Philosophy of Care

At RIVIA, we believe in holistic treatment.  That means that we regard each individual as an integrated whole, not only with unique troubles, but also with unique strengths, goals, and needs.  We hold five tenets in our approach to each client:

 

1. Everyone can make progress and improve.

   Many people worry that their symptoms are permanent, or that change is very unlikely.  Although we can understand why you might feel that way sometimes, we reject the idea that people are stuck in a fixed state.  No matter what your specific symptoms or troubles, we believe that there is room for substantial improvement and progress.  Our confidence comes with experience.  We have seen our patients and clients transform over time. 

2. A proper assessment is critical to good treatment.

   We must understand your problems and symptoms before we know how to work on them.  That is why we dedicate time over several sessions to getting to know you in depth.  We want to ensure that we make an accurate diagnosis and assessment, so that we can recommend a proper treatment plan. 

3. The right treatment considers biology, psychology, and individual circumstances.

   Part of being holistic is understanding every person on multiple levels. So we work hard to understand you, your symptoms and troubles in terms of your biology, unique psychology and emotional life, as well as your life circumstances.  This means that your treatment will be tailored to you and will be determined cooperatively with your clinician. 

4. Psychotherapy is an important piece of most people’s care and journeys.

   Many studies show the value and strength of psychotherapy in the healing process.  Psychotherapy comes in several varieties - supportive, cognitive-behavioral, humanistic, psychodynamic, interpersonal, and many others.  Together these psychotherapies are helpful with depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, trauma, attention deficit disorder, relationship and work troubles, and many other symptoms and conditions.  We strongly encourage the use of psychotherapy for most of our clients, and we proudly offer psychotherapy as an integral part of your treatment experience. 

5. Medications and other biological treatments are sometimes necessary.

   While psychotherapy can be life changing, sometimes it is not enough to get us to our treatment goals.  In those situations, we advocate for the judicious and careful use of biological treatments, including medications or other supplements.  But we would never push for you to take something you don’t need. You can rely on the skills and experiences of our clinician to discuss the pros and cons and side effects of any medication or supplements before you begin.

 

The process of change is a journey and it is most effective when it is a collaborative effort between you and your clinician.  Your clinician’s job is to help you determine the right course of treatment, be attentive and knowledgeable, and prescribe medications when needed.  Your role is to be open and honest, and strive to work on understanding yourself and on making life choices and changes along the way.