Bob Dick, PhD, AC, CGP

Specialties:

• Hypnosis and group therapy
• Depression and Self-Esteem
• Anxiety, Phobias and Panic
• Mind/Body Issues - pain, chronic illness, demoralization
• Preparation for childbirth/ surgery
• Survivors of childhood abuse
• Stress, Anger Management, and Self-Control – for example, smoking cessation, weight management, nail biting, drug use.
• Spiritual/ Religious Issues
• Communication/Intimacy Skills
• Enhancing and Un-blocking Artistic/Creative Expression

Certifications & Associations:

• Approved Consultant with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis
• NC Society of Clinical Hypnosis (past president)
• American Academy of Psychotherapists (inactive)
• American Group Psychotherapy Association (inactive)
• National Register of Certified Group Psychotherapists (founding member; inactive)
• National Register of Health Service Providers
• North Carolina Psychological Association
• American Psychological Association

Professional Biography:

My PhD is from UNC-CH. I am a licensed Clinical Psychologist with 30-some years of experience - the first decade with children and the next 20 years with adults. I’ve also been deeply involved in training and supporting human service workers (counselors, teachers, administrators, social workers, psychologists, clergy, physicians, dentists, and psychiatrists) for more than 20 years. I visited China in 1982 with a People-to-People delegation of group therapists, to share practices and perspectives with Chinese mental health colleagues, particularly in hypnosis and group therapy.

I offer the following Psychotherapy/Hypnosis Training and Suupport Groups:

In Raleigh -

Beginning/Intermediate; 1st Friday 1:00-5:00 pm; $110/month for 12 months
Advanced/Intermediate; 2nd Friday 10:00-11:45 am; $60/month

In Chapel Hill -

Intermediate/Advanced; 2nd Mondays 10:00-11:45 am $60/month

My special strength as a psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, and trainer is developing warm rapport through direct conversation and honest feedback. This usually leads to efficient relief, problem solving and personal change. My style is direct, practical and eclectic: focusing on change in the present, and addressing original family issues and learnings when they interfere with or prevent changing current behavior. I assign regular homework (behavioral exercises and reading) leading to personal discovery of what works for a particular person.

I run four weekly psychotherapy groups because research clearly shows that when a client is ready, group is equally or more effective and more cost-effective than individual therapy.

Psychotherapy Groups: In preparation for group, three individual sessions are necessary to build rapport and to exchange information about each other and about group therapy. The Chapel Hill group meets on Mondays from 5:30-7:00 pm. The three Raleigh groups meet on Tuesdays from Noon-1:30 pm; on Tuesdays from 4:30-6:00; or on Thursdays from 5:00-6:30 pm. Group fees are $60/session.

My strategies and tactics in both group and individual treatment emphasize cognitive-behavioral approaches (how our habits of thought control our feelings and behavior), interpersonal/ relationship skills, and emotional self-regulation, self-talk and self-soothing. I often use hypnosis, because research clearly shows it enables faster, deeper, more powerful change.

My approach is somewhat non-traditional. I take intense personal interest in my clients’ welfare and happiness within the appropriate and ethical limits of our therapeutic contract. . Since the medium is the message, I do my best to model good intimacy skills: being open, honest, and direct in the here-and-now - saying what I really think and feel.

Personal Statement:

I have two sons and live in the country with my wife, Peggy Payne. She writes, teaches, and critiques nonfiction and fiction. She won the Sherwood Anderson Award in 2003, and her latest novel, Sister India, is a New York Times Notable Book (see link at the bottom of the page). For fun, I drive an old car, apply Aikido to everyday life, enjoy dogs and read a lot. I am a long- time supporter of THE PEOPLES’ PHARMACY with Joe and Terry Graedon, 91.5 FM, Fridays at noon and on Saturdays at 7 am and 4 pm.

I’ve continued extensive training with especially powerful clinicians who did more than write and talk about psychotherapy. They demonstrated healing, and I watched and discussed and absorbed their styles and effectiveness. I’ve been fortunate enough to study hypnotherapy with Milton Erickson, Steve Lankton, and Steve Gilligan; transactional analysis with Bob and Mary Goulding, and Martin Groder, and Gestalt Therapy with Joan Fagan and Irma Lee Shepard.