Regain Control, Reduce Anxiety, Reclaim Peace

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based form of therapy that is structured, short-term, goal-directed, and problem-focused. It is a collaborative approach in which the client and therapist work together in a supportive and respectful manner to help you reach your goals. This is achieved by the therapist teaching the client how to recognize patterns of behaviour and distorted thoughts, and to learn and practice new ways of thinking about, feeling about, and acting towards different situations and events in a more realistic and balanced way. Treatment is tailored to an individual’s needs, allowing for other types of intervention and techniques to be drawn in as necessary.

Dr. Kaploun specializes in the treatment of anxiety and anxiety-related issues and disorders, including:

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)
• Panic attacks / Panic Disorder
• Specific Phobias
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Sleep issues / insomnia
• Difficulty with worry, stress and coping

Other specialized areas of focus include:

• Prenatal and Postpartum Anxiety (i.e., perinatal anxiety)
• Seniors Mental Health (including aging and life changes, as well as cognitive and emotional decline).

Perinatal anxiety (also sometimes referred to as prenatal or postpartum anxiety) is very common. Although postpartum depression is more commonly talked about, prenatal anxiety is experienced much more commonly than is postpartum depression. While it is natural to be worried about the health and well-being of your baby in both the prenatal and postpartum phase, sometimes anxiety can begin to interfere with daily life and affect your ability to care for yourself or your baby. Although many new or expectant mothers are warned that they will be tired, that the baby will cry, and that seemingly simple tasks such as completing laundry, eating a hot meal, or taking a hot shower will become increasingly difficult, few moms are aware that anxiety may impact sleep (even if the baby is sleeping fine), or result in constant worries about if the baby gets sick or is meeting developmental milestones. Unhealthy social comparison practices (i.e., comparing your baby to those of friends, relatives or other children you may have) also results in increased anxiety, as can unwanted input from others about how you “should” do things with your baby.

Many seniors notice that their daily lives, routines and means of interacting with others begin to change over time (or all of a sudden) but they are uncertain about how to begin reversing those changes. Just as often, it is a family member reaching out due to concern for a parent’s cognitive or emotional well-being.

The most common things that may be noticed include:

• Changes to memory (repeating things, forgetting things)
• Reduced attention or concentration
• Loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyed activities
• Less interest in going out into the community and engaging with others socially (i.e., seeming more withdrawn, quiet or depressed)
• Loss of inhibition or changes to personality
• Increased anxiety or agitation (including OCD-like symptoms)

Such changes often lead to questions about what is normal aging, and whether there are mental health issues (e.g., anxiety or depression) at play.

Changes to mental health in seniors can also arise from major life changes that come with advancing age, such as:

• the loss of a partner, family or friends
• issues related to retirement
• loss of independence, or moving into residential living
• changes to physical functioning and mobility.