Welcome!

My approach is to provide you with Support, to leverage Wellness and motivation for Change, to facilitate personal Growth and relational Wellbeing, to provide Feedback, and to respectfully assist in your Search for Meaning - all in order to help you resolve current problems and long-standing patterns.

self-help bookshelf

  • Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time
    Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time
    by Pavel Georgievich Somov, Ph.D.
  • Present Perfect: A Mindfulness Approach to Letting Go of Perfectionism and the Need for Control
    Present Perfect: A Mindfulness Approach to Letting Go of Perfectionism and the Need for Control
    by Pavel G. Somov
  • The Lotus Effect: Shedding Suffering and Rediscovering Your Essential Self
    The Lotus Effect: Shedding Suffering and Rediscovering Your Essential Self
    by Pavel Somov
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    1st Appointment
    Resources

    Pavel Somov’s Behavioral Medicine Experience

    As a psychologist with Behavioral Medicine/Health Psychology orientation, I have practiced and trainedin the following medical settings:

    • Pittsburgh VeteransAdministratinHospital: Behavioral Medicine, Primary Care, UPMC Pain Evaluation & Treatment Instituterotations (Pittsburgh, PA);
    • Roswell Park Cancer Institute Pain & Psychology Clinics (Buffalo, NY);
    • Family Medical Practice (Cheyenne, WY);
    • Student Health Services (University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY);
    • Medical Practice Collaborative (Laramie, WY);
    • Allegheny Correctional Health Services/AlleghenyCounty Jail(Pittsburgh, PA).

    I have experience in psychological headache/pain management; smoking cessation; psychodermatology and psychocutaneous presentations; somatoform and psychosomatic presentations; insomnia management, weight management; bariatric/gastric by-pass surgery transplant pre-operative psychological evaluations; in supporting cardiac health stress management; as well as in supporting illness and disability adjustment.

    I have also published the results of my dissertation on the relationship between pain experience and experience of time: Somov, P.G. (2000).    TimePerception as a Measure of Pain Intensity and Pain Type.Journal of Back & Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, 14(3), 111-121.

    What is Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine?

    "Behavioral Medicine is the interdisciplinary field concerned with the development and integration of behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical science knowledge and techniques relevant to the understanding of health and illness, and the application of this knowledge and these techniques to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation." (this definition is provided by the SocietyofBehavioral Medicine, to learn more go to http://www.sbm.org/.

    Health Psychology/Behavioral Medicine groups:

    Chronic Pain & Headache Management Group

    structured 6-session groups designed to help clients develop cognitive, behavioral and mindfulness-based psychological resources to deal with the condition in question, as well as to provide a supportive forum to facilitate normalization and adjustment to illness.

    Skin Disorder/Psychocutaneous Group

    a structured 6-session group for sufferers of skin disorders that have been shown to be exacerbated by stress (psoriasis, etc.), to facilitate symptom management, stress management and adjustment to illness; clients with skin disorders with chronic itching and scratching (dermatitis, eczema, pruritis, etc.) are provided with behavioral and mindfulness-based skills to break the itch-scratch cycle.

    Weight Management/Mindful-Not-Mouthful Eating Re-Training group

    a structured 6-session group designed to enhance weight management compliance in induction and maintenance phases of diets and eating regimens via mindfulness-based psychological resources; based on my upcoming book "Mindful Eater."

    Cardiac Health Group:

    a structured 4-session group designed to facilitate cardiac health through stress management and establishment of a systematic psychological self-care routine; aside from facilitating psychological self-care through cognitive, behavioral and mindfulness-based approaches, the Cardiac Health Group also provides attributional re-training with the goal of facilitating less reactive, less stress-prone interpersonal/social functioning.

    Insomnia Management Group:

    a structured 4-session group designed to address primary insomnia via a combination of stimulus control and sleep hygiene to stabilize sleep-wake cycle, and development of cognitive-behavioral resources to deal with sleep-impairing cognitions; clients who fail to benefit from the initial insomnia management intervention are provided with a sleep-restriction protocol that they can attempt on their own or with Dr. Somov's assistance, onan individual basis.

    Smoking Cessation Group:

    a structured 4-session group that utilizes QuitSmart™ cognitive-behavioral approach to smoking cessation; this group can be used in conjunction with nicotine replacement therapies and other pharmacological smoking cessation aids (such as Zyban, etc.); this group will be co-facilitated with Dr. Marla Somova, Ph.D. (a certifiedQuitSmart™ leader).

    Resources:

    Read about a NYT article about Psychodermatology
    query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html

    Visit Dr. Grossbart's to read about his book "Skin Deep" and his psychodermatology program:
    grossbart.com

    Read about Pain Management Psychology at www.healthpsychology.net/Pain_Management.htm

    I wish you well. Let me know if I can help.