Philosophy
Dr. Malik believes that challenges in life arise for everyone, and that when individuals can discover their natural strengths and become confident in those strengths, they will have the tools that they need to meet their challenges. This can be true for children and adults alike, as well as for couples and families. In fact, Dr. Malik uses this philosophy in counseling across the developmental life span. She has treated parents and infants, children and youth, and adults and couples who are from college age to many years post-retirement. When she treats individuals, her focus is on building coping skills and confidence. With couples and families, her focus also includes communication, understanding, and attention to the fundamentals of close relationships: trust, respect, commitment, and affection.
Approach
Dr. Malik has been both a clinician and a researcher for many years, and as a consequence, her focus is on counseling techniques that are scientifically proven to work. Every human being is unique, but many of the challenges that people face have been challenges that others have had to deal with, too. For example, many people have anxieties, or have struggled with depression, and there are excellent, science-based approaches to helping both children and adults with those feelings. Dr. Malik is trained in those types of programs and uses them frequently in her practice, especially Cognitive Behavioral Therapies. Couples struggle with communication, understanding, and knowing how to resolve their conflicts in a healthy way. There are numerous techniques that research studies have shown to be effective with couples. Dr. Malik uses these techniques with both couples and families, and even with individuals who need some assistance with their relationships with family members. Thus, Dr. Malik’s therapeutic approach is a blend of meeting every child, adult, couple, or family where they are in the process of dealing with challenges, and using scientifically-based techniques to help people move forward with confidence and growing happiness in meeting the challenges in their lives.
Please see Areas of Practice for Dr. Malik’s areas of expertise.