Dr. Hillary Gorin, PhD, LCP
|
Doctor of Philosophy
Licensed Clinical Psychologist To make an appointment with Dr. Gorin, please call 630-570-0050. You can also email Contact.OH@OakHeartCenter.com.
|
Biography
Education and Training Experiences
After graduating from Marquette University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology, I received my masters and doctoral degrees from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. My graduate training curriculum emphasized learning and applying cognitive-behavioral therapy. I completed my Predoctoral Clinical Psychology Internship at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital where I had the opportunity to work in the Center for Anxiety and OCD intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization programs. I specialized in evidence-based outpatient treatments for PTSD, Anxiety disorders, and OCD during my Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Michigan/ VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System Consortium.
Therapeutic Approach
My therapeutic approach consists of cognitive-behavioral and humanistic principles: I value your capacity to change your thoughts and behaviors and your autonomy to do so. When providing treatment for anxiety disorders and OCD, I focus on helping my patients learn to “sit with” and overcome fears. I believe in the science of exposure-based interventions because research demonstrates that fear diminishes by systematically facing it. I have continually witnessed the effectiveness of patients gradually approaching and conquering feared situations, thoughts, sensations, and memories. When providing treatment for trauma- and stressor-related disorders, I focus on helping patients shift unhelpful cognitions, beliefs, and behaviors driven by past trauma. While the past cannot be altered, the impact of trauma on your emotions, life, and brain can be. Although I believe in the science of such interventions, I know that treatment would not be effective without human strength, resiliency, and capacity to overcome challenges. I am amazed by the courage of my patients to fight their discomfort and regain control over their anxieties and lives. I am honored to be a part of their victories.
I believe that successful treatment requires a strong therapeutic alliance and patient-driven treatment decisions. We will discuss your treatment goals and preferences during the first session. I seek to provide weekly, short-term treatment so that patients can conquer their fears and return to their lives. I work with patients 18 or older but am also qualified to work with adolescents.
Treatment Protocols:
Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP)
Panic Control Treatment
Exposure Therapy for Specific Phobia
Treatments That Work Series for Anxiety Disorders (Gold standard of behavioral interventions)
Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
*I am here to help you recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am currently taking intakes for healthcare workers, first responders, victims of medical trauma from COVID-19, and individuals suffering from COVID-19 related anxiety. We will make it through these unprecedented times together.
Thank you for considering me to be your provider.
I believe that successful treatment requires a strong therapeutic alliance and patient-driven treatment decisions. We will discuss your treatment goals and preferences during the first session. I seek to provide weekly, short-term treatment so that patients can conquer their fears and return to their lives. I work with patients 18 or older but am also qualified to work with adolescents.
Treatment Protocols:
Exposure and Response Prevention Therapy (ERP)
Panic Control Treatment
Exposure Therapy for Specific Phobia
Treatments That Work Series for Anxiety Disorders (Gold standard of behavioral interventions)
Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
*I am here to help you recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am currently taking intakes for healthcare workers, first responders, victims of medical trauma from COVID-19, and individuals suffering from COVID-19 related anxiety. We will make it through these unprecedented times together.
Thank you for considering me to be your provider.
|
Meet Dr. Hillary Gorin
|
Blogs:
|
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on nearly every aspect of our lives, including our mental health. Many individuals, especially healthcare workers, first responders, and patients hospitalized with COVID-19, have been traumatized throughout this pandemic. With increased uncertainty and the omnipresent threat of COVID-19, many individuals have felt overall more anxious about their life, health, future, and world...(to read more, click on the link above)
|
|
However, when we worry about unsolvable problems or problems that extend beyond our control, we can find it difficult to know what to do with the uncertainty. With an immense desire to solve an unsolvable problem, we can fall into what I like to call the ‘worry cycle’ or the ‘hamster wheel of worry.’ Our minds go around and around, searching for answers we cannot seem to find. So, how do you get off this hamster wheel? How do you accept uncertainty, particularly during these times of social unrest, political turmoil, and a terrifying pandemic...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
Essentially, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is chronic worry (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). I often describe it as the tendency to get on the hamster wheel of worry. Worries spin around and around, continuing to fuel anxiety. If you are diagnosed with this, you will also be experiencing the physical impact of this anxiety, such as sleep difficulties or muscle tension...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
Most of us, in our lifetime, will experience a panic attack. However, when you develop panic disorder, you experience frequent, unexpected panic attacks (or surges of intense fear and discomfort) accompanied by either a fear of having another panic attack or change in behavior related to attacks (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In other words, you live in fear of having another panic attack and have panic attacks that feel like they hit you out of the blue. This is often a very hard way to live...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
I describe OCD to my patients as having “sticky brain” or “itches” that need to be scratched or something bad will happen. If we look at our diagnostic manual, obsessions are defined as thoughts, images, or impulses that reoccur and are intrusive in a way that causes anxiety/ distress (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Compulsions are defined as actions or mental acts that take place in response to the obsession. In other words, OCD consists of having an intrusive thought and feeling the urge to undo or prevent the thought from coming true through some sort of mental or physical act...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
Health anxiety (or Illness Anxiety Disorder) is anxiety about your health (simply put). It involves a fear of getting or having a serious illness. This anxiety often drives patients to either repeatedly check their bodies for health or illness or avoiding evaluating their health, as seen by avoiding doctor appointments all together (Abramowitz & Braddock, 2011). Recently, I have seen specific COVID-19 related anxiety which similarly presents as anxiety about acquiring, having, or contracting COVID-19...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
Extreme anxiety about specific situations or objects (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Phobias range from fears of driving, flying, animals, insects, natural environment (such as storms), and elevators, to needles, vomiting, and medical procedures. They can be incredibly impairing and impact many aspects of your daily life...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
Social anxiety disorder often appears as anxiety in social situations where one could be evaluated by others (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). This could involve meeting new people, being observed by others, or even having to perform in front of others. Fear of negative evaluation is a big part of social anxiety. My patients often ask “will I embarrass myself? will I be rejected or humiliated? Will I offend someone?” Individuals with social anxiety disorder want to stay away from social situations that could involve evaluation or will do so with a ton of anxiety...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) results from witnessing or being exposed to death, threatened death, or actual or threatened serious injury (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Following such a terrifying event, our brains sometimes recover. Sometimes they do not. This is why PTSD is considered a recovery disorder (Resick et al., 2017). Symptoms include intrusive memories, efforts to avoid memories, increased negative emotions and thinking patterns, and hypervigilance or hyper-arousal (increased alertness and related physical symptoms). These are symptoms we all can experience after a traumatic event for a short period of time. However, PTSD occurs when these symptoms persist and start to impact your life, long term...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
CBT-I addresses behaviors and thinking patterns that interfere with sleep (Manber et al., 2014). In treatment, you can expect a thorough examination of your sleep patterns and habits followed by a structured and brief treatment (typically 6-8 sessions) that assists in creating new patterns. According to many studies, CBT-I is as effective as medication in the short term and more effective than medication in the long term (as cited in Muench et al., 2022). Why? Because we may become tolerant of medications but behavioral and cognitive changes can be maintained over time...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
Social anxiety disorder can be defined as anxiety in social situations due to fear of evaluation (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Essentially, this leaves an individual with social anxiety with two options: 1). Avoid social interactions all together; 2). Do so with anxiety and then engage in hours of what is referred to as post-event reprocessing. Post-event reprocessing entails revisiting social interactions and events mentally after they have taken place and critically evaluating your performance (Leigh & Clark, 2018). Ruminative thoughts about social errors may consume hours or even days after a social encounter for someone struggling with social anxiety disorder (Leigh & Clark, 2018)...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
Safren and colleagues (2017) have created a Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program for Adults with ADHD. In this program, they suggest some strategies for overcoming difficulties with organization. They first provide suggestions for prioritizing tasks by creating daily task lists: What is it you are hoping to accomplish today? Individuals with ADHD may be prone to complete the easy and less important tasks first. However, this may then halt progress towards important, more challenging goals. Therefore, Safren and colleagues (2017) suggest that, after a daily task list is created, the level of importance of tasks on the list should be considered...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
|
Chronic, persistent worry, exhibited in individuals with generalized anxiety disorder tends to fall into two categories (American Psychiatric Association, 2013): Worries about solvable problems and worries about unsolvable problems. Often my patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) are incredibly good at managing solvable problems. If you are reading this and you have been diagnosed with GAD, I bet you have been called an effective problem solver by people who know you well. Worrying about unsolvable problems similarly is often an attempt to solve a problem that has not yet occurred...(to read more, click on the link above).
|
Vlogs:
|
|
Panic Disorder TreatmentDr. Hillary Gorin PhD, LCP discusses evidence-based treatment for Panic Disorder
|
