I counsel couples who are married or are in a committed relationship and who love each other but are having communication issues and can not seem to get the right formula that allows them to sail smoothly through the highs and lows of life. I teach them skills and techniques to help them navigate through their lives in an emotionally intelligent way.

I also work with individuals who are feeling anxious and/or depressed or just need support and/or someone with whom they can vent. In addition to working with these people, there are those who are self medicating with substances and who are wreaking havoc on their lives by being engaging with substances; and many are physically and/or mentally addicted to these substances. I educate them about how to detox from these substances and teach them to soothe themselves by engaging in healthy behaviors that can make themselves feel more peaceful and get them to a better place.

My patients bond with me very easily because they can feel that I am really there for them. I connect well to my patients because I understand that the human condition can be difficult to tolerate and can make them feel frazzled and out of sorts when life gets tough. I teach them to recognize when life gets tough and make sure they internalize this concept: “life is very difficult for everyone” and not a bowl of cherries. Once my patients internalize that message they lower their expectations and life doesn’t seem to be as tough.  Many people wear fake emotions on their sleeves and brag about how well everything is going for them and they do not reveal their problems or issues that are bringing them down. To the outside world, many people seemingly travel down a road with no difficulty and we think that they are traveling down the road less traveled and less troubled; but in reality there is no one who is given such a gift, and what we see is most often not reality and merely their facade to cover up the truth.  The road that appears to be less troubled and less traveled is often a road filled with sorrow and unknown solutions in regard to easing the pain that most people experience in one form or the other. The painful feelings and the reality they face in regard to actually going down these roads that have been paved specifically for them are secret roads that they continuously travel over and under and can’t seem to cross over are kept within. These roads merge silently and personify a consistent public face to the outside world. Their lives mimic a play, which dictates “the show must go on”. Yes, the show goes on; but remember the show consists of a series of acts or has “act 1 and act 2” and that is what the naked eye is seeing. What goes on beyond the naked eye, is the real question. It is hard to know the real answer to that question and we all assume what really is going on in other people’s lives is much better than it actually is. Maybe we are right but more often than not, we get it wrong, but never really know for sure what lies behind closed doors.

I, Lorna Hayim-Baker at Riverdale Therapy & Counseling Services help patients seek and discover their reality; and the plan is custom designed and solution focused so that each and every need is addressed for each person and/or couple. All individual treatment plans and/or couple plans create a custom tailored approach with specific techniques and tools to help my patients travel more smoothly through their lives.