Liz Gruber, Ph.D.
Licensed Psychologist
Interested in therapy?
Email or call to schedule your FREE 30 minute phone consultation!
My contact information is listed at the bottom this page.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Eating Disorders
Eating disorder recovery can be a long journey and I am here to help! It has been reported that 30 million Americans will struggle with an eating disorder in their lifetime, however, this number is likely higher because it’s primarily determined by the number of people reporting these issues and seeking help. Eating disorders are not exclusionary and impact individuals across gender, sex, skin color, ethnicity, body size, ability, age and attraction.
Eating disorders are complex and can have both severe mental health and medical consequences. As a treatment team is essential in eating disorder recovery, I regularly refer to and collaborate with other health professionals (e.g. dieticians and physicians) to provide comprehensive care. The services I provide are modified to best meet client’s needs, experiences, and where they are at in recovery.
Anorexia Nerovsa
Bulimia Nervosa
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
Other Specified Feeding & Eating Disorders
Orthorexia
Medical Conditions & Pain
Being newly diagnosed with a chronic illness or experiencing a life-altering injury can trigger reactions ranging from anger, anxiety, grief, sadness, and denial. Perhaps it’s beginning to take a toll on your friendships or relationships with your partner or children. Therapy can help you cope with the different emotional reactions to your chronic condition. Learning to understand and manage its effects can help improve quality of life.
You may also be someone that has lived with a diagnosis for a while and are seeking help for other reasons. I understand that there is much more to you than your medical condition and perhaps you’re tired of other people only focusing on it!
Chronic health conditions frequently involve pain. Fifty million Americans suffer from pain and treatment resistant pain. Living with chronic pain is challenging and can severely impact one’s quality of life. It takes an economic toll due to individuals seeking one unsuccessful treatment after another. In fact, hundreds of billions of dollars are spent annually in the U.S. on chronic pain. It seems chronic pain can be a pain for your wallet!
Psychological interventions can offer more relief over prescriptions and medical procedures but are used at much lower rates even without side effect risk. There tends to be a primary focus on “fixing” specific body areas, which neglects another important component - the mind. I’m not against other health professionals. If anything, it is important to have a medical team with different specialties to provide holistic and collaborative care. I use evidence-based interventions to focus on you as a whole rather than one injured part of the body. Being able to live a life without being ruled by pain is possible.
Trauma & PTSD
Many people will experience some form of trauma in their life such as a natural disaster, an accident, loss of a loved one, witnessing violence, experiencing neglect or a criminal act, etc. Some may recover rather quickly while for others, it can take years. In some cases, recovery might not start until years after the traumatic event. Trauma can cause severe disruption to one’s social, physical and emotional functioning. This can manifest as nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance of places that trigger distressing memories, dizziness, sweating, irritability, fear, depression, pain and more.
I’ve worked with individuals across the lifespan who have endured trauma. It is common for trauma survivors to be hesitant to talk about their experiences even when they seek therapy. I work with folks where they are at and know it takes tremendous courage to initiate help. Trauma focused therapy is a key component to healing. It includes multiple modalities that ultimately help reduce the frequency and intensity of distressing memories, learn coping strategies when experiencing distressing sensations, move trauma from being stuck in the body, and improve emotion regulation. This helps individuals make meaning of their experience without trauma dictating their life, communicate more effectively, and develop meaningful relationships.