LPC, 30 years of experience
New to Grow
Dr. Jim Geidner has over 30 years of clinical experience working in a wide variety of settings, including psychiatric rehabilitation, child treatment centers and universities. He is currently a Professor of Health and Counseling as well as maintaining a busy research clinic. With vast experience as a Clinical Supervisor at a wide variety of institutions, including Rush Memorial Hospital, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, among others, Dr. Geidner is well versed in numerous modes of therapy. His approach to therapy emphasizes finding the right treatment modality to meet each client's unique needs.
Our first session will be calm and relaxaed with a primary focus on what you hope to accomplish and providing some simple background information.
Having worked in academic, clinical and research settings I hope to bring clinets the most effected evidence based treatments to help them acheive their goals.
Anyone interested in learning more about themselves, their relationships and improving their life circumstances would be ideal for psychotherapy.
In CBT interconnectedness of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors is identified, recognizing how they influence each other in a cycle. Negative or unhelpful thinking patterns, such as catastrophic thinking or overgeneralization, are identified as contributors to distress. Techniques like cognitive restructuring and journaling are used to challenge the accuracy and helpfulness of these thoughts and replace them with more balanced and realistic perspectives. Practical coping skills and strategies are developed to manage difficult emotions and change unhelpful behaviors outside of sessions. The goal is to empower clients to manage their mental well-being long after the sessions conclude.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) guides clients through a structured process. This process helps them understand and change how they think about their traumatic experiences and the beliefs stemming from them. The therapy typically uses education, processing the trauma, identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts, and developing new coping skills.
Clients explore how unconscious processes, such as fears, anxieties, wishes, and defense mechanisms like repression and projection, shape their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Early life experiences and relationships, especially with primary caregivers, are examined to understand how they may have influenced current personality and relational patterns, fostering self-awareness and insight into their inner world. The therapeutic relationship itself is closely observed, using transference – the redirection of feelings about past figures – to gain deeper insight into interpersonal dynamics and work through unresolved issues. Through techniques like free association and exploration of emotional patterns, clients are supported in expressing and processing difficult emotions and developing healthier coping mechanisms. Psychodynamic psychotherapy aims for lasting change by addressing underlying causes, leading to enhanced self-awareness, personal growth, and improved relationships with themselves and others.
DBT helps clients develop a comprehensive set of skills for navigating intense emotional experiences and building a life they find fulfilling. A core component involves teaching clients mindfulness skills, enabling them to be present, observe thoughts and emotions without judgment, and reduce emotional reactivity. Clients also acquire distress tolerance skills to manage overwhelming emotions and crises without resorting to unhelpful or destructive behaviors. Furthermore, emotion regulation strategies help clients to identify, understand, and effectively manage their emotions, including reducing emotional vulnerability and increasing positive emotional experiences. Finally, interpersonal effectiveness skills are taught to improve communication, assert needs, set boundaries, and cultivate healthier relationships with others. Through individual therapy, group skills training, and phone coaching, clients are empowered to apply these skills in real-life situations and create positive, lasting changes in their lives.