Watch Me With..| Psychotherapy in Bethesda, MD

Dr. Kimmel's Cable Television Program:

"Mental Health Minutes: A Dramatization" "is a half-hour television program which depicts fictional clients in psychotherapy with Dr. Kimmel.
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The half hour program above depicts "Dr. Toby" with her "daughter," Maureen, who presents her with surprising and unwelcome plans.

Episode Guide

Rosemary & John in Marriage Counseling

Rosemary and John Barnes have been married for twenty years. But, something's wrong now. Is it Rosemary's chronic pain? Is it John's promotion and increased responsibilities at work that keep him from getting home at the usual time?

This couple needs help.

Episode/Visit One Rosemary asks what's wrong. John says nothing's wrong but explodes.

Episode/Visit Two John says there's too much tension in their marriage and that she's changed.

He's reluctant to say what's on his mind.

Episode/Visit Three John admits to having an affair and that he doesn't know how to break it off.

Rosemary is hurt and furious.

Episode/Visit Four Dr. Toby sees Rosemary and John individually as they consider their options.

Elsie and Paul in Marriage Counseling

Elsie isn’t happy in general, and, especially not in her 20 year marriage to Paul.

Marriage & Infidelity Visit 1
Elsie describes her current and chronic distress as well as her affair with a classmate. Dr. Toby asks Elsie to bring Paul to her next visit.
Marriage & Infidelity Visit 2
Elsie’s frustration with some of Paul’s behavior seems justified.
Marriage & Infidelity Visit 3
Paul considers the possibility that he would benefit from an in depth assessment of and treatment for Attention Deficit Disorder.
Marriage & Infidelity Visit 4
Although Elsie feels better about Paul’s behavior in general and towards her, she continues to need help with her own chronic depression.

The following programs have not yet been linked.

Susan:

Physical & Verbal Abuse Visit 1
Susan, depressed and scared, guardedly reports her husband’s verbal and physical abuse.
Physical & Verbal Abuse Visit 2
In spite of serious threats from her husband and Dr. Toby’s attempts to persuade her to take her two children and seek safe shelter, Susan believes she should stay with her husband, because he will put her children through college.
Physical & Verbal Abuse Visit 3
Susan agrees to call her county’s Crisis Center to gather information about what services are available for women who leave abusive situations.
Physical & Verbal Abuse Visit 4
Susan’s husband openly and violently threatens her son. Now Susan takes action.

Gwen Returns:

Job Loss & Financial Stress Visit 1
Gwen Pennington returns to Dr. Toby for help with her desperation having lost both of her jobs - one full-time, and one part-time.
Job Loss & Financial Stress Visit 2
Gwen's only support, her older brother, rejects all of Gwen's plans. She is devastated.
Job Loss & Financial Stress Visit 3
Gwen continues to need help with her fears regarding financial problems and family conflicts.
Job Loss & Financial Stress Visit 4
Gwen's phone call to her estranged father results in unexpected outcomes.

John Pappas:

John Pappas shows up for court-ordered anger management therapy after throwing a chair through his sunroom window. He struggles with the effects of the economic downturn on his insurance business and develops a new perception of his identity with his children.

Anger Management Visit 1
John Pappas expresses his anger toward changes in the insurance industry and the economy. During the visit, Dr. Toby reveals a medical condition that troubles her client.
Anger Management Visit 2
Reluctantly, Mr. Pappas returns to court-ordered therapy. Dr. Toby helps Mr. Pappas consider alternatives to being a "good provider" through insurance sales.
Anger Management Visit 3
Mr. Pappas is surprised that his anger affects his children though to a lesser degree than his father's anger affected him.
Anger Management Visit 4
Mr. Pappas begins to feel more control over his life as he recognizes options for the future and accepts help from others.

Maureen : Pregnancy in a single woman
Dr. Toby's daughter, Maureen, presents her mother with her unexpected and unwelcome plans.

Sandi Alexander :

Sixty-two year old, high energy, big-boned, transsexual Sandi Alexander -- now a woman with large breasts - still has her penis. Sandi hates her lingering maleness, but clings to "reasons" for not having had sex reassignment surgery.

Transsexual with Bipolar Disorder Visit 1
Sandi cavalierly reports she has bipolar disorder, takes strong mood-modulating medicine, and occasionally cuts herself. Eventually she reveals the profound nature of her self-hatred.
Transsexual with Bipolar Disorder Visit 2
Sandi considers her lingering male physicality - a remaining penis - as the current source of her self-hatred. Reassignment surgery costs about $15,000 which Sandi does not have. Dr. Toby suggests, and Sandi is interested in pursuing, several possible ways to put together the funding that Sandi needs.
Transsexual with Bipolar Disorder Visit 3
Sandi made no attempt to raise money for reassignment surgery during the week between appointments. Dr. Toby presses Sandi to face her ambivalence about having the surgery.
Transsexual with Bipolar Disorder Visit 4
Sandi is amazed at the response she's gotten regarding contributions toward her surgery. She's even found a part-time job to augment contributions. Although completion of gender transformation is closer than ever before, Sandi surprises Dr. Toby with unexpected news.

Ray Marks:

Sixty-year old Ray Marks fantasizes about slamming his foot on the gas pedal in heavy traffic. He also imagines negative consequences if he were to take assertive positions to solve problems, such as what to do about his wife -- who suffers from Alzheimers Disease. His children and "girlfriend" have no difficulty with assertiveness, however, and his life changes irrevocably.

Dealing with Alzheimers Visit 1
Although Ray understands that living with an Alzheimers Disease victim, being overlooked for promotions and conference participation by younger employees at work, and unwanted alienation from his adult children are probably reasons for his anger, he finds reasons to avoid doing anything about upsetting problems.
Dealing with Alzheimers Visit 2
Ray expresses his discomfort with and avoidance of any kind of conflict. Among examples of his resistance to confront others were the months he ignored his daughter's appeals for advocacy on her behalf at school, although she cried herself to sleep nightly due to those problems.
Dealing with Alzheimers Visit 3
In spite of Dr. Toby's coaching, Ray avoided asking his boss to let him go to an educational conference. He resists asking for more attention from his children. He agrees to write a letter to his wife's doctor to report her deterioration because he doesn't believe the doctor will listen to him on the phone.
Dealing with Alzheimers Visit 4
Ray seems like a new person as he reports that his wife was removed from the house "by the state;" a new love interest suddenly appeared in his life; and he has decided not to return for therapy. As Dr. Toby, perplexed by Ray's report that people from "the state" took his wife away tries to determine what actually happened, Ray's new girlfriend calls with shocking information.

Bill Larkin:

Bill, a 45 year old architect, has not functioned well for the 7 years since he watched his 11 year old son, Billy, die of leukemia. As he attempts to re-engage in life, he is convinced that Dr. Toby and he have a special connection.

Loss of a Child Visit 1
Dr. Toby leads Bill in a detailed recollection of wonderful days camping with Billy.
Loss of a Child Visit 2
At Dr. Toby's suggestion, Bill indulged himself in positive memories of his son throughout the week, which seemed to generate hope for the future and energized plans for hobbies and activity with friends and co-workers. Bill feels much better and believes a "booster" visit in about 3 weeks will be all he needs now.
Loss of a Child Visit 3
Bill, sounding nervous and excited, calls Dr. Toby after only a few days, asking to come in as soon as possible. His persistently amorous behavior at the visit takes Dr. Toby by surprise.
Loss of a Child Visit 4
Dr. Toby firmly steers a persistent Bill away from fantasy toward healthier love objects.

Gwen Pennington:

Gwen is a lovely 24 year old with a high school education who struggles with unwelcome bursts of violence and the gradual discovery that her family's "story" is not what she was told .

Parental Abandonment Visit 1
Gwen, new to the DC area, has been told by her usually tolerant boyfriend to move out of his house, because, this time, when she went "ballistic," she smashed his stereo unit.
Parental Abandonment Visit 2
Gwen begins to understand her rage against boyfriends and discovers that her father did not "abandon" her intentionally.
Parental Abandonment Visit 3
Gwen learns that her mother and brother have told her a distorted story of her parents' divorce and other "facts" about her family. Dr. Toby introduces Gwen to "sleep hygiene" to help her with chronic sleep problems.
Parental Abandonment Visit 4
Gwen believes she is strong enough to deal with a possible rejection by her father or brother, if she tries to re-establish a relationship with her father. However, Dr. Toby calls her when she's late for her next visit and learns that Gwen is practially paralyzed by emotion and wishes to discontinue therapy.

RESOURCES

The following links are listed to provide you with additional online mental health care information and counseling resources.

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is the nation’s leading non-profit organization serving individuals with ADHD and their families. CHADD has over 16,000 members in 200 local chapters throughout the U.S. Chapters offer support for individuals, parents, teachers, professionals, and others.

Career Tools

www.onetonline.org

Addiction and Recovery
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous Recovery Resources
SAMHSA's Substance Abuse/Addiction
SAMHSA's Treatment and Recovery
Web of Addictions