Dr. Huffman contracts with Wellness Psychological Services to offer services in both our Tampa and St. Pete offices and virtually all across the state of Florida.
Hello! My name is Dr. Jonathan Huffman. I am a licensed psychologist, board certified behavior analyst, and a certified therapist in parent child interaction therapy. My main areas of training and clinical interests are in treating symptoms associated with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. In addition, to individual therapy, I also specialize in the assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), ASD, and specific learning disorders.
I am passionate about helping others achieve their goals and live a life worth living. I believe many of life’s circumstances require both change and acceptance techniques. Therefore, in therapy, I focus on methods of changing client behaviors while simultaneously accepting your current position. My therapeutic approach is personalized to each individual and focuses on increasing approach behaviors, mindful awareness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness skills. I believe therapy should be an active process with hands-on practice both in and outside of the therapy session. Therefore, my sessions are rooted in a hands-on experience by practicing the desired changes in and outside of therapy sessions, which allows individuals to actively decrease their distressing symptoms and increase their overall life satisfaction and well-being. These approaches are rooted in a warm therapeutic environment and supportive, yet appropriately challenging, therapeutic relationship. I use a combination of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), cognitive behavioral therapy with exposure and response prevention (CBT with ERP), prolonged exposure therapy, parent child interaction therapy (PCIT), and applied behavior analysis (ABA).
I believe all persons can benefit from skills designed to manage our emotional/behavioral reactions and incorporate this belief into my practice. Through modeling open and honest communication, the therapeutic relationship is strengthened and the stigma around mental health challenges is decreased allowing individuals to explore their current position and desired outcomes in a supportive environment. All persons experience upsetting life events, which may cause them to engage in behaviors that are not consistent with their values. These maladaptive thoughts and behaviors are often functional and reduce distress in the short term but increase suffering in the long term. Therefore, treatment focuses on the function of the undesirable behaviors, with an emphasis on the development of healthy behaviors consistent with desired outcomes. I work with you to radically accept your current position and behaviors, while simultaneously working to improve well-being through behavior change techniques. As a team, we will create a treatment plan to target your identified areas of improvement and will work together to monitor our progress through self-report measures and behavior-based outcomes.
DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY SPECIALIZATION
Consistent with DBT’s belief that all persons can benefit from mental health management techniques, prior to my clinical rotation on a DBT intensive outpatient clinic, I completed six months of DBT therapy. During this time, I developed further empathy and understanding of those who are trying to make meaningful changes in their daily lives. DBT focuses on the “contrasting” experiences we have within ourselves, the environment, and the world, with an emphasis on the coexistence of “opposites.” For example, many people often have an emotional reaction to an event (emotional mind), followed by a logical reaction (reasonable mind) after the emotional experience has subsided. This may lead to an individual feeling torn between these two experiences, such that one is the “correct” response, and may lead to the oscillation between these two ways of being. This oscillation leads to increased distress and emotion dysregulation. Therefore, the goal is to allow both experiences to coexist and to make the decision that honors the whole person (wise mind). Consequently, treatment allows your diverse experiences to exist and provides education and feedback on the implementation of mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal communication techniques. Therapy focuses on the function of maladaptive coping mechanisms and the incorporation of new effective ways of coping that promote self-respect. We monitor your weekly symptoms and treatment progress through diary cards (a weekly emotional and behavioral tracker) to determine functioning and the selection of appropriate skills to manage distress.
OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER SPECIALIZATION
I also have specialized training in working with individuals across the lifespan with OCD and OCD-related disorders, such as body dysmorphic disorder and hoarding disorder. Many persons experience unwanted and intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and have developed behaviors to reduce the distress of these experiences (compulsions). However, engaging in compulsive behaviors increases distress and anxiety in the long-term. Therefore, treatment focuses on planned exposures to the distressing situations, while simultaneously working to reduce the compulsive behaviors (CBT with ERP). Treatment is collaborative, active, and approach oriented, such that all exposures are selected and conducted together. Given that individuals with OCD often want certainty, treatment focuses on becoming comfortable with ambiguity and often includes distress tolerance skills and the incorporation of planned enjoyable activities after exposures. Progress is monitored through your self-reported experiences, behavioral observations, and scientifically supported assessments. As a team we challenge the obsessions and compulsions you experience through a welcoming environment and supportive therapeutic relationship.
PARENT CHILD INTERACTION THERAPY (PCIT) SPECIALIZATION
As a certified parent child interaction therapy therapist, I specialize in working with children ages 2-7 with emotional, behavioral, and disruptive problems. In PCIT, I provide parents with education on how to implement relationship enhancement and discipline strategies between you and your child. Therefore, sessions focus on coaching parents in the application of the specific therapy skills. Incorporation of these skills is fostered through live coaching with a “bug in the ear,” which gives parents immediate feedback on their use of the scientifically supported skills. Treatment is collaborative as parents are able to voice their specific concerns and actively participate in a fun way to manage their child’s challenging behaviors. Sessions are often conducted via telehealth with the family at home, which facilitates the transfer of these skills to relevant environments outside of the therapeutic setting. Progress is tracked through behavioral observations and parent self-report measures to ensure identified treatment goals are monitored and met in a timely fashion.
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER SPECIALIZATION
I specialize in the diagnostic assessment of ASD and have extensive experience in working with verbal teens and adults with autism to increase their social skills/competence and improve overall wellbeing through community engagement. Consistent with the neurodiversity movement, I believe autistic individuals have numerous strengths and work to incorporate their strengths into therapy and daily living so that they may live meaningful lives. For example, I focus on incorporating their special interest areas into educational/employment settings and assist them in developing adaptive communicative and daily living skills within the context of their current functioning. Therefore, treatment is customized with a focus on individual strengths and areas for growth related to social-emotional communication, relationships, restricted interest, repetitive behaviors, and inflexible adherence to routines. Together we will identify your strengths and areas for improvement, with an emphasis in treatment on the function of your behaviors and the incorporation of adaptive behaviors through experiential practice inside and outside of the session, visual prompts, and self-monitoring. In addition, we will identify ways the home, school, and work environments may be adapted to ensure success, with the understanding that many of the challenges associated with ASD reflect broader cultural and societal standards that make community engagement more difficult for individuals with ASD, not the inherent symptoms associated with ASD themselves.
OTHER PSYCHOTHERAPY SPECIALITIES
- Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety, Separation Anxiety, and Specific Phobias
- PTSD and Trauma
- Depression
- Interpersonal and Emotion Regulation Skills
- Assertive and Effective Communication Skills
- Assessment of ASD, ADHD, and Specific Learning Disorders