About

Hello, my name is Kirby Wohlander, and I've been in the field for more than 40 years. I use a warm, inviting, strengths-based, sometimes humorous, skill-teaching approach, helping people to learn the skills they need to learn to cope with, manage, and eliminate their symptoms. Most clients who come in are seeking help with the symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. With anxiety, we examine their current sources of anxiety and stress, and work with anxiety management skills and tools to quickly get the person to feel some relief. Regarding depression, we explore underlying causes, while also using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques to identify negative thought patterns. Employing these, we collaborate in striving to help the client become more positive, optimistic, and hopeful about their future. I have seen much success using these approaches. Trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 2018, I have done, and continue to do, a lot of trauma work, helping people who have been abused, neglected and/or have PTSD. I have worked in an alcohol and drug rehabilitation program along the way, and am familiar with addiction-recovery issues, 12-Step programs, Smart Recovery, and the way these challenges can impact families and relationships. I ran family service programs for the military for about 5 years, and have a pretty good understanding of military culture, and the challenges of military life, especially the Navy, with its long deployments. Working for years with people seeking outpatient mental health services, such as those who might come to Grow, I have done much work with high-functioning people such as teachers, nurses, engineers, physicians, professors, other mental health professionals, students, and those doing other kinds of work.