In recent years, psychiatry has become a specialty of prescribing psychiatric drugs. Medication treatment can be quite helpful sometimes, but in many cases drug therapy is not enough. Dr. Cohen says, "Medications never helped a person learn how to communicate better, how to improve relationships, how to deal with difficult situations, or how to grow one's self-esteem. There are many people with anxiety or depressive disorders, or stress reactions, who can benefit greatly with talk therapy." Indeed, studies have repeatedly proven that in the majority of cases, psychotherapy and medication are superior to either alone.

Thirty years ago, most psychiatrists were psychotherapists. Dr. Cohen was a resident in psychiatry at UCSD then, and he received intensive training in psychotherapy. Dr. Cohen rejected the formal, Freudian style that was taught then, and instead Dr. Cohen adopted an informal, friendly approach in which he and the client formed a team that worked together to accomplish their goals. As an analogy, soccer or baseball players work with coaches to improve their game awareness, field perception, playing skills, game strategies, and self-confidence. In a similar way, Dr. Cohen work with clients to improve life skills, relationships, and methods of communication, to master challenges at work and at home, and increase self-awareness and self-esteem. Self-esteem doesn't improve by itself. It improves with growth. Growth usually occurs in small steps, but with each step, confidence and self-esteem mount.

Psychotherapy often includes methods that allow you to increase awareness or to enable other choices of thought, feeling or action, and to better manage subjective discomfort or distress. We will examine you cognitions (thoughts), emotions and behavior. We will ask, where did this thought or emotion come from? Is the thought or emotion or behavior congruent with how you want to think, feel, or act? Does it fit will the way you would like to think, feel, or act today?

We will look at people and situations in your life. What are your feelings toward each of these? How do you feel around these people or in these situations? For people or situations that are unpleasant, we will consider the many ways you might change this. People often get stuck with toxic people or unpleasant situations because they do not know how to change things. You may get stuck between guilt and anger, fear or self doubt. You may be uncomfortable with taking charge of your world or with the risk of making someone feel angry or sad. Therapy can help you see that you have choices and that you can help you learn how to select among them.

Difficult situations are dealt with as you are able to do so effectively. In fact, most people derive great satisfaction from having finally handled vexing problems.

My methods in psychotherapy include learning theory, cognitive theory, insight-oriented therapy, behavioral theory, signature strengths, and problem solving techniques. I individualize treatment for each person. My overall goal for every patient is to achieve growth, awareness, control, accomplishment, confidence, and self-fulfillment. The great majority of my patients achieve their goals, with each moving in therapy at his/her's own speed.

Dr. Cohen's psychotherapy methods include learning theory, cognitive theory, insight-oriented therapy, behavioral theory, signature strengths, problem solving, and positive psychology. I individualize treatment for each person. My overall goal for every patient is to achieve growth, awareness, control, accomplishment, confidence, and self-fulfillment. The great majority of my patients achieve their goals, with each moving in therapy at his/her own pace.

At its roots, psychotherapy is a learning process. Anybody can learn: it just takes attention, persistence, and good guidance. Good psychotherapy is a journey of growth and achievement. The goal is to reach a point where you can feel your inner strength and know that you can deal effectively in the world.

Frequency of psychotherapy sessions: Many people think of psychotherapy as something people do once a week for many years. Although some people see Dr. Cohen weekly, others come in twice a month, once a month, or whenever they feel they want his assistance. Some people are seen long-term, but others come in for a few visits for crisis intervention or to focus on a single issue.

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