At Stuart J. Nathan, Ph.D., and Associates we are an experienced group of clinicians able to address a wide range of psychological issues. We view ourselves as generalists who have specific areas of expertise. Our combined years of experience addressing psychological issues from mild to severe allow us the ability to match you with a therapist who can best meet your needs. We are also closely aligned with a number of psychiatrists, primary care physicians and specialists in bariatric, infertility, and pain medicine.
As an established practice, we have been delivering psychological services in the West Houston area for many years. Patients are seen at our office and hospital settings, where we provide clinical and consulting psychological services with individuals and families. Special focus areas include: depression, anxiety, weight loss, grief, infertility, relationships, memory loss, chronic pain, addiction psychological and neuropsychological testing, primary treatment and in-patient consultation. In these treatment settings the practice has served a wide range of populations, problems and disorders.
RELATIONSHIPS
Throughout our lives we experience any number of relationships with family, friends, partners, and colleagues and co-workers. At their most relevant, relationships can bring some of the greatest joys of our lives and foster some of our most significant achievements as well as present some of the greatest challenges or hurts.
Dr. Nathan and Associates enjoy working with couples and single persons who may be having relationship difficulties.
DEPRESSION
It’s normal to feel “blue” on occasion or experience sadness in response to loss or a challenging situation in life. For most people these feelings of grief or sadness decrease with time and cause limited interruption in daily functioning.
When feelings of sadness last longer than two weeks or are pervasive and interfere with daily living than it may mean that someone is experiencing something more than a normal “down” in life. The good news is that depression is treatable.
ANXIETY
Anxiety is a normal and necessary, even adaptive emotion and reaction to a perceived danger. Anxiety serves to warn us of a need to take action, and tells us when we need to prepare for an event or get out of harm’s way. Some degree of anxiety can even help us achieve our goals and perform at our best.
Anxiety disorders are generally characterized by feelings of tension, worry, intrusive thoughts and physical symptoms, like increased blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, trembling, and dizziness. When anxiety becomes excessive and disruptive, our therapists can help.
GRIEF & LOSS
At its most simple, grief is an emotional reaction to a significant loss whether it be a person, a pet, or valued quality of life such as work, health, or ability.
As loss in life is inevitable, so is grief. Grief is often painful, sometimes intensely so, yet many individuals cope effectively with their grief. Some call upon their faith or loved ones and allow themselves adequate space and time to take care of themselves.
INFERTILITY
A couple’s struggle with infertility can affect all aspects of their lives. It is critical to develop coping strategies to ensure that a couple’s relationship remains intact, and each partner continues to maintain a positive sense of themselves.
A couple’s journey during treatments for infertility can be all encompassing and result in a sense of grief and loss which can be devastating. Determine if psychology services may be appropriate for you if you struggle with infertility.
WEIGHT LOSS
Most of us understand how to lose weight, but many of us have been unsuccessful with our pursuit to maintain weight loss, and keep ourselves in a healthy weight range. Messages about food surround us, and often tempt us to make decision against our goal of “eating right and staying healthy”.
Many factors contribute to weight, which go beyond what we eat and how much we exercise. Psychology services often service as a method of coaching towards your goals, and changing your health behaviors.
MEMORY LOSS EVALUATIONS
All of us will experience a change in memory and thought processing as we age. Some of us will experience additional changes in decision making, memory, processing speed and orientation which are not associated with the aging process.
The question is often: “Am I having a “senior moment” or do I have Dementia?”
CHRONIC ILLNESS
Being diagnosed with a medical condition can lead to emotional distress, including symptoms of depression and anxiety about the future. Learning to cope not only with the diagnosis, but changes in your lifestyle is critical to maintaining quality of life during a difficult time.
Learn more about the role of psychology within the medical community, and how psychotherapy can be incremental to maximizing your health, despite a chronic medical condition.
SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS
Addiction is a compulsive dependence on a substance such as drugs or alcohol or on a behavior such as gambling, sex, shopping, or eating. Our team of seasoned therapists can assess problematic or compulsive behaviors, provide outpatient treatment for substance abuse or severe compulsions and make referrals for in-patient treatment facilities when appropriate.
We can also help individuals working on a maintenance program and provide support to family members and other loved ones, integrating them into treatment.
