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# Jessica Kieras, Ph.D.

Providing Counseling Support for Children, Teens and Adults

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](http://www.jessicakieras.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Blog](http://www.jessicakieras.com/blog/) - 6 Tips for Talking with Your Teen
- [Thinking About Making a Change? Questions from Motivational Interviewing to Help You Move Forward](http://www.jessicakieras.com/thinking-about-making-a-change-questions-from-motivational-interviewing-to-help-you-move-forward/) - This post provides some questions that are consistent with Motivational Interviewing for the reader to consider when trying to increase motivation for change.
- [Overcoming Anxiety](http://www.jessicakieras.com/overcoming-anxiety/) - If you’re reading this, chances are that you or someone you care about is suffering from anxiety. You’re definitely not alone. Experiencing anxiety is part of being a human being, but if you’re experiencing it too often it may interfere with your daily enjoyment of people and activities that are important and meaningful to you.
- [What to do about Negative Thinking When Positive Thinking Doesn’t Work. ](http://www.jessicakieras.com/negative-thinking-positive-thinking-doesnt-work/) - “I’m not good enough.” “No one listens to me”. “I should be able to do this”. “There’s something wrong with me”. “Other people just don’t get me”. “I just can’t do this”. “I’ll never get married.” “I should just...” “Why can’t I be happy like other people?”. “I don’t think things are ever going to
- [6 Tips for Talking with Your Teen](http://www.jessicakieras.com/6-tips-talking-teen/) - Keep it Positive. You may not be able to sugar coat everything you have to say. Life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but it’s important to emphasize your teen’s role in being able to create positive outcomes for him or herself. Teenagers are prone to hopelessness and powerlessness and surprisingly sensitive to what you think.

## Pages

- [Support for Anxiety & OCD](http://www.jessicakieras.com/) - Jessica Kieras, P.h.D. is a licensed Psychologist specializing in helping children, teens and adults overcome anxiety and OCD-related issues. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), including Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP) and Habit Reversal Training (HRT) are used to address some of the following struggles: -Panic Attacks -Social Anxiety -General Anxiety -Obsessive Compulsive Disorder -Trichotillamania (Hair Pulling)
- [Habit Reversal Training (HRT)](http://www.jessicakieras.com/habit-reversal-training-hrt/) - In Habit Reversal Training (HRT), the person has identified a habit they would like to change, usually because that habit has begun to be problematic for them in some way. Some examples of issues that can be addressed with HRT are Trichotillomania (hair pulling), Dermatillomania (skin picking) and nail biting. Increasing Awareness The first step
- [Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP)](http://www.jessicakieras.com/exposure-with-response-prevention-erp/) - In Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) In Exposure with Response Prevention, people face uncomfortable situations while preventing their usual response or ritual. For example, someone with OCD might feel very uncomfortable after touching an object and feel a strong urge to wash their hands. ERP focuses on developing skills to avoid that response and to cope
- [Insurance](http://www.jessicakieras.com/insurance-pacificsource-lifewise-aetna-medicare-in-network/) - My office can bill any insurance plan and services will be covered according to what your plan provides. Please contact your insurance plan directly to see what will be covered under your plan. If I am not "in-network" with your plan, services will be covered at your plan's out of network rate. Aetna (In-network) If
- [Contact](http://www.jessicakieras.com/contact/) - Phone, Fax and Office Address
- [What if I don’t have insurance?](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/no-insurance/) - Discusses how to access services if you don't have insurance.
- [Anxiety](http://www.jessicakieras.com/anxiety-symptoms-stress-panic-sleeping-eating/) - Signs and symptoms of stress, anxiety and panic attacks. Discusses difficulties with eating, sleeping and avoidance. Links to discussion of overcoming anxiety.
- [Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)](http://www.jessicakieras.com/cbt-approach/) - CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is a kind of therapy that has been well supported by empirical studies. What this means is that many scientific studies have found that this style of therapy helps to reduce anxiety, depression and a number of other difficulties. It's what is known as an "evidence-based practice" because
- [What is family therapy](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/what-is-family-therapy/) - What is family therapy and can you help my teenager? Family therapy involves at least one person under the age of 18 and other family members (e.g., parents, siblings, step-parents) who are living together and would like to make some changes that benefit everyone. In family therapy, members of the family meet together with the
- [Teens](http://www.jessicakieras.com/teens/) - I really like working with teens and their families. Teenagers are old enough to know a lot (sometimes more than me) and have wisdom, but young enough that lots of exciting things are still happening in their lives, giving room for lots of positive changes to occur. Parents of teenagers are usually really good people
- [Family Therapy](http://www.jessicakieras.com/family-therapy/) - There are many different types of family therapy, but they have in common that it is assumed that family members relationships (or lack thereof) with one another have a strong influence on one another's feelings about themselves, others and the future. When relationships between family members improve, people feel more comfortable, content, hopeful and optimistic
- [What if my teenager needs therapy](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/reluctant-teen/) - ...but says she or he won’t go? Many teenagers don’t want to come to therapy. The idea of talking to someone they’ve never met about really personal things is not appealing to a lot of people, especially teens. Please remind your teen that the purpose of coming in to talk to a therapist is to
- [How long do I need to go to therapy?](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/how-long/) - That depends on what’s going on in your life and how long you want to go to therapy. During the first meeting, we will discuss our expectations about how long it will take to feel better and how often we will need to meet. I believe strongly in trying to connect people with friends, family
- [Will my insurance cover therapy?](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/insurance/) - Call your insurance provider and ask them. Some insurance companies will only cover services if what you are experiencing falls under a diagnosis (please see “what is a diagnosis). I am qualified to diagnose people and am happy to complete an assessment during our first session to see if your experiences can be labeled under
- [What is a diagnosis?  ](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/diagnosis/) - A diagnosis is a way of summarizing your experiences with a single title like, “Arachnophobia”. Insurance companies usually ask for a diagnosis when they are asked to pay for someone’s services. Some people find it helpful to give a name to the experiences they are having because it connects those experiences to a bunch of
- [What do you do during the first session?](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/first-session/) - Basically, during the first meeting we sit down and figure out what you are hoping to get out of coming and talking with me. I get a sense of what has been bothering you (being sad, stressed, annoyed etc) and you get a sense of who I am and what it’s like to work with
- [What kind of education and experience do you have?](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/education/) - I have a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Oregon and over 5 years of experience working in the field of individual and family therapy while supervised by some of the most experienced and well-regarded Psychologists in the state. I have developed special skills in the area of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which is one
- [What if I don't want to go to therapy?](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/reluctant-teen-2/) - ...but my mom (or dad) is making me go? If you don’t need to come to therapy, but your mom or dad is making you go, I suggest you just come in and talk to me about it. I might be able to help you tell your parents why they don’t have to worry about
- [What kinds of people do you work with?](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/kinds-of-people/) - I work with teens and adults who are experiencing anxiety, depression, trouble sleeping, trouble controlling difficult emotions and parent-teen relationship problems. I also enjoy working with younger adults in finding a sense of meaning in life while balancing work and leisure activities.
- [How do I choose a therapist?](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/how-do-i-choose-a-therapist/) - My suggestion is to gather a list of several names by looking at websites like this one, asking friends for suggestions and, if you want your insurance to cover services, checking which providers are “in network” with your insurance. Then call the people on your list and ask if they have a few minutes to
- [What is a Psychologist and what do you do that helps?](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/what-is-psychologist/) - Sometimes people get to a point where they feel like they’ve tried everything they can think of to feel less stressed, sad, angry or irritated. They’d like to feel better about their lives and are not sure how to get there. Psychologists are people who have Ph.Ds. in Psychology and a license issued by the
- [6 Tips for Talking with Your Teen](http://www.jessicakieras.com/blog/6-tips-talking-teen/) - 6 Tips for Talking with Your Teen Keep it Positive. You may not be able to sugar coat everything you have to say. Life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but it’s important to emphasize your teen’s role in being able to create positive outcomes for him or herself. Teenagers are prone to hopelessness and powerlessness and
- [FAQ](http://www.jessicakieras.com/frequently-asked-questions/) - So, you’ve got some things you want to talk to someone about, but you’ve also got some questions. I’ve done my best to answer some questions that a lot of people have about coming to talk to a Psychologist and what to expect. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](http://www.jessicakieras.com/category/uncategorized/)
- [Anxiety](http://www.jessicakieras.com/category/anxiety/)

## Tags

- [Mental Health](http://www.jessicakieras.com/tag/mental-health/)
- [Fear](http://www.jessicakieras.com/tag/fear/)
- [Anxiety](http://www.jessicakieras.com/tag/anxiety/)