Specialties

Visit Anger Management 818 here. Anger Management is a program structured around teaching participants helpful coping strategies to better handle upsetting situations. Though learning skills to reduce aggression is vital, the primary focus of an anger management program is to encourage clients to take preventive measures in their daily lives to reduce the likelihood of conflicting occurrences. This allows the individual to improve their chances in conflict resolution. In actuality, the program should be called Aggression Management. The feeling of anger is normal and can be beneficial if it’s understood and used appropriately. Anger is the feeling, and can help guide a person to understand themselves, their emotions, and as a result, make better judgments of situations. Whereas anger is the feeling, aggression is the act/behavior. Aggressive behavior can lead to trouble with the law, loss of relationships, disciplinary actions at the workplace, etc. How do you know if you would benefit from Anger Management? If you relate to any of the following, then this program may be right for you:

Getting irritated/annoyed easily
Yelling frequently
Taking your anger out on your surroundings
Destroying property (including throwing your phone)
Swearing out of anger
Being quick tempered
Using sarcasm
Blaming others
Being critical and judgmental often
Using an aggressive tone while talking
Difficulty expressing your feelings appropriately/respectfully

Attendees of Anger Management programs can expect to discuss, learn, and practice effective new skills. The process of meeting consistently and regularly with others and completing between-class written work leads to great chances for success. Our core components include:

Effective Communication and Active Listening Skills
Increasing Empathy/ Emotional Intelligence
Understanding Anger/ Conflict Resolution
Stress Management
Healthy Boundaries/ Healthy Relationships/ Understanding Co-Dependency

Our anger management groups are arranged for your preference:

Co-Ed Anger Management
Women Only Anger Management
Men Only Anger Management
Low Fee Anger Management
Anger Management for Veterans
Armenian Anger Management
Teen Anger Management

The anger management class format is especially helpful to increase empathy and patience, and improve listening skills. Anger Management Executive Coaching Anger Management Executive Coaching is a one-to-one setting with the certified anger management facilitator, which can be delivered at our office or at the workplace. This program features:

Individualized format
Customized anger management programs for each participant
Maximized participant privacy
Flexible scheduling and duration

Anger Management for attorneys, physicians, CEOs, executives of companies, and people in the entertainment industry who prefer to keep their identity confidential, are best received in an executive coaching format. Completing ten executive coaching sessions is highly recommended. Anger Management with the Family Anger Management with the Family Program focuses on “Soothing the Angry Adolescent” by addressing specific issues within the home context. It features:

Customized anger management programs for each family
A “team-oriented” mindset that brings peace back into the home

If your family members are receiving mental health professional care with outside professionals, our anger management facilitators will coordinate care with them in order to give you the best service possible. Anger Management Workshops Offered Our well trained anger management facilitators are available to provide workshops in most time-increments desired. The most popular anger management workshop can be provided within one hour. Attending our anger management programs may meet the requirements for Anger Management courses that may be ordered by the courts, probation officers, schools, or employers.

Facilitated by Anita Avedian, LMFT If you experience social anxiety and/or shyness in group or social situations, you may benefit from this group. What is Social Anxiety Disorder? Social anxiety refers to discomfort in social situations, oftentimes because of concern and fear about being judged, doing something foolish, or making a bad impression. Social anxiety can be limited to certain types of situations. The intensity of social anxiety varies for each individual. For some people, the anxiety is limited to a single social situation, and for others, the anxiety occurs in most social situations. The fear of social situations oftentimes provokes high levels of anxiety including physiological reactions to the situation including increased heartbeat, flushing, sweating, or nausea. The consideration of facing a social situation interferes significantly with the person’s functioning in school, at work, or in interpersonal relationships. A social situation involves you and other people. It can include interpersonal interactions (talking to a person) or performance situations (such as public speaking). On the average, 7-8% of the U.S. population suffers from some form of social anxiety. Usually women are twice as likely as men to suffer from social anxiety however, men are more likely to seek treatment. This is probably due to the impact social anxiety has on their relationships and careers. There is a correlation with people suffering from social anxiety and alcohol abuse. This is probably due to trying to ease the level of discomfort one has in social situations. About Social Anxiety and Shyness Support Group In this group, you will have the opportunity to be in a safe environment where you could learn about social anxiety and the skills to help you work through difficult situations. Participants of the Social Anxiety and Shyness Support Group will have the opportunity to practice the newly learned skills that helps with overcoming or managing social anxiety and shyness. The Social Anxiety and Shyness Support Group meets weekly in the office setting. Once a month we hold a meeting outside the office to practice the newly learned skills. Without practice, avoidance of situations may continue. The rate is $225/month prepaid monthly. There will be a free half hour consultation prior to entering the group. Contact Anita Avedian at (818) 383-1399 to schedule your intake.

Depression is a mood disturbance that goes beyond feeling sad. It affects one’s thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and physical health. It can lead to withdrawal from people and activities. Depression is a medical illness and not a sign of personal weakness. There are different types of depression and subsets of the condition that can be caused by a variation of triggers. 6.7% (16.2 million) of adults In the US have had at least one major depressive episode in a given year. Without treatment, the severity of the symptoms increases over time, as well as the frequency of the episodes. If left untreated, a person may face serious impairments in their ability to function at home and work. Symptoms of Depression may include the following:

Feeling sad persistently
Loss of interest in activities that one used to enjoy
Sleep patterns changing (needing more sleep or less sleep)
Feeling irritable or restless
Experiencing changes in appetite (either eating much more or much less than usual)
Feeling tired, and loss of energy
Low or no motivation
Having thoughts of suicide or death
Feeling hopeless
Having difficulty concentrating, and making decisions.
Fixation on things of the past or things that have gone wrong.
Weight gain or loss
Unexplained aches and pains

If these symptoms exist for at least two weeks, for more days than not, then it is recommended to schedule an appointment with a therapist and/or a psychiatrist for Depression screening. Depression can occur due to any of the following factors (or a combination of them):

Genetic reasons (family history)
Biochemical (chemical imbalance or change in hormones)
A traumatic or stressful incident (childbirth, loss of a loved one)
Psychological factors (social, stress, anxiety).
Substance abuse
Certain medication

Once Depression is diagnosed, you would have several treatment options. Some of the options include the following:

Individual psychotherapy – This treatment helps an individual become more aware and better able to cope with their problems. It provides support and help by examining some of the underlying reasons of depression. There are many methods of therapy including Cognitive, Behavioral, and Psychoanalysis.
Psychotherapy and support groups – Support groups are great option to be able to relate to others, and to connect. Group members learn from each other. Oftentimes this option helps to not feel alone.
Medication - Medications are used to treat seriously depressed people. It helps to correct chemical imbalances of certain brain chemicals.
Alternative therapy (Thought Field Therapy, Acupuncture, Natural Remedies) - Thought Field Therapy provides a quick relief of symptoms. Recently, people have been trying alternative methods prior to medications.
Educational classes - offers material to help one learn to understand and cope with Depression.
Self-Care - Learning to pay attention to one’s lifestyle, eating and exercising habits.

Anita Avedian, MFT, has been working with individuals suffering from Depression for many years. Individual therapy is offered to help one learn coping skills, problem solving, learning ways to increase motivation, and understanding underlying causes of one’s depression. Retrieved from; https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/facts-statistics-infographic#1

Anxiety is a psychological response to future events that have not occurred. It can also be characterized by physical and emotional symptoms. Anxiety is considered a normal reaction to a stressor (i.e. job interview, important exam, etc.): it helps an individual deal with a demanding situation by allowing them to cope with it. However, when anxiety becomes excessive and begins to interfere with daily functioning and responsibilities, it is classified as an Anxiety Disorder.

There are a few subcategories of Anxiety Disorders:

Agoraphobia
Panic Disorder With/Without Agoraphobia
Specific Phobia
Social Phobia
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Acute Stress Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Some symptoms of Anxiety Disorders are as follows:

Excessive anxiety and worry, occurring more days than not
Finding it difficult to control worry
Restlessness or feeling on edge
Being easily fatigued
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Muscle tension
Sleep disturbance
Feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness
Uncontrollable obsessive thoughts
Cold or sweaty hands and/or feet
Shortness of breath
Palpitations
Inability to be still and calm
Numbness or tingling

Anxiety, different from fear, is a mood that can occur without any particular stimulus; fear is an appropriate response, both cognitive and emotional, to a perceived threat. The main difference between the two is that anxiety concerns an event that has not taken place yet. Once Anxiety is diagnosed, you would have several treatment options. Some of those options include the following:

Individualized counseling – these counseling sessions help an individual become more aware and better able to cope with their problems. It provides support and help by examining some of the underlying reasons of anxiety. There are many methods of therapy including Cognitive, Behavioral, and Psychoanalysis.
Psychotherapy and support groups – support groups are a great option to relate to and connect with others. Group members learn from each other. Oftentimes this option helps to not feel alone.
Medication – medications are used to treat severely anxious people. It helps to correct the imbalances of certain brain chemicals.
Alternative therapy (Though Field Therapy, Acupuncture, Natural Remedies) – Though Field Therapy provides a quick relief of symptoms. Recently, people have been trying alternative methods prior to medication.
Educational classes – Offers material to help one learn to understand and cope with Anxiety.
Self-Care – Learning to pay attention to one’s lifestyle, eating, and exercising habits.

Individual therapy is offered to help one learn about coping skills, problem solving, learning ways to increase motivation, and understanding underlying causes of one’s anxiety.

Trauma is an emotional response to a tragic event. Feeling shock and disbelief are common symptoms following a traumatic event. A traumatic event consists of an experience (either a single episode or recurring events) that overwhelm an individual to the point where they are unable to cope and join together ideas and emotions involved with the experience. While the feelings people experience are normal to an abnormal event, some people experience difficulty with moving forward in their day to day lives. Although trauma can surface by a large array of events, there are usually a few common components to it. Usually, there is a violation of the person’s ideas about the world and human rights causing extreme confusion. Also when the individual is dependent upon another for survival, trauma can stem from the violation of that power through some form of abuse. Some other factors contributing to trauma can be:

Sexual abuse
Bullying
Domestic violence
Being the victim of an alcoholic parent
Catastrophic events
Long term exposure to difficult situation
Natural disasters

It is important to remember that people will react differently to similar events. One theory as to why this occurs is that a person’s beliefs and experiences can shape their perception and interpretation of the event. Thus if a person perceives danger, they are more likely to experience symptoms of trauma. The level of trauma experienced will differ with a person’s encounter of tragic events throughout their lifetime, and the outcome of how they coped with such events. One way to determine a person’s progress to dealing with trauma is looking at a person’s sense of self-efficacy (the belief in ones capability in achievement). Once trauma is diagnosed, you would have several treatment options. Some of those options include the following:

Individualized psychotherapy – this form of counseling helps an individual become more aware and better able to cope with their problems. It provides support and help by examining some of the underlying reasons of trauma. There are many methods of therapy including Cognitive, Behavioral, and Psychoanalysis.
Psychotherapy and support groups – support groups are a great option to relate to and connect with others. Group members learn from each other. Oftentimes this option helps to not feel alone.
Medication – medications are used to treat people with severe trauma. It helps to correct the imbalances of certain brain chemicals.
Alternative therapy (Though Field Therapy, Acupuncture, Natural Remedies) – Though Field Therapy provides a quick relief of symptoms. Recently, people have been trying alternative methods prior to medication.
Educational classes – Offers material to help one learn to understand and cope with trauma.
Self-Care – Learning to pay attention to one’s lifestyle, eating, and exercising habits.

Individual therapy is offered to help one learn about coping skills, problem solving, learning ways to increase motivation, and understanding underlying causes of one’s anxiety.

There are many dynamics in regards to relationships, especially romantic ones. Maintaining such relationships require hard work. Sometimes they get to a point of such turmoil that one does not know what action to take in order to improve the situation. This is where counseling can become a very useful resource, and in some cases, a possible solution.

There are many factors that may negatively impact a relationship. When these issues are ignored the future of a healthy relationship becomes jeopardized. The foundation of healthy relationships includes the following:

Effective Communication
Healthy Boundaries
Maintaining Trust
Feeling a Sense of Safety and Security
Desiring One Another

Miscommunication is usually one of the simpler and more common adversities to overcome in a relationship. It takes practice to master the art of effective communication and listening skills. If communication is indeed the issue, learning these skills may help you understand one another as well as feel more understood. Communicating also helps a couple feel more connected, thus improving the fundamental components of the relationship. Identifying and setting boundaries is important to a healthy relationship. Many times one assumes that their partner “should” know what they want, however this is not the case. Boundaries can be physical (such as personal space), emotional (such as trust), and intellectual (when someone does thinking for you). Having boundaries helps an individual feel safe in a relationship; however their expectations and level of comfort need to be communicated effectively, thus increasing the likelihood that these boundaries will be respected.

When a relationship lacks boundaries, Co-Dependency oftentimes becomes an issue. Co-Dependency is a reliance on an external element for a sense of self and security where an individual’s self-esteem is attached to the ability to influence the behaviors of others. Co-Dependency oftentimes involves an obsession with a partner, thus interfering with daily living. In these relationships there is a high likelihood of alcohol or drug misuse and/or domestic violence. Co-Dependent individuals often find themselves in abusive relationships where their happiness is reliant upon that abusive individual. A great deal of the time, the dependency becomes very complicated and even more so destructive when it becomes the relationship between the drugs or alcohol and the person dependent upon them, and a second person who is then dependent upon the first person who is dependent on the substances. It is a very painful and destructive relationship that continuously reinforces itself, and gets worse through time. Please seek professional help if you or anyone you know is in danger.

Trust within a relationship is vital. Oftentimes trust is betrayed at some point and it takes time to repair it. There are different types of trust, for example:

Trusting that your partner will stay loyal
Trusting that the information they share with you is true
Trusting that they are not withholding information
Trusting that they will do what you ask of them

When trust is betrayed it impacts the relationship at the core. Many times a partner gives up on working at the relationship because they have lost that trust in their partner. Seeking professional help to rebuild that trust can be a vital step to mending the relationship. Usually individuals in a relationship like to feel a sense of safety (that their partner will not harm them emotionally or physically) and a sense of security (that their partner will not leave them). Sometimes an individual may not be aware that this is their fear. When the sense of safety and/or security is jeopardized, the relationship may begin to suffer. It is important to share this fear with your partner so that the two of you can work through these problems. When a person no longer feels desired by their partner, insecurities develop and a destructive cycle begins to form. If the individual is feeling certain insecurities, he or she will act on those feelings and potentially begin to harm the relationship, regardless of the intention. Another issue that arises in relationships is when an individual loses desire or interest in their partner. Oftentimes there are underlying reasons outside of physical appearance that contribute to a decline of desire. Keep in mind that these are only some aspects that may impact the companionship negatively. Through couple’s therapy, both individuals can learn, grow, and develop a healthy partnership.

Thought Field Therapy (TFT) is a rather new form of psychological treatment that has the potential to heal mental and physical ailments through “tapping” with fingers at specific points on the upper body and hands. The term “Thought Field Therapy” comes from the theory that when a person thinks about an experience or thought associated with an emotion, they are tuning in to a “thought field”. TFT states that a person’s perturbations are found within these thought fields. When a thought field is deformed or skewed, there is usually an underlying problem connected to it which is activated simply by thinking about that problem. These perturbations are the cause of negative emotions and the blocking of chi, and correspond to a meridian point about the body. To free the flow of chi, a specific order of these points must be tapped. Due to its extremely efficient technique and results, there has been much speculation and controversy around its reliability. However, this arises from the fact that many forms of therapy are considered “treatments”, and TFT is one of the first therapies to be considered a “cure”. Thought Field Therapy helps relieve symptoms of a wide array of psychological disorders including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxieties, urges and phobias. TFT per situation is a one-time session, lasting up to fifteen minutes. It is also said that TFT can treat a range of physical complications as well. We have incorporated TFT as part of our treatment with some of her clients for the past 20 years. We has found TFT to be one of the fastest treatments to help relieve symptoms of Anxiety, Trauma, Obsessive Compulsiveness, and Phobias. As all existing treatments, TFT does not help everyone. It is best to come to session prepared for a TFT treatment. This means to abide by the following suggestions:

Not to have coffee 2 hours prior to session.
Not to wear any perfumes, including deodorant with heavy scents.
Not to eat 2 hours prior to session.
Not to smoke a few hours prior to session.

There are other odors or situations that may interfere with the treatment however scent is usually one of the main factors. We work very closely with other therapists helping their clients work through specific phobias or traumas. If you are only scheduling an appointment for TFT, please be sure to sign a release to coordinate your care with your therapist. Talk to your therapist to find out if Thought Field Therapy is right for you. It might be the beginning of the end of your discomforts!

Let Me Introduce Myself: ACC’s First Career Counselor What is Career Counseling Many people lack the knowledge and confidence on how to begin a new and fulfilling career. This is largely due to the fact that career development is not generally taught in a classroom setting, nor are we taught how to reflect on what “working” means to us. Even though we understand that working is a necessity, and often a means to an end (a paycheck) it is also an exciting way to identify different attributes and characteristics about ourselves while discovering our passion and purpose. Meeting with a Career counselor can help you along your career journey and transitions. This form of counseling is a dialogue between a client(s) and counselor that focuses on strategies to expand knowledge of career markets and aids in the development of making rewarding and important career decisions. The process of career counseling is centered around exploring career options through career development activities such as career assessment, networking, and learning about yourself. Career counseling can help someone Identify career goals, explore career trends, and address personal career related issues such as career indecisiveness, dealing with job loss, or a change in career. Career counseling provides guidance using career information resources to gain exposure to the world of work and professionalism by way of helping individuals find a career that is compatible based on their interest, skills, beliefs, and education level. Who benefits from Career Counseling? Career counseling benefits an individual no matter what career stage they are currently at. You can be someone just beginning in the job market, uncertain about choosing a career, re-entering the workforce due to time away, furlough, or layoff, or currently employed. Career counseling is designed to help each individual navigate their career pathway and make the best career decision possible. What are the benefits of Career Counseling? The benefits of career counseling consist of increased awareness about your skills, intertest, values, strengths, and areas of growth. As these elements are identified and the career industries explored meaningful career decision can occur. Other benefits include having an expert that can guide you and help create a career plan to maximum your search efforts and market your skillset. In addition, a career counselor provides keen insight on interviewing, networking, and employment materials such as CV’s, resumes, and cover letters. Avedian Counseling Center (ACC) is here to help you on your path toward a successful future. Whether you are just beginning your career, undecided in your career, changing industries, or know exactly where you want to end up, our career counseling services are here for you and are a great place to start.

Destiny M. Johnson, M.S. Program Engagement Specialist

Our ACC Career Counselor Destiny Johnson is now offering a variety of resources to help you explore your career options or gain real-world experience through networking. Click our counseling services tab for more information and to get started. Destiny is looking forward to meeting you (virtually!) Please view our CAREER COUNSELING SERVICES RATES page here.