General Behavioral Medicine Services

Behavioral medicine is the use of specialized psychological approaches to prevent or treat medical illnesses that are affected by stress and other psychological factors to improve health, well-being, and adjustment.  Due to the importance between the relationship of behavior and health, Dr. Kukla is devoted to using her years of training to help people change their behaviors and lifestyles to improve health, prevent illness, and reduce symptoms of illness.

Dr. Kukla’s behavioral medicine services provide therapy to individuals across the lifespan and their families.  Chronic illness is a family experience whereby ALL members of the family are impacted, not just the loved one with a medical condition.  Consequently, Dr. Kukla feels strongly that family based interventions are critical in helping the entire family cope with a family member’s illness.

Dr. Kukla frequently works with the following medical issues and concerns:

  •  Adjustment difficulties to a medical condition
  •  Asthma
  •  Cancer
  •  Cardiovascular disease
  •  Caregiver concerns
  •  Chronic pain
  •  Crohn’s disease
  •  Diabetes
  •  Hypertension
  •  Irritable bowel syndrome
  •  Making lifestyle changes due to a new medical condition (e.g., dietary changes, increasing physical activity, monitoring  blood glucose levels, etc.)
  •  Migraines/Headaches
  •  Myofascial pain
  •  Neurological conditions (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis)
  •  Posttraumatic stress disorder secondary to a medical procedure or traumatic injury
  •  Temporomandibular disorder (TMD)
  •  Traumatic brain injuries
  •  Reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome/Complex regional pain syndrome
  •  Seizure disorders
  •  Sleep disorders
  •  Specific phobias (e.g., fear of needles, blood)
  •  Stress management training