Treatment for all your mental healthcare needs & more
Services
Psychotherapy Sessions (Licensed & Serving CT; 45-or 60-Minute Sessions)
I approach my work with individuals, couples, or families from a position of facilitator, helping to guide the process from a caring and safe space. Often people engage in a lot of thinking that they share “isn’t helpful” or solution focused. I am skilled at helping people center their thoughts in a productive and meaningful way. Increasing self-awareness and thoughtful contemplation are important goals towards improving well-being. Once your thinking process has become more constructive, we can address your goals whether they may be improving your relationship, confronting your boss about a promotion, or healing from the past. I work with individuals 21 years & older, some exceptions apply.
My approach is informed by different treatment modality formats such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Exposure Response Prevention, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, and Strengths Perspective.
Textbook knowledge is supported and informed by general life experience, good ol’ common sense, and a hardy sense of humor!
Supervision (Professionals, Unpaid Volunteers, & Students)
Working with people on the road to better health is a privilege professionals take seriously. In addition to helping people in our professional roles, we must also navigate other areas of our lives simultaneously. Working with a seasoned, trained professional allows you to get the help you need while trying to help others. I can assist with consulting on cases, reviewing evidence-based practice techniques, and asking questions in the interest of learning. I reinforce the importance of self-care for professionals by reviewing concepts such as compassion fatigue, burnout, and complacency. I help professionals work through feelings of guilt that often arise when making time for themselves.
I have experience working with developing professionals, adept professionals interested in “checking in” and fine tuning their skills, and retired professionals returning to the field in a volunteer or other non-paid capacity. I also work with students lacking supervision opportunities for different reasons.
Consultation (Including Workplace Therapy Sessions)
A frequently overlooked aspect of our work in academic environments is “how to run a business.” The decision to develop a private practice not only involves being an effective therapist but also managing a business successfully. I realized early on in my career that I was prepared to be a clinician but ill-equipped to manage and operate a business. I educated myself through a combination of textbook training and anecdotal knowledge, integrating the two to create a successful private practice. I enjoy teaching and mentoring others on the practical components of operating a private practice. This includes creating a business model, obtaining an EIN #, registering with CAQH, learning how to credential yourself (or your 1099 independent contractor) as an insurance-based provider, maintaining your books, and more. Other items for consideration include selecting a specialty, choosing a population to work with, picking an office location (“sharing spaces” or private office), and so forth.
I have also advised small businesses interested in improving workplace communication, conflict resolution, and time management and organizational skills, with the goal of creating productive and rewarding work environments from the top down.
Life Coaching/Wellness Assistance
I often hear people say that they are great at offering others guidance but bad at following it themselves. It can be challenging to self-reflect and identify the skills and attitudes that lead to self-empowerment. Through the process of coaching, I will help you identify and achieve your personal goals by removing obstacles to success. Achieving work-life balance is often a central focus of the coaching process as people determine what career or job best suits them based on different factors, what type of relationships bring them joy, and what leisure activities peak their interests. Therapy focuses on mental health and healing emotional wounds often deriving from the past, while life coaching focuses on setting and achieving attainable goals in the present.
Our work together to address your physical and present-day emotional health is known as wellness assistance. Unlike a nutritionist or dietician, who offers specific diet and exercise recommendations, a professional engaging in wellness assistance focuses on helping you make general life choices to create a healthier lifestyle. Goals often include losing some weight, reducing or quitting smoking or vaping intake, eating healthier foods, and lowering your stress level.
Health Education
Learning to behave in a manner conducive to the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health is best learned from a knowledgeable professional. A health educator is trained to employ appropriate educational strategies and methods to assist a person in achieving quality health. My colleague has earned a Master’s Degree in Nursing and a Ph.D. in Nursing from New York University. With over 40 years of experience in the field, she has educated students in various academic environments with specific knowledge in coursework pertaining to Pharmacology, Community Health, and Disease Prevention and Treatment.
Areas of focus to explore in your work include but are not limited to understanding the impacts of medication on the body (highlighting the importance of avoiding contraindications), discussing the effects of dietary limitations or additions, managing blood pressure, stabilizing cholesterol, screening for and correctly managing diabetes, and maintaining necessary health screenings such as colonoscopies and mammograms. Specialists are recommended per request and may also be provided during the recommendation’s component of the consultation.
Presentation Development
Serving in the position of an educator for 8 years has taught me the value of the most basic skills: reading and writing! We may learn these skills as young as 4 or 5 years of age, although fine tuning the art of writing can be a challenge many people experience for years thereafter. As a professor and researcher, I have learned how to assist students, fellow professionals, and even friends and family on the art of developing a proper, formal (or ‘less’ formal) presentation.
I can assist in the organization of academic materials through review of journals, databases, and other appropriate resources. Create a focused, organized presentation vis-à-vis PowerPoint. Emphasis on material pertaining to social services.
Editing/Proofreading
The concrete nature of proofreading and editing an assignment can be appealing to some like myself while others find the process to be less inviting. I regularly read, edit, and grade papers as an adjunct professor so I am current on APA 7 formatting and vernacular relative to the social services.
I can revise a text to ensure it is free of grammatical, syntax, and stylistic errors. Review content, structure, and language, as necessary. Conduct a light review of the research or literature if informative and statistical content is lacking. (Access to assigned databases by your institution is preferred). There is an emphasis on material pertaining to social services, e.g., psychology, social work, mental health counseling, and marriage and family therapy. I have some experience reviewing a doctoral level dissertation and master level thesis.
Crafting Informed Questions
Recently, I have received more calls from interested clients seeking services. The first three items addressed by clients generally pertain to scheduling and availability, location, and form of payment. I understand and appreciate the intention behind asking the practical questions first and “getting them out of the way” before you proceed to the meat & potatoes. However, clients don’t always get to the meat & potatoes!
Questions pertaining to the professional’s areas of specialty and knowledge base help a client in deciding if the provider is properly trained to address your specific needs. The type of degree earned by the provider will offer insight into which theoretical orientations and models they were trained in and endorse. For example, an MD is trained according to the Medical or Disease Model while a Social Worker follows a Family-Systems Approach. The type of population and demographic the provider has experience working with offers insight into not only their mastery of certain information but also their preferred interests or even comfort zones.
I will assist you in creating a detailed and thorough list of what questions to ask as well as what to look out for when selecting the proper professional.
Medication Management
Working with a trusted and trained medical provider is important when addressing psychopharmacological needs. I work with two respected psychiatrists who have a combined 60 years of experience treating a diverse population of clients. They are knowledgeable and comfortable treating depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorders. In addition, they can treat individuals diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, Social Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, and more. Both professionals are located in Westchester County in New York and combined, offer available business hours Monday-Saturday. I am in contact with each to discuss our shared cases so that we may provide the best service for our clients.
Evaluation & Recommendations Only
The first 1-4 sessions consist of the client participating in a psychosocial assessment with the provider. During this process, an evaluation of a client’s background is conducted, consisting of questions pertaining to family of origin, cultural background, religion or spirituality, losses, traumas, relationships with others, relevant childhood experiences, mental health history and more. An initial diagnosis is drawn based on the client’s information and recommendations are made.
I can conduct between 1-4 sessions for the sole purpose of evaluation and recommendation. You should leave this process learning about your diagnosis or co-occurring conditions as well as ways to approach treatment should you elect to pursue treatment with myself or another appropriate provider. This service is brief, explanatory, and clinically focused in nature.
“I underestimated how hard it would be adjusting to working from home and helping my kids, but with Dr. Nikou’s help, I was able to multitask and stay on top of things.”
— Mark, CLIENT
Practice Guidelines for LGBTQ Clients
In 1975, the APA stated, “homosexuality per se implies no impairment in judgment, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational capabilities.” All mental health professionals were encouraged to reduce the stigma of mental illness associated with homosexual orientations upon removal of homosexuality from the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (DSM) (Conger, 1975, p. 633).
I am an advocate for LGBTQ rights and equality, working closely with different clients during all stages of the life cycle. Family work may be incorporated in this treatment process since the support and encouragement of an LGBTQ’s loved ones influences his/her/their recovery.
Working with individuals who identify as non-binary is regarded as a fairly new phenomenon by the mental health community. However, research suggests that people likely began questioning the “gender fit” many decades ago. Federal and local municipalities have focused more closely on creating funding and resources for the non-binary community. Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
My work with clients who identify as non-binary often consists of discussions centering on requested pronoun usage and education on how to approach family, friends, and co-workers surrounding gender orientation. Family work can be beneficial to the client when learning how to confront stigma and bias.
Gender Dysphoria, the distress a person feels due to a mismatch between their gender identity and their sex assigned at birth, affects roughly 1.6 million US adults. Individuals diagnosed with GD often report GD beginning during childhood. Children who are unable to explore their gender identity in safe and healthy environments are at higher risks for mental illness, substance abuse, and suicide (NAMI, 2020).
I coordinate services on behalf of my transgender clients with staff at Mt. Sinai’s Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery. I assist with the necessary documentation needed to proceed with Hormone Replacement Therapy and Gender Reassignment Surgery. Clients must commit to the treatment process for a minimum of 1 year before documentation is supplied.