disorders, and difficulties coping with changes.  A specialty area of mine is helping individuals recover from traumatic life events such as childhood physical/sexual abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault in adulthood, accidents/injuries, and grief/loss.  I view therapy as an active process in which clients work toward accomplishing their identified goals both during and between sessions.  Goals are reached through gaining a deeper understanding of one’s own thoughts and feelings, practicing new skills (e.g., relaxation, interacting with others, taking care of oneself, etc.), and, at times, learning different ways to think about and react to situations.

Couples Therapy

When working with couples, I first strive to gain an understanding of whether each member of the couple is interested in improving the relationship, ending the relationship, or is uncertain and wants to make such a decision during the course of treatment.  Once the motivations are clear, couples therapy usually involves helping each of the significant others to understand each other’s wants and needs and specific ways in which these wants and needs can be fulfilled.  Alternatively, when barriers exist that make it difficult to fulfill each member’s desires, these barriers can be explored in greater depth so that an appropriate action can take place.  For the majority of couples’ therapy sessions, I meet with both members of the couple together.  I also meet with each of the members individually at times when such sessions would maximize the effectiveness of treatment.   

Psychological Testing

I perform psychological assessments in addition to conducting therapy.  When assessing clients, I strive to gain a broad understanding of the factors that may be contributing to the behaviors and feelings of interest.  Some examples of when psychological assessment would be used include leaning why someone may be having difficulty in school, problems forming relationships, or feelings of anxiety and sadness.  In addition, testing can elucidate an individual’s strengths and weaknesses in such areas as memory and other cognitive processes. I put much emphasis on the feedback session, so that clients can understand why the different tests were performed, what we learned from them, and practical steps that can be taken given the assessment findings.