Mindful Psychology Associates

Licensed Clinical Psychologists in Evanston, Illinois

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MPA Proudly Sponsoring the Family Action Network (FAN)

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As part of our mission to support and participate with local organizations committed to fostering healthy dialogue and well-being, Mindful Psychology Associates is proud to be sponsoring the Family Action Network (FAN). FAN connects parents, students, educators, civic leaders, and professionals through collaborative programming that educates, inspires and positively impacts the broader community.

Their high-quality speaker series scheduled throughout the academic year is free and open to the public as it seeks to illuminate the human condition by convening expert speakers to expand these community conversations. Past events have featured Ta-Nehesi Coats on his novel “The Water Dancer,” Nicholas Pearce on “Purpose Path & Life’s Authentic Work,”  and a panel discussion on “Building Peaceful Communities: Gun Violence,” as well as insightful conversations with cultural icons like Brene Brown, Patti Smith and Karamo Brown from “Queer Eye”.

To learn more about FAN and their  upcoming events, check out the calendar on their website:

www.familyactionnetwork.net

Skills Training Class Begins in November

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Anyone struggling with anxiety, depression which seems to be resistant to treatment, anorexia nervosa, OCDP (obsessive-compulsive personality disorder) may benefit from this Skills Training Class in RO-DBT or Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy.

The class will take place on Tuesday evenings beginning in November at the Mindful Psychology Associates office in the Carlson Building, 636 Church Street, Suite 620, Evanston. Practice owner and licensed clinical psychologist Jennifer (Panning) Contarino, PsyD, is bringing this evidence-based treatment to the North Shore along with colleague and postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Ethan Stark.

Who is this class for?

Do traits like these ring a bell?

  • Perfectionism
  • Excessive self control
  • Rule follower
  • Preference for order, structure
  • Reserved, restrained
  • Frugal

Clients who may endorse the following diagnoses:

  • Chronic depression
  • Treatment resistant anxiety
  • Anorexia Nervosa
  • Body Dysmorphia
  • Binge Eating Disorder
  • Obsessive Compulsive
  • Personality Disorder

Benefits of this Class

  • Flexibility
  • Openness
  • Social connectedness
  • Emotional expressiveness

WHEN: Tuesday evenings (begins November 2019)

WHERE: Mindful Psychology Associates, 636 Church Street, Suite 620, Evanston, IL

TIME: 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

PRICE: $60 per class (MPA can bill BCBS PPO or Northwestern University Student Health Plan)

For more info or to sign up, please use our Contact Form and indicate your interest for yourself or a client in the RO-DBT class with Dr. Contarino.

Related: MPA Now Offering RO-DBT Individual Therapy and Class, August 2018

NOTE: Clients must be in ongoing individual therapy. This class is a supplement to individual therapy. We will collaborate with referring therapists.

radically open dialectical behavior therapy

MPA Now Offering RO-DBT Individual Therapy and Class!

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In Spring 2018, practice owner and licensed clinical psychologist Jennifer Panning, PsyD, completed the first week of an intensive two-week training on Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RO-DBT or RO). Dr. Panning is excited to finalize the program this fall and bring this new evidence-based treatment to Mindful Psychology Associates.

RO-DBT was developed by Thomas Lynch, PhD, and his colleagues, and has been empirically validated and researched with clients for 20 years. This year, Dr. Lynch published a textbook and skills training manual for psychologists, making Radically Open therapy more accessible for clinicians and their prospective clients.

RO is a trans-diagnostic treatment approach, meaning that it was not designed for one particular diagnosis. However, if you struggle with any of the following problems, you may benefit from RO treatment:

  • Treatment resistant depression
  • Anxiety
  • Anorexia Nervosa
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCDP)

For more information on the treatment approach, visit the Radically Open website.

While traditional DBT is helpful for individuals who need more help regulating and controlling emotions, RO-DBT is designed for those who benefit from goals of openness and flexibility.

radically open therapy

If you identify with any or all of the following traits, you may benefit from RO-DBT:

  • Rigidity in behaviors or thinking (perfectionism)
  • Excessive need to be in control (over control)
  • Difficulty accessing emotions
  • Social isolation
  • Emotionally shut down or guarded

Dr. Contarino is currently accepting referrals for clients for RO-DBT. Since RO is a structured treatment, you may benefit from RO even if you are already in traditional talk therapy. Dr. Contarino will consult and collaborate with your current therapist.

Coming this fall, Dr. Contarino and Heather Stephenson, PhD, will offer RO-DBT skills training class! This class will be limited to ten participants and will meet in our Evanston office. Please contact Dr. Contarino for more information on either of these offerings.

Dr. Jennifer (Panning) Contarino Talks to VoyageChicago

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Dr. Jennifer (Panning) Contarino talks candidly about starting her therapy practice, pursuing her passion and learning to navigate some of the challenges involved in expanding a business. In the interview, “Meet Jennifer Panning of Mindful Psychology Associates in Evanston and Streeterville,” she shares some of what makes her group special and what their mission:

“Working in a beautiful, relaxing space is healing for us, as well as our clients who enjoy the space. And I’m immensely proud of being able to expand our services to reach more individuals wanting our help. Evanston is very ‘therapy friendly’, but for many, the stigma still exists, so I hope to continue marketing psychotherapy as accessible and a healthy part of maintaining our whole body/mind.”

Read the whole interview on VoyageChicago >>

Evanston Psychology Office Featured on Design Blog

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Freshpractice.design recently featured the Evanston offices of Mindful Psychology Associates on their popular interior design and therapy office decor blog. Calling the space “contemporary and classy“, they interviewed founder and president Dr. Jennifer (Panning) Contarino about how the offices were designed with clients in mind.

“I hope they are soothed by the artwork, accessories, and plants — all of which were chosen to contribute to a welcoming, thoughtful, and professional environment,” says Dr. Contarino. “They will see hints of nature throughout our offices — in artwork as well as plants in each office — which is a small way to bring the healing element of nature into our space.”

The blog features “fresh office design for therapists, by therapists” to help professionals find ideas to provide comfortable, safe spaces for their sessions.

Trump Anxiety Disorder: New Book Chapter

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On October 3, 2017, the book The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President was released by MacMillan Publishers. My chapter “Trump Anxiety Disorder: The Trump Effect on the Mental Health of Half the Nation and Special Populations” discusses my clinical experiences working with clients post-election and inauguration, the anxiety symptoms I saw many clients experiencing which were related specifically to Trump, and certain clients who were more vulnerable to developing anxiety symptoms. I felt compelled to write this chapter after noticing the strong impact on many of my clients (all progressive in their political orientations).

Dangerous Case of Donald Trump book signing

On October 6, I joined fellow chapter authors (including editor Bandy Lee, M.D.) at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to celebrate the book release. We each briefly spoke about our respective chapters then signed many books of people who had purchased the book at the event. This picture shows me in the middle with fellow authors Harper West (on the left) and Betty Teng (on the right).

Participating in this book and related educational events was a rare opportunity for me to offer my professional perspective on a social justice issue. The book made the New York Times bestseller list for four weeks after its publication and was sold out for some time.

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President
Bandy Lee, M.D., M.Div., Editor and Organizer of the Yale “Duty to Warn” Conference

“Trump Anxiety Disorder: The Trump Effect on the Mental health of Half the Nation and Special Populations” chapter by Jennifer (Panning) Contarino, Psy.D.

Click here to order your copy >>