Billings Premium Psychology welcomes Dr. Kristen Wederski to the practice!
490 North 31st Street #255, Billings, Montana 59101, United States
Phone: 406-200-7221 Fax: 406-200-7232
Psychology Services
Psychotherapy ("talk therapy")
Psychological therapy, also known as psychotherapy or talk therapy, is a proven effective, particularly unique way of engaging in a human relationship. Dr. Kurtz has continuously studied and practiced psychology his entire adult life. He offers highly compassionate psychotherapy which is attuned to your unique situation and aims to provide both short-term psychological relief as well as long-term peace of mind and resiliency by fostering the type of warm, professional relationship known to be the most important factor for psychological change and getting at the root of the struggles that bring you into the office. Commonly treated struggles include depression, trauma (from mental/physical/sexual abuse or military-combat), anxiety, chronic relationship stress, and pornography use which has become problematic in one's life, but these and others are unique to each person, and we will explore together whatever else is getting in the way of your peace of mind. This patient-specific psychotherapy will never be conducted from an instruction manual (or read from a script-sadly this does indeed occur), which has unfortunately become common in today's insurance-driven market, but by getting to know YOU. Dr. Kurtz's approach integrates a deep and thorough understanding of human psychology with our current, most relevant neuroscientific evidence and a firm underlying philosophical/logic structure.
Dr. Kurtz also has specialty training and experience in psychotherapy with neurologically suffering patients (e.g., chronic migraine, Alzheimer's Disease, psychological adjustment following post-brain injury rehab, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures) and is a certified Clinical Fellow in the International Neuropsychoanalysis Society learn more. He maintains memberships in the Psychotherapy Action Network (psian.org) and with Divisions 32 (Humanistic Psychology), 39 (Psychoanalysis & Psychoanalytic Psychology), and 55 (Society for Prescribing Psychology) of the American Psychological Association as well as membership in the Neuroscience Education Institute.
Our new psychologists, Dr. Liat Hoffman & Dr. Kristen Wederski are also available for psychotherapy and also work largely from a relational perspective.
Teletherapy (sessions conducted over videochat) are now available with any of our psychologists. For Dr. Hoffman, all therapy will be virtual/remote, as she does not live in the Billings area. For Drs. Kurtz & Wederski, in-person therapy is considered the optimal and preferred mode of treatment (for those able to come to the office in downtown Billings), while teletherapy is an option for patients who do not live in the local area, including those who live out of state.
Neuropsychological & Psychological Assessments
Now offering psychological & neuropsychological assessment services both in-person with Dr. Kristen Wederski and via telehealth with Dr. Liat Hoffman! Dr. Wederski offers a wide range of psychological assessments which are used for diagnostic clarification and clinical treatment recommendations while Dr. Hoffman is able to offer a variety of specialized neuropsychological assessments, presurgical evaluations, and cognitive rehabilitation evaluations.
Mental Health Professional Consultation/Supervision & Psychotherapy of Psychotherapists
It is not a coincidence that mental health professionals have one of the highest burnout rates in any profession. Doing the job of a mental health professional is VERY hard work, both technically (i.e., understanding the human mind along with psychotherapy process and technique) and personally (i.e., emotionally and intellectually draining). Helping a patient psychologically heal is complex, delicate, and personally taxing for the clinician-if they're doing it right. Dr. Kurtz has many years of experience in providing professional consultation and supervision for mental health professionals of all types (e.g., Psychologists, Psychiatrists, LCSWs, LCPCs, LMFTs) and is happy to offer this at Billings Premium Psychology. Examples of professionals who may benefit from this service include working therapists who find themselves too often "stuck" with patients, early career therapists who feel like they could use or would still like a little professional guidance, or psychiatric prescribers who feel like some [or perhaps many] of their patients may "get in their own way" and keep their medications from working as expected. Consultations may certainly be single occurrences, although most working clinicians may find it more beneficial to meet at least a few times or establish recurring appointments every few weeks to monthly.
This discounted rate is also offered for psychotherapy of psychotherapists (including graduate school trainees). This may be seasoned professionals who believe in keeping an eye on their blind spots and what they're bringing into the room, clinicians who are struggling with the loss of a patient through suicide, or graduate students looking to start their career out on the right foot. Regarding students, Dr. Kurtz believes that a critical [and often neglected] aspect of today's psychotherapist training, at all levels, is therapist's experiencing what it's like to sit in the "other" chair [as the patient].
Overall, these services offer a helping hand to those mental health professionals "fighting the good fight." The consultation/supervision service may be provided in-office (preferred) or via video chat from anywhere, whereas the psychotherapy for psychotherapists must be in-office (see above explanation).