GETTING STARTED

Initial Appointment

During your initial two hour meeting and several meetings following, Dr. Kleiber will gather a lot of information about you including your goals for treatment, current symptoms and struggles you are experiencing, as well as how you presently cope with difficulties.  The first several sessions focus on getting a clear understanding of your current difficulties and reasons for treatment in order to determine the most appropriate approach to take and whether Dr. Kleiber has the expertise to help you.  Generally, the first several sessions are focused on assessment, deciding on a treatment strategy, discussing the specifics of that approach, and collaboratively developing a treatment plan and agreement.  Dr. Kleiber will also spend some time giving you more information regarding the services she can provide to make sure that you can make an informed choice about treatment.

Another main goal of these initial sessions is to determine if Dr. Kleiber is the right fit for you.  It is of utmost importance that you feel that your provider, whomever they are, and the treatment(s) she will provide, are a good fit.  If you do not feel that Dr. Kleiber or the treatment(s) she recommends are not a good fit, no matter how hard she tries, treatment will not work.  Dr. Kleiber strives to provide a warm, compassionate, nonjudgmental environment for you to feel comfortable to meet your goals.  During these first meetings, you'll get a sense of Dr. Kleiber and her work and style, just as much as she will be getting to know you.  If Dr. Kleiber or the therapeutic modality she recommends do not feel like a good fit for you, please do not hesitate to let her know, and she will assist you in finding a provider who feels like a good fit.

Later Sessions

Given that positive change is most likely to occur when there is consistent follow-up, typically Dr. Kleiber meets with clients weekly until the situation or reason for seeking treatment has noticeably improved. Once clients have achieved significant progress, we may collaboratively decide to taper the frequency of sessions (every other week, once per month, or less) or end treatment. We will work together to figure out what the best follow-up plan is for you.

Throughout treatment, Dr. Kleiber will coordinate, with your consent, with other providers involved in your care, which may include a psychiatrist, registered dietitian, primary care physician, and/or other medical specialists. Dr. Kleiber is happy to work with your current treatment providers or can provide referrals if you are looking for a psychiatrist or other provider.

Evidence Based Treatment and Considerations for Treatment

At CBH, the focus is on interventions that are evidence-based, meaning that there is research showing that they work for specific problems (for example, dialectical behavior therapy for individuals with borderline personality or those engaging in suicidal or self harming behaviors).  In addition to the focus on evidence based care, Dr. Kleiber also collaborates with her clients to develop a treatment plan that integrates these effective techniques with one's specific goals and wishes. It is very important that provider and client are on the same page around treatment, as goals are most likely achieved when provider and client are working together.  

It is important to keep in mind that therapy can and will likely involve experiencing uncomfortable emotions like sadness, anger, or anxiety.  Therapy can often involve talking about unpleasant aspects of a person’s history and behavior, as well as trying out new behaviors that may be anxiety provoking, at least at first.  Dr. Kleiber takes care to prepare each client for treatment by fully describing each treatment and strategy before it is implemented and making sure the client feels ready to take on the next stage of care.  While evidence based treatments have been shown to have a multitude of benefits, such as a significant reduction in depression and anxiety over time, improved relationships and ability to regulate emotions, and increased ability to manage crises, there are no guarantees, and improvement is largely based on the effort each client puts into his or her treatment.