I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who has focused on diagnosing and treating a variety of clinical symptoms and disorders including substance abuse, LGBTQIA+ issues, addictions, trauma, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, low self-esteem, and personality disorders. I help individuals of all ages struggling with life dissatisfaction to develop the skills and experience to live healthy, productive, and positive lives.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session together, we'll start with brief introductions, then dive into the specific challenges you're facing and what led you to seeking mental health counseling at this time. This will help us create a tailored plan for us to work through in follow-up sessions.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Having worked in the mental health field for over 14 years and have developed a tried-and-true playbook for helping you (a) identify the root cause of your challenges and (b) create a tailored plan that leads to measurable progress.
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
I love working with individuals ages 13 and up experiencing depression, anxiety, substance misuse/addition, low self-esteem, and those in the LGBTQIA+ community. I also work with couples who are struggling within their respective relationship. My clients are eager to improve and have a more positive life experience, but don't yet have the tools or resources needed to make this goal a reality. They often feel stuck, overwhelmed, depressed, hopeless, and anxious as a result of various aspects of their lives or experiences they are having.
About Don Ford
Don Ford offers therapy covered by UnitedHealthcare/Optum - Medicaid in Florida.
Specializes in
Licensed in
Accepts
Appointments
VirtualMy treatment methods
EMDR
I am an EMDR trained clinician who utilizes this treatment method to help build resilience and help individuals process and resolve their various trauma(s). I have used EMDR for the past year and seen my work drastically change peoples life experience for the better. I can utilize eye movements, lights, buzzers, or tapping for the bilateral stimulation.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I’ve been using CBT in my practice for the past 14 years. It has helped dozens of clients challenge reoccurring thoughts and manage their anxiety and depression, as well as a host of other emotional experiences. We’ll use CBT to recognize how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence each other. We’ll then use that knowledge to change your thinking patterns, which will help you lead a life with less frequent, intense, and length experiences of distressing emotions.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
I have been using DBT techniques throughout my career and utilize these techniques to help my clients develop healthier coping skills to manage distressing emotional symptoms. My goal is to help you develop mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness skills to lead a more fulfilling life with less distress.
Schema Therapy
I have used Schema therapy for over 10 years. I provide you with a "Schema Questionnaire" to help us identify your top 3 schemas and then work to identify how they developed, their positive features, and the features of the schemas that have caused problems for you. We will then work on developing healthier behaviors and ways of thinking to alter those negative functions into healthier, more productive ones.
Positive Psychology
I have used positive psychology throughout my career with clients to help them build on their strengths to lead more positive, productive lives.