Practice Focus
Personal Counseling & Psychotherapy
My focus in Private Practice is examining emotional blocks which interfere with clients living a fulfilling and happy life. Many times uncovering and resolving the cause of a block can be completed in a few sessions. Other times there may be layers of causes to be worked through individually.
About Katharine Mendoza, LCSW
My life's work has involved studying how loss affects thoughts, contributes to emotional pain and unhealthy behavior patterns. Loss can include the death of a pet, loss of a job or retirement or any other significant life change.
I obtained a Bachelors Degree in Social Work with a minor in Psychology and a Masters in Clinical Social Work from the University of Central Florida.
My work experience began as an Oncology Social Worker at Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center Cancer Institute in Ormond Beach. Five years later, I assisted hospice patients and families through the grieving process at Hospice of the Comforter in Altamonte Springs. These experiences demonstrated the unpredictability of life and the importance of resolving relational conflicts before death.
EMDR
When something traumatic happens, it seems to get locked in the nervous system with the original picture, sounds, thoughts, feelings, and so on. Since the experience is locked there, it continues to be triggered whenever a reminder comes up. It can be the basis for a lot of discomfort and negative emotions, such as fear and helplessness which seem uncontrollable. These are actually the emotions connected with the old experience being triggered.
There is a technique I use called Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) where eye movements, vibrations or tones stimulate each side of the brain. This movement seems to unlock the nervous system and allows your brain to process the experience. This may be what happens in REM, or dream sleep. The stimulation seems to help in processing the unconscious material. The healing is powerful and takes less time. I call it counseling on steroids.
This type of therapy doesn't lessen the emotional pain that can be brought up in conventional therapy, but completion of the therapy can mute the feelings without erasing the memory. Without the pain attached, the memory can be brought up without the emotional impact.
MBSR
Another powerful tool, Mindfulness Meditation has proven to be effective in focusing thought processes, reducing stress and increasing insight. Research has shown it changes brain patterns and helps with symptoms of chronic illnesses and gives a sense of well being. The program Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction by Jon Kabat Zinn has been used with excellent results. The button below will take you to the free online site.