AUTHOR

Natalie Fraize LMHC, LPC

Licensing & Certifications:

LMHC in New York
LPC in Pennsylvania

Professional Background

Natalie is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York and a Licensed Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania. She recently started her own practice, Vitality Counseling Center, after working in community mental health for over 5 years. Natalie believes in a whole person approach to well-being and began her practice so that she can focus on working with individuals who are experiencing a combination of physical and mental health symptoms. Throughout her career, Natalie has seen how untreated or poorly managed depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders can contribute to a host of physical health conditions and she strives to mitigate the impact of mental health struggles on overall well-being.

While in her Mental Health Counseling Master’s program at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Natalie received training in CBT, Motivational Interviewing, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She uses a Person Centered, Strengths Based, and Trauma Informed Care approach and implements an eclectic blend of modalities in order to best serve her clients.

Natalie works with adolescents through seniors and offers individual, couples, and family therapy. Couples and family therapy sessions are generally focused on the impact of the health issues on the relationships, psychoeducation about the mental health diagnosis, and the role of the support system.

In addition to working with clients individually, Natalie teaches Healthy Mindset workshops for patients enrolled in the Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehab at Sterling Heart Care. Natalie’s unique experience as a supervisor of the multidisciplinary Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) team and staff member at Sterling Heart Care qualify her to work with clients that are facing mental health challenges in conjunction with other health issues that may require collaboration with various providers to ensure appropriate treatment.

Professional Affiliations:

American Counseling Association
Association for Contextual Behavioral Science

Education:

BS in Psychology from University of Mary Washington, 2013
MS in Mental Health Counseling from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2016

Areas of Focus

Natalie Fraize enhances well-being through personalized counseling for all ages, integrating holistic approaches to address mental health and physical well-being.

Natalie Fraize utilizes a number of therapeutic approaches, including:

Adolescents, emerging adulthood (18-29), adults, and seniors
Individual, couples, and family therapy
Anxiety, work stress, life transitions, health anxiety, depression, chronic illness and pain
Person centered, strengths based, trauma informed care utilizing CBT, ACT, and Motivational Interviewing

Agitated Depression: Definition, Symptoms, & Treatment

Agitated depression is characterized by intense psychic conflict, distress, irritability, mood swings, and an increase in risky behavior. It is more difficult to treat than regular depression and the complexity of the presentation may result in misdiagnosis. With the right treatment, usually a combination of therapy and medication, relief from symptoms is possible.

March 3, 2022

CBT for Chronic Pain: How It Works, Techniques, & Effectiveness

CBT is an effective treatment alone for chronic pain or in addition to other methods of pain management. CBT may be especially beneficial for those struggling with problematic or distressing emotional or behavioral reactions to pain, or those who are not getting expected results from other treatments.

March 3, 2022

Depression Relapse: Warning Signs, Causes, & Prevention

Depression relapse is a period of at least two weeks during which your symptoms of depression have returned. Common signs of depression relapse are changes in mood, social interactions, and sleep. Relapses are usually triggered by one or more identifiable stressors. Fortunately, there is research supporting various ways to prevent relapse that you can begin practicing now.

March 3, 2022

Depression After a Heart Attack: Signs, Symptoms, & How to Cope

Many people who have a heart attack go on to experience symptoms of depression. If you notice changes in your mood, sleep, activity level, or appetite, you may be dealing with depression in addition to managing your heart disease. Recognizing that you are dealing with depression and seeking appropriate treatment is beneficial to recovery.

March 3, 2022