Services Offered

Dr. Ware provides individual therapy for adolescents, adults, and seniors.  Dr. Liss provides individual therapy for children, adolescents, and adults.  Dr. Ware and Dr. Liss also provide assessment services, which may include personality testing, assessment of cognitive skills, and testing for learning disability or ADD/ADHD.  In addition, they provide various psychological consultation services, including consultation to medical practitioners, speaking engagements, and forensic services.

Dr. Ware has office hours Monday through Thursday, including evening hours.  Dr. Liss has office hours Monday through Friday, including evening hours, and assessment appointments on Saturday mornings.  You may pay for services using cash, check, or credit card (Master Card® or Visa®); all clients pay in full at the time of service.  If you choose to utilize health insurance benefits, the office manager can file the forms for you.  Dr. Ware and Dr. Liss are not "in-network" providers for any insurance companies, but many insurance companies provide "out-of-network" benefits. 

Individual Therapy

Psychotherapy is effective in helping individuals cope with very specific issues or for changing patterns that lead to chronic dissatisfaction with life.  For individuals considering therapy, Ware Wellness Group recommends an initial consultation session.  There is no charge for this initial 45-minute consultation.  This face-to-face meeting will allow Dr. Ware or Dr. Liss to better understand the issues you would like to address during therapy and begin to formulate an appropriate treatment approach.  Dr. Ware or Dr. Liss can answer any questions you may have about the psychologist's professional background and experience with your particular difficulties, provide information about what you can expect from therapy, and discuss fees and scheduling.  During this initial consultation, you should pay attention to the “fit” between you and the psychologist.  Although a first-time meeting with a psychologist can cause some anxiety and discomfort, you should begin to feel some level of comfort during your initial consultation and have a sense that you will be able to open up with the psychologist about your struggles, thoughts, and feelings.  Feel free to ask for the names of other therapists competent in the area of concern, should you wish to interview other therapists.  This initial consultation is not intended to be a therapy session, but an opportunity to share information. 

Courses of individual therapy vary according to the goals of the client.  Some clients are interested in short term work (often cognitive-behavioral or brief insight building therapy) to address a specific issue.  Other clients are interested in exploring more complicated issues, such as difficult childhoods and chronic patterns of maladjustment.  Such issues may require longer term work and involve a psychodynamic approach, which involves delving into pertinent background and relationship issues, as well as exploring conscious and unconscious motivations for remaining in the same behavior patterns. 

At times, an individual wants to form a professional relationship with a therapist but is not interested in ongoing therapy at the time.  This approach is appropriate for individuals who have found therapy helpful in the past, but no longer have access to the original therapist (because of a relocation, for example), or who are currently managing well, but anticipate increased stress or difficulties down the road (for example, if a loved one is chronically ill or another significantly stressful event is anticipated in the future). By meeting with a therapist and establishing a relationship over three to four sessions, the client has a resource to turn to in times of increased difficulty without having to start from scratch in seeking a therapist during a stressful time. 

Dr. Ware or Dr. Liss will discuss these approaches with you during the initial stages of therapy and together you will develop a plan that best suits your needs. 

Psychological Assessment

Psychological assessment can be helpful in many ways, although it is not necessary to undergo formal psychological assessment before beginning therapy.  Personality testing is one type of psychological testing that is particularly helpful when an individual is having difficulty understanding and/or verbalizing what his or her particular difficulties are.  When complaints are vague and rather long term, personality testing can help identify personality traits that can serve you well in addition to uncovering maladaptive patterns or traits that are causing difficulties. 

Cognitive testing is another type of psychological assessment that is helpful for individuals who may have neuropsychological (brain) differences.  These problems can appear as attention/concentration problems, memory problems, learning problems, anger control problems, impulse control problems, etc.  Cognitive testing can be helpful in identifying particular problems and understanding how to treat the problems. 

Testing for learning disabilities and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an area of particular interest for both Dr. Ware and Dr. Liss.  Dr. Ware approaches these evaluations with the benefit of training in both clinical psychology and neuropsychology.  Dr. Liss is experienced in conducting comprehensive psychoeducational batteries in both private school and hospital settings.  This type of testing assists in clarifying a diagnosis, establishing a treatment plan, and facilitating referrals for medication management, if indicated (for example, with ADHD).  Testing for learning disabilities also assists in establishing the need for accommodations in academic environments or standardized testing (such as SAT, LSAT, or GRE exams).  Dr. Ware and Dr. Liss meet the professional qualifications required of academic institutions and standardized testing centers for documentation of the need for accommodations, and they are experienced in conducting these types of evaluations.   

Forensic Services

Forensic services may involve consultation, assessment, and/or treatment of an individual involved in litigation.  Dr. Ware’s background in this field includes deposition experience as well as courtroom testimony. 

Help in Coping with Medical Issues

Dealing with medical problems is stressful for everyone; even the most well balanced individual can become overwhelmed when faced with medical illness. Navigating the healthcare system and following recommended treatments can add heavily to the burden.  Of course, added stress does not promote healing.  In fact, increased stress, anxiety, and depression can further deplete your body’s healing potential.  Finding healthy ways to cope with your medical illness can assist you in managing your stress and feeling more in control of your situation.  Psychologists can help you manage your medical illness by teaching you  specific stress management and relaxation techniques.  Many studies support the efficacy of these techniques in decreasing blood pressure, improving immune system functioning, and lowering levels of stress hormones in the blood.  

Infertility is a medical problem that is receiving attention from the psychological community because of the potential benefits of a mind/body approach to treating infertility.  Recent studies have shown that participation in a mind/body awareness training is associated with higher rates of pregnancy.  Psychological and well-being services for infertility include:

	Individual or couples therapy focusing on fertility issues
	Psychological consultation related to third party assisted reproduction
	Psychological  evaluations

Consultation to Medical Practitioners

Dr. Ware and Dr. Liss provide consultation to medical practitioners in the following areas:

	Fertility issues
	Behavioral medicine (psychological factors affecting a medical condition)
	Presurgical psychological evaluations
	Chronic pain syndromes