Clinical Services

1. Outpatient Addiction & Concurrent Disorders

i. Addiction is a chronic and relapsing brain disease influenced by biological, psychological and social factors. Many people struggle with addiction in their lives. Most find it hard to start seeking help, while others experience challenges in maintaining their recovery. Despite these difficulties, many people triumph over their addiction with the right combination of interventions and support.

ii. In Gray Matters Psychological Center, we offer positive and individualized approaches that help people recover from addictive behaviors and lead productive lives. Our Recovery-Oriented Services* include:

• Screening and Assessment – Identifies clients who are at risk of suffering from the hazardous consequences of addictive behaviors.

• Brief intervention and Referral – Based on the screening and assessment, the client receives feedback from the psychologist. Treatment options for addressing addictive behaviors are discussed.

• Individualized Outpatient Treatment – Intensive sessions are provided to jump-start the recovery process by identifying triggers, craving experiencing while developing coping mechanisms to manage relapses.

• Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention – Combines cognitive-behavioral relapse prevention and mindfulness practice in helping individuals maintain recovery after undergoing primary outpatient or inpatient treatment for addiction.

• Progressive Outpatient Aftercare Program – Aims to supplement primary interventions by helping the individual deal with challenges in daily life after treatment while balancing the needs for recovery.

• Consultation and Psychoeducation for Families – Aims to help family members understand the nature of addiction disorders, process family issues, and deal with the challenges of recovery.

iii. Gray Matters Psychological Center believes in the capacity of the individual to change and become better. Our services promote the message of hope, compassion and resilience – all necessary elements in promoting the person’s recovery from addictions.

iv. * These services will be led by an International Certified Addiction Professional (ICAP), recognized by the International Center for Credentialing and Education for Addiction Professionals (ICCE) of the Colombo Plan Secretariat, a multinational collective promoting addiction treatment, research, training and policy development.

2. Clinical Assessment & Management of Pathological Gambling

i. Gambling is an activity wherein money or something of value are risked on events that have an element of chance. It involves a person putting up something of value like money. The outcome is in some way beyond the person’s control and once the bet is made, it is irreversible.

ii. Gambling per se in not the problem. It is when a person becomes addicted to it. Gambling addiction—also known as pathological gambling, compulsive gambling or gambling disorder—is an impulse-control disorder. Our treatment program offers specialized services for individuals whose gambling is problematic and has led to difficulties in other parts of their lives including relationships with family or friends, school performance, finances, and work.

iii. The service offers treatment to both individuals and their families specific to gambling use. The program uses a Pathways Model of Problem and Pathological Gambling (Blaszczynski & Nower, 2002), which integrates biological, psychological and ecological variables that contribute to the development of a gambling disorder.

iv. Treatment begins with an individual assessment using screening tools where a psychologist will get to know the individual’s specific problems around gambling and how they impact the individual and his/her family. These may include co-occurring mental health or addiction issues or other psycho-social needs. To overcome the gambling problems, these issues or concerns need to be addressed along with any other underlying causes. With this individualized assessment, treatment planning will be done to determine what problems need to be addressed, as well as what issues will take priority. Goals specific to problematic gambling will also be set along with treatment approaches based on the Stages of Change model (Prochaska, Norcross and DiClemente). In whatever approach, the client and psychologist decide collaboratively on the best course of treatment. As required, referrals to other mental health professionals (i.e. psychiatrists) may be recommended.

v. Overcoming a gambling problem is never easy as every gambler is unique so the recovery program should be tailored specifically to a person’s needs and situation. One treatment option that has been found to be effective is Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT for gambling disorder focuses on changing unhealthy gambling behaviors and thoughts, such as rationalizations and false beliefs. It can also teach people how to fight gambling urges and solve financial, work, and relationship problems caused by problem gambling. Therapy can provide tools for coping with the addiction that will help with recovery.

3. Neuropsychological Assessment & Treatment

4. Career Assessment & Counseling

i. The Career Assessment and Counseling Package is a service that Gray Matters Psychological Center provides to a multitude of clients – from students entering senior high, to adults at a crossroads in their life, and everything in between.

ii. This package includes an initial session for intake purposes and assessment. The assessment consists of a personality test/s, a career interest/skills tool, and an evaluation of general intellectual functioning. The client can then schedule a feedback session with the psychologist within two weeks to discuss the results of the assessment. Furthermore, this package also includes one career counseling session with the same psychologist to allow for further exploration of possible career paths and tackling of other potential issues.”

5. Counseling Supervision Program to Educational Institutions

i. Counseling Supervision means that a counselor-in-training uses the services of a licensed counselor to review their work with clients, their professional development, and often their personal development as well. Supervision is a professional service, rather than a managerial role with the supervisor acting as a consultant.

ii. Practicing as a counselor in educational institutions would require a license in guidance and counseling. It is understood that some educational institutions will not necessarily have access to licensed counselors. Given this, Gray Matters can provide support through counseling supervision by a registered guidance counselor.

iii. Some of the training activities include individual and group supervision, case presentations, case conferences, individual counseling. Topics that will be covered would include counseling skills and processes (i.e. basic counseling), counseling processes (i.e. developing counseling goals, referral systems), psychological testing, case management (from intake to termination), crisis intervention, psychoeducational activities, career development program from kinder to Grade 12., group processing, handling parents, and self- Management (i.e. self-care)

6. Disability Awareness Program: A Workshop Advocating Inclusivity

i. Disability is a process which happens when barriers are formed by designing a world only for one group’s way of living, without considering the way of living of people with impairments (New Zealand Disability Strategy). We need to break these barriers through an awareness of how people with impairments learn, work and live. Disability Awareness is a two half-day seminar-workshop for professionals working in schools or universities as well as advocates of persons with disability. The first day of the seminar-workshop aims to provide an introduction on the needs and abilities of persons with disability. It will focus on those with neurodevelopmental impairments such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Specific Learning Disorder, and Intellectual Disability. The second day of the seminar-workshop is geared towards developing inclusive environments and materials for persons with disability.

These materials can be designed by age group (i.e. children, adolescents and adults) for schools or universities. An action plan for disability support services in schools or universities can also be discussed. The rationale of the Disability Awareness seminar-workshop is to provide a school-wide for teaching staff and non-teaching staff in order to cultivate inclusivity of differently-abled persons.

7. Psychological Services for PWDs

i. Persons with Disability are entitled to special rights. Gray Matters Psychological Center offers a certification process for persons with disability in order for them to practice their special rights.

This is a three-step process which includes an intake interview, assessment and verbal feedback. A certification of disability will be furnished at the end of the assessment. Information on the rights of persons with disability will also be discussed.

8. Support Group Program

i. Support group program provides a safe and structured environment where individuals can share their experiences, provide peer support, and learn from other people who have similar concerns, problems, and/or conditions. Studies shows that talking to people with similar experiences can provide individuals with both practical and emotional benefits. Aside from receiving advice that people can do to manage their daily life, participating in support groups can also provide them the emotional rewards of feeling that they are not alone in the problem that they are facing.