Hello, I am
Dr. Sandra Klos
I am a behavioral psychologist, first and foremost. My focus of treatment is on what you identify as something you want to change. I provide the knowledge and guidance to start where you are and find strategies that will move you in the direction you want to go.
My Approach
BEHAVIORS
THOUGHTS
SOLUTIONS
What is Behavioral Therapy?
Behavior therapy draws from the laws of learning to understand how a less desirable behavior was learned, and how to change the learning environment so that a more desirable behavior takes its place. Behavior always occurs in a context, it is never bad in itself. The context can influence the behavior to be more likely to occur or less likely to occur. People come to therapy looking for change. I work to help them find the change they want, efficiently.
How is Cognitive Therapy different from Behavior Therapy?
It's not. Thoughts are mental behaviors. They respond to the same laws of learning that outward behaviors do. But habits of thought can affect emotions, self-confidence, anxiety, depression, social relationships and most aspects of our daily lives. Sorting out healthy thoughts from limiting ones, discovering the source of those limiting thoughts, and finding ways to change those thoughts lead to therapeutic progress.
Comprehensive Psychoeducational Evaluations
Not here. There are other places to go for those comprehensive evaluations. Whatever the diagnosis, parents and children, and adults in therapy, need to manage the behaviors that arise that may be related to a specific diagnosis. A label is not a solution to a behavior problem. Mastery is always the answer, learning something new that both works and feels like a success.
How are parents involved?
I work with a treatment model that involves both parents and children. Your child might have a behavior problem due to a learning difficulty, a personality characteristic or a response to an upsetting experience. I assess the problem and its impact, developing treatment strategies, practice of new techniques, and ongoing assessment of progress and success of strategies. This leads to a happier outcome for all concerned.
Behavior Therapy with Adults
The principles of learning apply to adults who want to change either their behavior or the way that they are coping with the stresses of life. Most of my experience in treating adults has been based on behavioral treatment of anxiety. I worked with adults with anxiety disorders and agoraphobia with the Agoraphobia and Anxiety Treatment Center in Bala Cynwyd for five years. Clients can learn to control their body's response to stressors, learn the roots of their anxiety, and develop different behavioral (and cognitive) responses to stressors.
What is EMDR?
EMDR is a technique that I am certified in that helps with rapid desensitization of traumatic memories and anxiety triggers. In addition to reducing the anxiety response, it also allows healthy reprocessing of past events and triggers, and that reprocessing remains attached to the memories, it doesn't fade with time. It is an enormously helpful procedure that can significantly reduce the time a client remains in treatment.