DF Psychological Services

DFPsych is made up of a small but highly skilled team of Psychologists, Therapists and Psychology Interns. We provide highly specified psychological treatment within Toronto and the surrounding areas.DF Psychological Services is owned and operated by a licensed psychologist who provides counseling, consultations and assessments.We operate both on a referral basis from health care institutions and through self-referrals.

Insomnia, characterized by persistent difficulty to fall asleep or staying asleep, is a symptom that almost everyone in the world has suffered through at one point or another whether it is the occasional night of tossing and turning or years upon years of sleeplessness.Those who experience chronic insomnia that occurs nightly for a minimum of one month are considered to have a sleep disorder. Recognizing not only that chronic insomnia is a major health problem with significant psychological, health, and economic consequences but also that cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective treatment for chronic insomnia, researchers at University of Virginia Health System have devised an online program that offers cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to patients with chronic insomnia. The online program (internet intervention) is based on CBT that incorporates stimulus control, sleep hygiene, cognitive restructuring, and relapse prevention.To test this online CBT program, the group of researchers led by Dr. Lee M. Ritterband recruited 44 participants who had a history of sleep difficulties longer than 10 years on average and randomly assigned them to either the control group or the internet intervention group.The result? The Internet intervention group showed significant improvements on the Insomnia Severity Index, decreases in waking up during sleep, and increases in sleep efficiency compared to the control group. Moreover, the group that received online-CBT maintained their improvements 6 months post-treatment which is good news for those of us sick of counting sheep.Source:Toronto Psychologist link

Toronto Psychologist Donna Ferguson has used strength-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address gambling addictions in the past.Other psychologists in Toronto use other methods such as psychoanalysis to get to the root of the problem, or perhaps even prescribe drugs to treat impulsiveness.CBT attempts to get to the logical foundation of the behavioral pattern, to assess the motivations and compulsions that drive one to gamble in the first place. Through thorough analysis, it is possible to identify the core, intrinsic mental patterns that lead to problem gambling and isolate them so that they can be addressed specifically.To find out more about how Donna Ferguson can treat this dangerous addiction, please visit: Toronto psychologist link.

At DFPsych we primarily utilize a Cognitive Behavioural (CBT) model. CBT can help you to change what you do, or your behavior, and how you think, or cognitive process. With positive reinforcement, you can grow to enjoy greater well-being and a healthier outlook on life. Unlike some other treatments, CBT focuses on immediate problems and chalenges. Causes of your distress or symptoms in the past take a backseat as we look for ways to improve your state of mind HERE and NOW.
CBT can help you to make sense of overwhelming problems by breaking them down into smaller parts. When laid out in a logical way, it becomes easier to see how issues are connected and how they affect you.At DFpsych we use CBT to treat the following:Post-traumatic StressAnxiety Disorders (Social Anxiety, Panic Disorders, and General Anxiety Disorders)Social-skills TrainingDepressionAnger ManagementSelf-esteemSubstance Use and Gambling AddictionsPsychological Testing and AssessmentsStress ManagementWSIB including: Return-to-Work Planning, Mid-life Crisis, File Reviews,Couples and Families such as: Martial Discomfort, Assessments, Trust Issues, Grief.For more information about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, click this link: Toronto psychologist link.

One of the hardest addictions to kick is smoking.It is also one of the biggest killers out there.At DFpsych, we use a CBT method to help patients wean themselves off cigarettes by identifying the immediate here and now reasons that you smoke. By breaking down the components of desire, it is possible to isolate individual triggers that cause you to light up.With our help, we can help you to quit smoking once and for all, without gums, patches, drugs, acupuncture or hypnosis. Psychotherapy has a lasting effect, and it is a completely natural and effective way to stop addictive behavior once and for all.For more information on how you can quit smoking with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, click here: Toronto psychologist link.

The concept of psychology is a relatively new one in regards to the traditional sciences, such as chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics. It took until the acute observations of Sigmund Freud at the turn of this century to broach the subject of the study of the mind as a scientific endevaour. However, much controversy and skepticism followed his theories of pschoanalysis, which were largely self-reflective observations.It wasn’t until social scientists such as Skinner and Watson brought measureable social psychology into the mainstream that psychology was accepted as a science.Today, the concepts punctuated through the initial theories of psychological assessment still hold true today. Cognitive Behavioral Theory, in particular owes its roots to the early scientific work of such studies.Today, psychology is regarded as a proper science.

If you have ever wondered if every human is completely different, you are only partially right. The way our brains our wired, much like how our bodies function, is very similar. So similar in fact, that you can observe replicable behavior in people based on environmental situations. This proves that humans are affected by mental stimuli in a consistent, and measureable way.This makes it possible for us to address cognitive problems in a logical, step-by-step way.One of the most famous studies was one where they measured the time it took to match two objects. As they moved the second object a few degrees, there was a consistent relationship between the number of degrees moved and the time it took to match. It formed a perfect bell curve. And this curve, is consistent across all humans.

Phobias are intense, irrational fears brought about by a stimulus.There are hundreds of phobias, and they are often characterized by an unreasonable fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder.Here are a list of some of the more common fears:1. Arachnophobia:The fear of spiders.This phobia tends to affect women more than men.2. Ophidiophobia:The fear of snakes.Often attributed to evolutionary causes, personal experiences, or cultural influences.3. Acrophobia:The fear of heights.This fear can lead to anxiety attacks and avoidance of high places.4. Agoraphobia:The fear of situations in which escape is difficult.This may include crowded areas, open spaces, or situations that are likely to trigger a panic attack. People will begin avoiding these trigger events, sometimes to the point that they cease leaving their home. Approximately one third of people with panic disorder develop agoraphobia.5. Cynophobia:The fear of dogs.This phobia is often associated with specific personal experiences, such as being bitten by a dog during childhood.6. Astraphobia:The fear of thunder and lightening.Also known as Brontophobia, Tonitrophobia, or Ceraunophobia.7. Trypanophobia:The fear of injections.Like many phobias, this fear often goes untreated because people avoid the triggering object and situation.8. Social Phobias:The fear of social situations.In many cases, these phobias can become so severe that people avoid events, places, and people that are likely to trigger an anxiety attack.9. Pteromerhanophobia:The fear of flying.Often treated using exposure therapy, in which the client is gradually and progressively introduced to flying.10. Mysophobia:The fear of germs or dirt.May be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder.There are many ways to treat phobia, however at DFPsych we prefer to use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to break down the source of the fear, examine it, and treat it without drugs or hypnosis.To find more about how we can treat your phobia, contact us today:Toronto Psychologist link.

The human mind works in a consistent way. Mapping the mind inCognitive Behavioral Therapy is a lot like mapping a computer. One reaction leads to another, and one neural pathway triggers the next. It is like a giant, electronic circuit board.Scientists first found similarities between computers and the human mind when they mapped reaction times between words. They would ask subjects to press a buzzer when similar words were shown, and then measure the time interval between words to show the complexity of the neural pathway the thought process had to take.For instance, by showing a word such as Animal and then Dog, and measuring the time it takes for people to react, we have a control. Next, they would show a world like Animal, and then Mammal, and wait for the reaction. By testing Mammal and then Dog, and then Animal and then Bird, and finally Mammal and then Bird, it is possible to identify the route that information travels along the brain, in terms of delays in timing.In this way, psychologists have been able to determine that thoughts and emotions move along neural pathways much like electricity. And in the same way you can mend a damaged circuit, it is possible to mend a psychological block, such as depression, addiction or insomnia.To talk to us more about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, click here:Toronto Psychologist link.

Everyone gets blue once in a while, but depression disorder is when the feeling quite simply won’t go away.Depression is often characterized by a loss of pleasure, a decrease or increase in appetite, loss of interest in sex, a persistently anxious or unhappy mood, social withdrawal, low energy and more.Depression is sometimes treated with psychoactive drugs. We prefer to help depression with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. We strive to isolate the emotional response and triggers and help the patient through a step-by-step logical progression, where we identify emotional barriers and address them specifically.With strength-based training, we believe it is possible to have long-lasting, positive results on patients.To talk to someone at DFPsych click here.