CLINICIANS
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Elizabeth Dandenell, LMFT
Licensed Marriage Family Therapist – MFC37202
Hello,
I want to welcome you to my work with Pain Management Associates. Twenty years ago, I did an internship for my Addictions Certification at Haight Ashbury Free Clinics. My experience working the night shift at a women’s detox clinic in San Francisco motivated me to get further education in the field of psychology. In 1992, I was accepted into graduate program at the California Institute of Integral Studies where I earned my Masters in Psychology – Counseling and received my license as a Marriage Family Therapist.
My work in substance dependency clients for the past twenty years has led me to use such effective therapeutic tools such as Clinical Hypnosis and Mindfulness Cognitive Behavioral therapy with my clients.
In my practice, I have discovered so people who struggle with physical pain. The influence of physical pain and suffering on their mental and overall well being has been repeatedly brought to my attention by my patients. My growing awareness of the significant effect of how people's physical pain affected their lives stimulated my curiosity about treating physical pain with methods such as clinical hypnosis, mindful cognitive therapy, and guided imagery. These effective approaches are the foundation of Pain Management Associates’ treatment model. [I am sincerely appreciative of the work of Drs. Diana Lynn Smith and Jeri Ryan using these psychotherapeutic approaches to physical pain management.] I enjoy working with them on this endeavor.
My primary office for pain management is in Walnut Creek. In addition, I also see pain management clients in my Kentfield and Alameda office. If I can’t help you, I can refer you to the appropriate resource. We offer evening and some weekend hours, and our offices are conveniently located. We take some EAP, PPO and insurance plans. Furthermore, some of us do provide some low-fee slots in our practices.
My professional focus also includes treating depression, and substance dependency. I also have experience working with eating disorders, anxiety, sleep problems and couples therapy.
My teachers include Dr. Daniel Siegel, Dr. Mary Pipher, Dr. Bart Rubin, Dr. David Burns, Dr. Francis Dreher, Dr. Michael Yapko, Les Collins, and Ben McAllister, LMFT. To all I give a special Thank You. They are the ones who have enabled me to bring the effective and quality work to all that seek my professional expertise, guidance and support for managing physical pain.
I look forward to working with you.
Be Well,
Elizabeth
Jeri Ryan, Ph.D.
License #PSY6111
My interest in mind/body medicine with psychotherapeutic methods began about 30 years ago. Mind/body medicine was not then in the mainstream, as it is now. My training and experiences in clinical hypnosis laid the foundation of my passion for this approach to pain management and self-healing.
While mind/body medicine is not magical, there are times when it seems to be. People need to manage their pain. Mind/body medicine can help people to manage their physical pain and other physical problems effectively by discovering and utilizing their abilities to do so, as can be seen in the examples below. The events below inspired me to study mind/body medicine with psychotherapeutic methods more deeply. In Pittsburgh PA, I studied in the 1970’s with Kay Thompson, DDS, a pioneer in the field of medical hypnosis. I also studied with several eminent psychologists (Deborah Ross, Ph.D., Mark Lehrer, Ph.D., Noelle Poncelet, Ph.D., all experts in clinical hypnosis) upon my return to the Bay Area in 1978.
My focus in mind/body medicine has now become pain management with psychotherapeutic methods. Pain management can apply to all degrees of pain, ranging from a relatively minor form, as in one example below, to a major form, such as chronic pain with fibromyalgia. My advanced training in clinical hypnosis has been with the National Institute for Clinical Applications of Behavioral Medicine, including courses with Marc Schoen, Ph.D., and Mark Weisberg, Ph.D. Both taught mind/body medicine with psychotherapeutic methods. I have studied extensively with Michael Yapko, Ph.D., who is internationally known for his expertise and creativity as a clinical hypnosis practitioner and teacher. My current advanced training is ongoing with Dr. Michael Yapko and the National Institute for Clinical Applications of Behavioral Medicine.
Following are some examples of the self-healing made possible through clinical hypnosis.
An elderly man sustained life-threatening injuries in an auto accident. Through clinical hypnosis he stopped bleeding into his lungs and he eliminated the contaminated blood from his lungs. He also reduced the pain from broken ribs to near nothing. This elderly man was determined to live, although the odds were against him, and he lived.
A pregnant woman’s unborn baby seemed destined for a breach birth. With the help of clinical hypnosis, the baby turned, just on time, to arrive through a normal birth. Incidentally, it is not uncommon for breach babies to turn themselves with the help of clinical hypnosis.
A young woman experienced excruciating pain in her ears during an airplane descent. After one session of clinical hypnosis and 20 plus years later, the pain has not recurred.
A woman with a torn meniscus reduced the pain to the amount needed as a warning to be careful. Listening to the audio-recording from our clinical hypnosis session when the stress appears in that knee returns the discomfort to that warning level.
A woman suffered from athlete’s foot for many years. Two sessions of clinical hypnosis eliminated the redness and the itching. She now listens to the audio-recording of the sessions to heal the remaining dryness.
I continue to work with other issues faced by people in their daily lives, including such experiences as depression, anxiety, and grief over the loss of loved ones (human and nonhuman). Since depression, anxiety, grief, etc. are felt experiences in the body, influenced by thoughts and emotions, mind/body psychotherapeutic methods are also applicable. I have learned Cognitive Behavioral Therapy from David Burns, M.D., who has been primary in the development of this approach. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is known for being highly effective with the issues mentioned above as well as pain management, often within a short period of time. More importantly, this method, as well as the other methods employed by Pain Management Associates, can cultivate clients’ inner strength for pain management and self-healing.
This all started in the 1960s, when I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in clinical psychology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. I then received my doctorate in clinical psychology at California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco. I practiced psychotherapy and supervised psychotherapists at community mental health centers in the eastern part of the U.S. and in the Bay area of California. I taught at Allegheny Community College in Pittsburgh, PA, and at West Virginia University in Morgantown,WV.
I have been blessed with remarkable teachers and colleagues. I am so pleased that my colleagues, Elizabeth Dandenell, LMFT, and Diana Lynn Smith, Ph.D., and I have formed Pain Management Associates for the purpose of helping people to discover their own pain management and self-healing capacities. Recognizing and utilizing these capacities can open or reinforce individual self-care and personal growth.
Thank you for visiting Pain Management Associates website. My offices are in Oakland, CA. and Walnut Creek, CA. I look forward to working with you.
Jeri
