Rate Dr. Richard "Wade" Arnold

My name is Wade Arnold. I earned an MS in Counselor Education from Mississippi State University, an MDiv in Theology from Baylor University, and a PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Florida. I have served as a staff psychologist and professor at several universities and I'm a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the State of Florida.

If I were you, I would find it helpful to understand a little about the process of therapy or how a particular counselor works. I call my approach to psychotherapy an integrated, pragmatic approach. While I draw on many different counseling theories, I tend to think about the issues that bring individuals and couples into my practice in cognitive behavioral and interpersonal terms. Specifically, the two psychological theories on which I rely most frequently is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (GBT) and Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy (TLDP). CBT assumes that we interpret the events we encounter in a way that elicits emotional and behavioral responses. It follows that if we want to change our emotions and behavior, we begin by reinterpreting the events we encounter.

TLDP assumes that problems in living are the result of cyclical maladaptive interpersonal patterns. In brief, this approach to psychotherapy holds that

1) we perceive ourselves in certain ways and we engage in certain behaviors which leads us to

2) expect specific reactions from other people, and

3) that others respond to us in ways that either confirm or disconfirm our expectations, and

4) that as a result of this process we develop ideas about who we are and how we should act in the world .

For instance, if Harry meets Sally and he expects Sally to reject him, Harry may be overly protective of himself and fail to demonstrate his interest in Sally. Sally may perceive Harry as aloof and misinterpret his fear of rejection as a lack of interest. As a result, Sally doesn’t show her interest in Harry. In the end, both Harry and Sally feel rejected (thus, confirming Harry’s expectation of being rejected) because both Harry and Sally misinterpreted the other's behavior.

My ideal clients are the ones I know that I will have the greatest probably of helping achieve their goals. To that end, I know I work best with people who are:

1) experiencing anxiety and/or depression;

2) struggling with relationships (e.g. couples, friendships);

3) Christians.

This is not to say that I don’t work with people who are experiencing other issues, or who do not share my beliefs; however, these are the types of issues that I have had the most experience and success helping resolve, and the world view from which I work.

If this approach sounds like something you can commit to, then contact me to set up a video session.

I am currently accepting clients Monday through Thursday from 1:00 to 4:00 PM EST.