A licensed psychologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, Uzi Ben-Ami has operated his own private practice in Rockville, Maryland, for many years. When he isn’t working, Uzi Ben-Ami, Ph.D., is an avid reader who counts the humanist philosopher and psychologist Erich Fromm among his favorite writers.
One of Fromm’s most significant works is the 1941 treatise Escape from Freedom. This book examines the concept of freedom as a dichotomy by dividing it into two poles,: positive freedom (which draws people toward it as an escape from tyranny) and negative freedom (when people try to escape feelings of inferiority and powerlessness by supporting a dictator that makes them feel important).
Escape from Freedom is even more remarkable for the timing of its release, as Fromm analyzed various manifestations of negative freedom and their relationship to totalitarianism during the rise of the Nazi Party. He writes that understanding the underlying reasons behind negative freedom “is a premise for any action” that attempts to overthrow a totalitarian regime.
Uzi Ben-Ami, Ph.D. has worked as a psychologist in Maryland for over 30 years. In his private practice, Dr. Ben-Ami offers individual, as well as couple or marriage counseling.
Couples often seek counseling in order to save, or improve, their relationship, even when they are not sure if the relationship is salvageable. If the relationship is not salvageable, when children are involved, the couple usually changes their counseling goal to an amicable separation or divorce.
For some people, the reason to seek couple counseling is a breach of trust by one or both partners. It is very destructive to the ability to maintain a loving connection in a relationship when the couple has trouble trusting one another. A couple’s therapist can help understand the possible roots of infidelity, or mistrust, and guide and instruct the couple how to move on, and hopefully help with the partners’ sadness and disappointment.
Some couples may attend couple counseling for help with communication and problem solving issues. It is common in a deteriorating relationship for communication to become negative and hurtful, causing one or both partners to become insecure, depressed, or angry and obstructionist. In other cases, a couple simply stops communicating on an intimate level and the relationship deteriorates into one of little more than cohabitation.
Other couples come for counseling for reasons that are too many to count. But problems with roles in the marriage, with boundaries and problem solving skills are very common reasons for seeking counseling. Money troubles, financial disagreements, impulsive or compulsive spending and gambling, anger management, difficulty with child raising challenges, contrasting values, sexual incompatibility and addiction are reasons for a couple to work together in counseling. Boredom, a lack of mutual interests, cultural differences or illness are other reasons for coming to marriage or couple counseling.
Couples with children may fall into a trap of choosing to maintain a loveless or dysfunctional relationship. They may report doing so for the children’s sake, but this may be a questionable decision. A loveless or angry relationship may result in the development of bitter, depressed and angry children. However, in some cases, such an arrangement may make sense, especially if the children are almost adults, if the couple is respectful of their partners, if they are able to divide time, chores and roles fairly and if they agree to cooperate for the sake of their children.
When married couples with children attend counseling seriously and consistently over time, they may be able to work out their differences and the entire family will benefit.
A licensed psychologist, Uzi Ben-Ami, Ph.D., has maintained a private practice in Rockville, Maryland, for more than 25 years. Uzi Ben-Ami, Ph.D., possesses a special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of Gender Dysphoria.
Formerly known as gender identity disorder, Gender Dysphoria affects those whose identified gender differs from their assigned or physical gender. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, specifies that for the diagnosis of gender dysphoria to be valid, the person must experience significant distress due to the incongruity between birth and self-identified gender. However it is well established that the psychological expression of a gender preference does not in and of itself indicates a “mental disorder”.
The distress associated with Gender Dysphoria may take the form of a desire to live and interact with others as the other gender. It also can, but does not necessarily, involve a desire to change one’s physical sex characteristics to match the gender with which the individual identifies.
The diagnosis may be present in children too. Children with Gender Dysphoria show a prolonged interest of at least six months in duration in the clothes, interests, and playmates associated with the identified gender and may desire to take on the other gender’s sex characteristics.
Gender dysphoria in children does not necessarily guarantee the same diagnosis in adulthood. However, those who are most definitive, persistent, and unwavering in their expressions of identification with another gender are more likely to present eventually as transgender adults.
A longtime Maryland private practitioner, Uzi Ben-Ami, PhD, offers psychotherapy services to patients that include families, individuals, and children. Among the areas in which Uzi Ben-Ami, PhD, has extensive experience are bipolar disorder, PTSD, and trauma-related stress.
A recent Journal of the American Medical Association paper brought attention to “Project Remission” and the potential of expedited PTSD care to achieve positive results. Spanning several Army medical centers and veterans centers, the study compared the conventional eight-week “Spaced-PE” prolonged exposure therapy course with a two-week intensive “Massed-PE” course.
Prolonged-exposure therapy typically involves weekly counseling sessions that center on the repeated recounting of the traumatic memories associated with PTSD. Patients listen to recordings of these experiences over a period of months and also engage in field trips that bring them to places connected with persistent anxieties.
The newly developed Massed-PE approach compresses this approach with audio recordings listened to on a daily basis. In addition to field trips, participants engage in controlled breathing training and receive PTSD education. Concerns that the compressed program would prove overwhelming to participants proved unfounded, with the 14 percent dropout rate associated with “Massed-PE” significantly less than the 25 percent dropout rate associated with “Spaced-PE.”
While many long-term obstacles concerning successful recovery from combat-related PTSD remain unresolved, the findings suggest that many cases can be treated to remission through an intensive approach.
A Licensed Psychologist who has spent more than 30 years working with clients on a wide range of mental health issues, Uzi Ben-Ami, Ph.D., operates a suburban private practice in Rockville, Maryland. In his work with individuals, families, and children, Uzi Ben-Ami, Ph.D., has helped many clients cope with post-traumatic stress disorder so that they can lead healthy and productive lives.
When considering a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, there are four main symptoms to look for in the patient. The first involves the patient reliving the traumatic event through nightmares, flashbacks, or through other conscious external stimuli (sights, sounds, smells, etc.) that are referred to as triggers.
The second symptom involves the patient actively trying to avoid situations that elicit memories of the traumatic event. For example, a patient who experienced a traumatic car accident may avoid driving or even riding in cars altogether.
Third, a patient may exhibit a negatively changed belief or feeling about something based upon the trauma they experienced. This can involve bouts of paranoia and/or isolation as the patient attributes the trauma to interpersonal relationships.
Finally, the patient may present with hyperarousal, meaning they may constantly be “on edge” due to an ongoing perception of being in danger. Hyperarousal can manifest itself as irritability, insomnia, or difficulty concentrating.
A licensed psychologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, Uzi Ben-Ami has operated his own private practice in Rockville, Maryland, for many years. When he isn’t working, Uzi Ben-Ami, Ph.D., is an avid reader who counts the humanist philosopher and psychologist Erich Fromm among his favorite writers.
Uzi Ben-Ami, Ph.D. 