How To Reduce Stress With the Help of an Illinois Psychologist

An Illinois Psychologist generally provides two basic services, psychotherapy and psychological and neuropsychological testing. While some doctors of clinical psychology only provide these two services, other psychologists have the distinction of being a prescribing psychologist. The prescribing psychologist provides psychotherapy as well as prescribes medications that can alleviate stress.

Illinois Psychologists Provide Expert Analysis
of Your Stress

The Illinois Psychologist will evaluate your stress levels, the reasons for your stress, as well as the consequences of your stress. Our doctors will meet with you for an initial consultation that usually lasts an hour. They will provide psychotherapy treatment that may include exploring the reasons for your stress and ways to reduce the stress. Some of the techniques may include strategies such as deep breathing, relaxation, and mindfulness.

 Your doctor may also have you complete various questionnaires that will help
you identify the sources of your stress and the most appropriate strategies you can use to help decrease it.

How Does Psychologist Recognize Stress ?

The Illinois Psychologist will provide a therapeutic environment and therapeutic conversation that is different from interactions that you have with friends and/or family members. The psychologist is highly trained to recognize whether your stress is related to a life situation such as problems with a child that has difficulties in school, problems with a teenager who is abandoned by friends, divorce, buying a new house, financial problems, sibling rivalry, losing a parent, flying on a plane, or driving a car.

The Illinois Psychologist will evaluate if your stress is related to learned behaviors from your childhood stress inducing responses learned from those events. You will learn how to recognize similar situations from your childhood that happen now that can trigger your stress.

How Stress is Treated Beyond Providing Psychotherapy

The Illinois Psychologist that is also a  prescribing psychologist, may provide psychotherapy and medication management. Dr. Wegierek can provide both under one roof. During the first session, she will complete an initial assessment and make recommendations of a treatment plan.

This initial assessment will include gathering information such as mental health history that includes a history of psychiatric hospitalizations as well as other outpatient treatments you may have had in the past. It also includes a history of previously prescribed medications. She also will gather physical and family mental health history.

Part of the initial assessment includes a Mini Mental Status Examination to evaluate the patient’s current circumstances. Dr. Wegierek can prescribe mental health medication and will review any medical documents that you are able to provide. She may review your recent lab results and may order lab tests while assessing all aspects of your current medical condition.

At the end of the first visit, she will review your mental health diagnosis which may include stress related issues. Your diagnostic criteria will lead to recommendations about possible medications that should help you to relieve stress.

At the beginning of the treatment, Dr. Wegierek may prescribe mental health medication. She will  propose to see you on a weekly basis to monitor you and the medication management. When you become stable, the visits may be less frequent.

What are the Differences Between Stress and Anxiety?

Often stress relates to a given situation that results in increased blood pressure, sweating, the need to move, an inability to relax, pacing, anger, etc. Anxiety, on the other hand, may relate to a stressful situation, such as problems at work, but it also may occur without any reasons.

Often, people who experience anxiety cannot pinpoint reasons for it. As mentioned above, stress relates to a given situation and anxiety may relate to a body reacting to something that is not readily explained.

For instance, a person may experience anxiety by witnessing an argument. This argument may not pertain to this person, but may awaken an unconscious recall of a single situation in the past that resulted in current stress. Often times, people are unaware of reasons for anxiety as they are hidden deep in their psychic. 

The Illinois Psychologist Who Prescribes Medications Has More to Offer.

In general, the recommendations to use medication for stress is secondary to psychotherapy. But sometimes, some people do not know why they feel anxious. By taking medication, the patient may be able to calm down and then be ready to attend psychotherapy during which he or she will learn the reasons for their anxiety and therefore be ready to work on decreasing stress with the above discussed treatment modalities.

We hope that you will decide to treat your stress or anxiety by making an appointment at our clinic. Call or text us at 708-710-8819 or write us an email to contact@wegierekpsychology.com.