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Welcoming Neetu Anand, Psy.D.!

NEETU ANAND, PSY.D.

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Dr. Neetu Anand (she/her) is a pre-licensed Psychotherapist who trained at Immaculata University. She has worked in local group and individual private practices. She offers individual, couples, and family treatment and assessment for a broad array of issues. She also accommodates clients requiring Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.

To make an appointment with Dr. Anand, please call or email us!

About Us

 

 

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Know Your Personal Rights: With Explanations!

Based on the Personal Bill of Rights from The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook (Edmund J. Bourne):

 

#1: I have the right to ask for what I want.
You are allowed to ask. You don’t have to mind-read beforehand to make sure the answer will be yes. You don’t have to swallow everything you want or like or need. Sure, it’s possible the answer will be “no,” but you can prepare for that possibility. It’s not wrong to ask.
#2: I have the right to say no to requests or demands I can’t meet.
Just because someone asks (or demands) something, you are not obligated to do what they want. You are also not required to come up with justifications, apologies, or rationalizations for saying no. It’s okay to just say, “No, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be able to do that.”
#2 is also the corollary to #1. If at some level you believe people are not “allowed” to say no, you may feel guilty asking for anything because it feels like you are “forcing” someone to do what you want. (And you may resent others asking anything of you for the same reason.)
You are allowed to say no to others, and others are allowed to say no to you. (That’s how autonomy works.)
#3: I have the right to express all of my feelings, positive or negative.
You are allowed to have feelings, whether you or others think they “make sense” or not. You can acknowledge a feeling to yourself or to others. Emotions are your feedback system about events, whether in the outside world or within your mind. As such, they aren’t “right or wrong.”
Thoughts and judgments generated by feelings can be true or untrue, reasonable or unreasonable, but the feelings themselves are not right or wrong.
For example, you can feel scared about something that wouldn’t scare most others. The fear is still real, even if there is no threat. Likewise, you can be sad, or angry, or even happy about something that doesn’t make sense. The feeling itself is still real.
So it doesn’t make sense for someone to say, for example, “You shouldn’t be sad about that.” If you’re sad, you’re sad. Or, it’s okay to tell someone, “You’re scaring me,” even if they believe they have a right to shout at you, or tell you you “shouldn’t” be scared.
In fact, telling someone your responses to their actions is an important thing for them to know about how their behavior affects others. (If it’s not safe to tell them how you feel, then that relationship is not safe.)
A good formula to express feelings to self or others is “I feel ______________ when ___________ happens.”
“I feel anxious and vulnerable when there’s violence in the news.”
“I feel abandoned and angry when you forget to pick me up.”
#4: I have the right to change my mind.
It’s okay to try something and then realize you don’t like it halfway through. It’s okay to discover your feelings about a person or situation have changed. It’s acceptable to learn and grow and develop new beliefs. You do not have to continue something you don’t like.
#5: I have the right to make mistakes and not have to be perfect.
It’s often much easier to apply “no one is perfect” to others, while still beating yourself up for mistakes or “flaws.” This is usually an internalized voice that is just waiting for any chance to criticize. Whosever voice that was, you don’t have to keep repeating that tape.
It’s certainly valid to try doing something differently if that works better in your life, but you are already acceptable, even as you are “messing up” or being flawed. Too many people are waiting until they achieve perfection to love themselves, and they will wait forever.
It can be invigorating to strive for excellence, but “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” This means that you may end up doing nothing at all if you can’t do it perfectly (which no one can).
#6: I have the right to follow my own values and standards.
You are allowed to wear clothes that others think are too childish, too weird, too sexy, or too boring. It’s really none of their business. It is your choice if you want to eat vegetarian food or to include meat. It’s not wrong to have sex or to completely abstain. YOU choose. If you want to go to church, that’s your business. If you want to not go to church, that is also your business. If you want to be a parent, great! If you want to be child-free, great! You don’t have to legalistically justify your values to someone else.
#7: I have the right to say no to anything when I feel I am not ready, it is unsafe, or it violates my values.
You are allowed to say no when you need to! (See #2.)
#8: I have the right to determine my own priorities.
No one else can live your life for you. It’s not a trial run. Prioritize what is really important to you, which may not be what your friends, parents, or society expect. They get their own turn. This is yours!
#9: I have the right *not* to be responsible for others’ behaviors, actions, feelings, or problems.
This one is tricky. People misinterpret it to mean that it must be fine to be selfish and you should not care how you treat others or how they are affected by you. That is not what it means.
It does mean that you are allowed to take your own side. You are allowed to take care of yourself, physically and mentally. You do not have to set yourself on fire to keep others warm.
It means that ultimately you cannot control how others respond to you. For example, if you are “walking on eggshells” trying not to upset someone, then at some level you believe you can (and must) manage their feelings — to make things okay for them. This is not true!
It means that if someone is abusive to you, you did not “cause” it, because you are not responsible for others’ behaviors — they are. It means that you don’t have to keep rescuing someone, especially from problems they create, because you are not responsible for their problems.
The reverse is also true! If someone is hurtful to you, you are the one responsible for protecting your feelings from further injury, whether by telling the person to change how they treat you, or by ceasing to interact with them (insofar as that is possible) if they do not.
#10: I have the right to expect honesty from others.
A relationship without honesty is not a relationship, but rather a one-sided experience for each partner.
#11: I have the right to be angry at someone I love.
Too often people imagine that love and anger are incompatible. But we can hold many contrasting feelings at once! If someone hurts or disappoints you, it’s natural to feel angry. We don’t want to express anger in an abusive way, but feeling and expressing anger is to be expected.
#12: I have the right to be uniquely myself.
“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.” Your individuality is to be celebrated. That doesn’t mean others are wrong to be who they are. It means that you get to be anything from “boring” to “weird” if it makes you happy and fulfilled (and so do others!)
#13: I have the right to feel scared and say “I feel afraid.”
Feelings are not wrong in and of themselves. No one can tell you that you “shouldn’t” feel afraid (not even you). You do not deserve to be mocked into ignoring your vulnerability or your wish to be careful, even if your fear is not based on a reasonable threat.
#14: I have the right to say “I don’t know.”
You don’t need to be pressured into making a decision when you are unsure. And you can’t be expected to know everything — no one knows everything! It’s reasonable to take the time to figure out what you don’t know.
#15: I have the right not to give excuses or reasons for my behavior.
If you want to explain to someone, you certainly may. But too often people feel they *must* come up with scrupulous, legalistic, unbreakable explanations for everything they do.
Who are you allowing to judge you? You don’t have to put yourself one-down to someone else’s judgment. After all, you don’t judge them and argue every little thing they do, right?
#16: I have the right to make decisions based on my feelings.
Pssst! Here’s the big secret: ALL (yes, ALL!) decisions are based on feelings. Someone who tells you otherwise is not very self-aware, and they are rationalizing their own (feelings-based) decisions in hindsight.
What about logic? What about rationality?
Yes, we want people to be rational and to be logical. That’s the best way to get the outcome you want… and “want” is a feeling. Without feelings, there is no reason to do anything at all. You are not an automaton, nor is anyone else. Logic incorporates rationality AND feelings in deciding your path. If you believe something will make you happy and you know (rationally) how to do it, then logic says “try doing that thing.”
There is no such thing as “pure logic” or “pure rationality” in terms of human behavior.
All desired outcomes are feelings. For example: “I want to have a house and a car [because I will feel satisfaction].” or “I want to become a physician [because I will feel better if my parents are pleased].”
So if someone criticizes you for deciding things based on your feelings, they have absolutely no grounds for criticism. It is completely illogical to exclude feelings from decision-making!
#17: I have the right to my own needs for personal space and time.
Whether you need a little or a lot of alone time to recharge, then you are allowed to take that time. Others may *want* more of your time than you have available, but it’s not your responsibility to sacrifice taking care of yourself to fulfill their wishes.
You can’t give to others from an empty well!
#18: I have the right to be playful and frivolous.
It’s okay to have a childlike side. That’s part of what keeps you alive and happy! It doesn’t mean you are are not to be taken seriously, or that your needs should be ignored, and it doesn’t mean you can’t also be a competent adult.
#19: I have the right to be healthier than those around me.
When you begin to set boundaries, take care of yourself, and ask for needs to be met, you may be met with resistance from those still caught in dysfunctional dynamics. You are allowed to take care of yourself even if others aren’t, and you can’t save them by sacrificing yourself.
#20: I have the right to be in a nonabusive environment.
You are not required to tolerate a stressful and abusive environment just because you know how to do so and have done so in the past. A big part of therapy is *lowering* your tolerance for BS so that you will get out of bad situations before they get terrible!
#21: I have the right to make friends and be comfortable around people.
If the atmosphere in your childhood environment was insular and suspicious, you may feel guilty about being social or out in the world. But those are part of your rights as a human — to connect with other humans as you see fit, to like and love those you are drawn to.
In an abusive relationship of whatever kind, someone may seek to make you feel guilty for or afraid of having any connections besides the abuser. This is a control mechanism, and is not healthy.
#22: I have the right to change and grow.
“But you didn’t use to mind when I did X” … It’s okay to say, “Well, now I do mind, so please don’t.”
#23: I have the right to have my needs and wants respected by others.
It’s also okay to limit or cease time spent with those who do not respect your needs, wants, and boundaries. Even if they are loved ones.
#24: I have the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
Again, it’s okay to limit or cease time spent with those who do not treat you with basic human respect. Even if they are loved ones.
And don’t confuse “respect as an authority” with “respect human rights”:
rights_authority
Finally, #25: I have the right to be happy.
The simplest but by no means the easiest to accept.
(Previous post about personal rights here.)
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Holocaust Remembrance Day

There is a reason we must remember, and that is so that we may see and avoid allowing genocide to unfold again:

 

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2019 Therapy Scholarship for Low-Income Marginalized Individuals

YOUR DONATIONS ARE KEEPING OUR DOORS OPEN — THANK YOU!

(Click logo above to) Donate to Therapy Scholarship for Low-Income Marginalized Individuals

Often, members of minority and marginalized groups have the greatest need for therapy to help recover from injurious life experiences and environments. However, for the same reason, they are also the most likely to be unable to afford treatment.

This Therapy Scholarship will help to fund low or no-cost therapy in 2019 for low-income individuals with a qualified professional therapist. Your donation helps keep the utilities and rent paid here at ILC&P while we see clients!

Most applicants occupy at least two minority statuses, such as ability, race, gender, orientation, or others. Treating psychologist(s)/therapist(s) will approve clients’ appropriateness for treatment and need for assistance. There is a waiting list for further applicants as funds become available.

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Last Year (2018)

Donors to the 2018 campaign provided $475 towards 40 scholarship sessions ($3880) for low-income marginalized clients.

Clients themselves contributed $484 in partial payments towards the sessions (no more than $15/session for those who contributed).

Treating therapist(s) donated the balance of their time ($2920).

In addition to scholarship sessions, treating therapist(s) also provided 98 discounted sessions through Open Path, a service for low-income clients. Treating therapist(s) donated the balance of $6,025 worth of session hours.

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What Attending Therapy Is About: (AKA We Are Not Just Sitting Here Chatting)

Everyone’s approach to attending therapy sessions is different: people’s needs, symptoms, and circumstances vary incredibly. People want and expect different things in session.

Clearly, there are specific, well-researched interventions that are likely to be effective with most people who experience a certain symptom or pattern of behavior. Some interventions can be practiced in a therapy session, and some interventions are good for a client to take home and practice on their own. I do have plenty of handouts to work on and books to recommend that you read!

But not every intervention is on a list of tips that I’m going to print out and give you outright, or on a sheet in a manual with steps 1, 2, and 3. In fact, nearly all of what we are doing while in session is an intervention, even if I do not formally announce it as such. That is to say, we are not just sitting here chatting, even if sometimes that’s what it appears to be.

When I’m asking about your week, or how you feel, if you’ve gotten over your flu, or how things are going with your family or job, for example, I’m actually assessing your anxiety, depression, hypomania, behavior patterns, physical well-being, environmental influences, sense of hopefulness, and any changes in how you are interacting…for starters.

But I’m not just gathering data. I’m also intentionally getting you to practice certain kinds of conversing, thinking, and interacting during session.

I’m getting you to practice speaking openly about things that may have felt “unspeakable,” uncomfortable, scary, or just awkward. I’m reframing or redirecting your thoughts as you speak them from “shoulds and musts” to “preferences and wants,” so that you can begin to change your internalized messages. I am giving you the chance to practice openly experiencing and expressing feelings in the presence of someone who will not censor or scold you for how “irrational” or “unacceptable” they are. I am often taking the role of defending you from your own inner critic! I am supporting you in developing an attachment that is not based in power and control or other unhealthy dynamics. I’m also simply being a trained witness to your life; checking in with you over time to see how you are changing and making sure you are okay.

Developing different patterns of thought and interaction takes time, and it’s a great deal more powerful if done with another person. That is why sessions are “booster shots” even for those who do a lot of internal work on their own. Humans are social creatures. Everyone, even introverts (like me!) must interact with others in order to process and develop emotionally.

And you know I can tell you’ve been making real progress when you stop yourself from saying “should” in session before I can give you the “shoulds” lecture yet again! ;D

So that is why–even if I didn’t give you a handout to take home or a list of suggested solutions to your situation–you made a LOT of progress in your session today.

Remember, “talk therapy” actually changes brain structure!

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About Insurance

Why did you stop taking insurance?

After several years of being in-network with most major insurances, we decided to stop “taking” (being in-network with) most of them beginning January of 2018. This was for several reasons:

  1. Client cost: Most clients still had to pay out of pocket up to 6-9 months into each year, until their deductibles were met. Therefore, in many cases it did not make mental health care more financially accessible at all. Submitting out-of-pocket payments to insurance for reimbursement is a greatly streamlined method for most and often has very similar cost and deductible fulfillment outcome for clients.
  2. Administrative time and cost: Being in-network in many cases means an enormous amount of administrative work, paperwork, and being on the phone–not just once or twice, and not just for urgent or crucial questions–but as an ongoing condition of being in-network. All of that ended up literally taking much more time than actually seeing clients in session each week!
  3. Who are we accountable to, the client or the insurance company?: Insurance coverage often means being required to repeatedly justify treatment based on insurance rubrics rather than individual need. Many, many clients are well-served by attending only a few sessions during times of increased stress. But for those who require longer-term support and management, return visits–whether twice a week or twice a year–may be a necessary part of staying on-track with recovery and maintenance of mental health. Furthermore, if someone is experiencing a problematic life issue that is not related to a specific diagnosis, or a diagnosis that is not covered by insurance, there may be pressure on the therapist to come up with a diagnosis more for the sake of insurance coverage than for treatment planning. In some cases, that diagnosis may then be considered a pre-existing condition for future insurance packages.
  4. Confidentiality: Most insurances require certain information about clients in order to decide whether they will cover sessions. At a minimum, this usually includes a covered diagnosis and a session date. Sometimes this is not much of an issue (“depression is the common cold of mental health”!), but mental illness and injury is still unfairly stigmatized. Some people do not want certain information about their mental health to be included in the medical record that their insurance company may be maintaining.

Some of these points and more are discussed by other therapists.

We offer receipts to submit to insurance companies for reimbursement, but you may need to call your insurance company for instructions, or you may even want to try a fee-for-reimbursement app service such as Better.

For additional alternatives to insurance coverage, please refer to the assistance (bottom) section of our service rates and financial page.

Originally posted 11/2018

Reposted 1/2019

Updated 1/2021

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Last Call! This Thursday 1/24: Therapeutic Art for Anxiety

~We still have some spaces left–sign up soon! Explore difficult feelings with creativity!~

 

Single-Session two-hour small-group therapeutic art for adults: 

Thursday, January 24, 5-7pm: Art Therapy for Anxiety

~Appropriate for adults with OCD, Panic, Phobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or other anxiety disorders.

~Online Signup via Eventbrite (or contact us directly)

 

 

~All supplies provided

~Many insurances will reimburse – please ask for a receipt

~If you are not a current client at Intersectional Life C&P, a referral from your current therapist is required ~OR~ if you don’t have a therapist you may request a brief screening interview (phone or in-person, 1/2 hour)

 

 

 

 

therapeutic art groups for anxiety and trauma (1)

 

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Let’s Celebrate MLK Day 2019

The famous speech “I have a dream” is what many remember the Baptist preacher Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for, but there is more to his legacy. The activist led the civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until he was assassinated in 1968. MLK was greatly responsible for the passing of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act for African Americans, both in the mid-1960s. We now celebrate his life and achievements every third week in January, just days after his actual birthday, January 15.

Today we would like you to remember and celebrate what he has done to pave the way for our future and rights. It’s not just a day off from school or work.

You can celebrate with different events today in Lancaster. United Way is encouraging you to engage with the community in acts of service (link below). The YWCA Lancaster is hosting many for children 3-12 (link below). BOTH FREE to the public. Just remember you don’t need a holiday to get out and help your community.

UNITED WAY-  https://uwlanc.galaxydigital.com/aem/general/event/?doc_id=5246&fbclid=IwAR3krkPD5dqggT22f79fyCy6l2jjDBDKLTao0OXIse7MmBgwXcj8llT359k

YWCA Lancaster- https://ywcalancaster.org/mlkday/

-Jessica Yingling, Administrative Manager