Linda Arbiter, MA, MFT - Building healthy relationships one day at a time!
Sherman Oaks Counseling Center

(818) 754-4754

"You promised you were not using anymore!"
  
"I came home early he was 
 on the Internet looking at porn...again!"
  
"My kid just won't listen! He won't come out of his room, he stays awake all night and sleeps all day!
He doesn't have any friends."
  
We argue all the time...I'm always angry...
I was so afraid...I thought he was going to hit me!"
   
"We found her face down in the bathroom...dead"
 
"How can we make this divorce easy on the kids?"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
Certified in the treatment of:
  • Addictions
  • Domestic Violence
  • Trauma
  • Critical Incident Stress Managment
Special emphasis:
  • Parenting Issues
  • Children with ADHD, anxiety issues and/or trauma
  • Adolescent Development
  • Issues of Divorce
Groups:
  • Caught in the Middle:  Children of Divorce
  • Healing from Addiction || Acupuncture and Guided Imagery     to reduce cravings and eliminate triggers
 
Treating Addiction
Treatment.Addiction is a treatable disease. Current treatment strategies help people stop abusing drugs and resume productive lives. Like diabetes and other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully.  One goal of therapy and treatment is to modify the addict's attitude and behaviors related to drug abuse and to increase their life skills to handle stressful circumstances and environmental cues that may trigger intense craving for drugs and prompt another cycle of compulsive abuse. Relapse.The chronic nature of the disease of addiction means that relapsing to drug abuse is quite probable,  with relapse rates similar to those for other chronic medical illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma (which also have both physiological and behavioral components).  Treatment of chronic diseases involves changing deeply embedded behaviors, and relapse does not mean treatment failure. For the addicted patient,lapses back to drug abuse indicate that treatment needs to be reinstated or adjusted, or that alternate treatment is needed.Research shows that combining medical management with behavioral therapy is the beltway to ensure success for most patients. Treatment approaches are most successful when tailored to address each patient’s drug abuse patterns and drug-related medical, psychiatric, and social problems.
 
 
 
Children and Adolescents
Substance Abuse.Working with the children and adolescents in addicted families usually involves re-establishing parental authority in the family unit,  reinforcing  boundaries, building sibling bonds, regaining trust, healing trauma and building self esteem.
 
Additionally, I enjoy working with children to overcome symptoms of ADHD, depression, anxiety, fear and panic attacks.
 
CouplesTherapy
I find it exciting to help  clients develop emotional intimacy and learn more about how they and their partner thinks, feels and reacts. This often involves exploring early childhood events, family of origin parenting styles and learning new communication strategies.  I have had the pleasure of watching couples move to new levels of intimacy, trust and compassion.
 
Family Therapy
Addiction is a family disease in which each family member plays a role: enabler, family hero, family mascot, clown and/or the lost child.  The addict/alcoholic becomes the "identified patient" in what is usually a fascinating and dysfunctional family drama.
 
 
 
 
 
818 754-4754
 
Sherman Oaks Counseling provides psychotherapy/counseling services -- focused on
addiction treatment, parenting difficulties, anger managment strategies, adolescent development issues, victim's of crime and trauma
marriage/divorce/reconciliation counseling
 to
Encino, Sherman Oaks and Studio City areas
 
Sherman Oaks Marriage Counseling  |  Studio City Marriage Counseling  |  Encino Marriage Counseling  |  Los Angeles Marriage Counseling  |  Porter Ranch California Marriage Counseling  |  Rancho Park California Marriage Counseling  |  Santa Monica California Marriage Counseling  |  Simi Valley California Marriage Counseling  |  Thousand Oaks California Marriage Counseling  |  West Hills California Marriage Counseling  |  West Hollywood California Marriage Counseling  |  West La California Marriage Counseling  |  West Lake Village California Marriage Counseling  |  West Los Angeles California Marriage Counseling  |