Harris Jensen, MD is a general practice psychiatrist who uses a holistic and integrated approach. He doesn’t just treat “one organ in the body with medicine.” He brings together traditional and holistic medicine, as well as psychotherapy, so patients can control the symptoms of disorders affecting them.
Dr. Jensen takes most insurance plans and treats a wide variety of medical issues, like;
Dr. Jensen integrates all three aspects (traditional and holistic and psychotherapy) into a simple and effective treatment plan for patients that is focused on one thing: their goals. It empowers them to get their life back on track—so they can feel good and effective again at work or school or in their personal life. This is different from just providing a medication or just providing counseling.
Dr. Jensen takes a commonsense approach starting with the patient’s strengths and building on that. This is called “Positive Psychiatry.” This is different from the traditional approach that focuses just on the disease and just prescribing a medication. This is also different from alternative medicine. He provides medication, counseling, holistic medicine and skills training that are all based on good scientific evidence a patient can rely on.
Dr. Jensen is focused on the patient’s goals and will write those down in the patient’s chart, as well as the patient’s values and expectations, social life and spirituality. The brain responds to all these things. Dr. Jensen is good at writing out the narrative story of these things for each visit and encourages patients to look at a printout of each visit note so they can know the doctor and patient are on “the same page.” They just need to ask the receptionist for a copy of the note. The treatment plan is focused on what is good for the patient: What works most quickly and effectively and for the lowest cost.
Learn a 3 step meditation technique that has helped 400 people stop some kinds of obsessions. Discover how different herbal medicines such as valerian root tea can help for sleep. Chamomille or cinnamon tea tea for excess nervous tension. Cooking with whole food and Italian herbs for better health. How to resist urges for fast food and junk food. Outdoor natural meditation for stress management. Aroma therapy for relaxation. These can be used with or without traditional medication.
Dr. Jensen believes in a moderate approach towards treating these issues, putting patient care first.
He is not a “one dimensional” doctor, just prescribing medication to control symptoms. He puts the patient’s progress first and looks at all the things that can help. He asks the patient what their “old life” was like, when their medical condition wasn’t getting in their way. He wants to know about your goals, hopes, dreams, relationships and passions— how you experienced them in the past and how they’ve been lost now.
Then he focuses on your strengths, what you can do well, and builds on that. He doesn’t focus on “what is wrong” but “what is right,” in a patient’s life. This is an approach called “Positive Psychiatry.” In this approach the doctor isn’t some authority figure to be followed without question, but he works with you, in a teamwork approach, so the two of you can find a treatment plan that works and the patient is comfortable with.
Your strengths might include: willingness to ask for help, focused on goals, open to learning new thinking, willingness to take action in small steps, relationships, spirituality.
Results happen when the doctor and patient are working well together, namely because the patient feels relaxed and comfortable to open up to the doctor about what is really going on in their life.
To this end, Dr. Jensen has worked to create an inviting office atmosphere. He has a friendly staff, an office therapy dog who greets people, a waiting area with wildlife photography and coffee. On the business side of things, there is a good billing service that allows Dr. Jensen to accept many insurance plans, so patients don’t have to worry about insurance.
Yes.
I take most insurance plans, but not Cigna, Medicare or Medicaid.
The diagnosis and treatment of: depression, bipolar affective disorder, “soft bipolar,” depression with mood instability, menopausal depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, approach anxiety, performance anxiety, public speaking anxiety, panic disorder, driving anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder, traumatic brain injury with effects on mood, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, headaches, insomnia, anger management issues, food addiction, binge overeating disorder, alcoholism, pornography addiction, stimulant addiction, marijuana addiction, psychosis, schizophrenia, and autistic spectrum disorders.
– No. That is old “one dimensional” thinking. I consider the biological, psychological and social problems going on and then generally recommend the same category of solutions as the problem is in. For psychological problems, seek psychological solutions. If you can’t stop obsessing at night, for example, use a thinking skill to stop the bad thinking, such as a meditation method to block that thinking. For a biological problem like insomnia, consider a sleep medication, preferably one not habit forming, if thinking skills don’t work. If you can’t get to sleep at night because there is nothing rewarding socially to look forward to the next day (you are socially isolated due to not having social skills), then I will support a person learning those skills so they can make friends and have a rewarding social life to look forward to when you wake up to each morning. We are social creatures after all. If another person is doing this psychotherapy, I back off and just do education on these topics. For more on this see “biopsychosocial model” in Wikipedia.
You are in the driver’s seat. You can choose what you want to do and I am here to help you every step of the way. I can teach time management strategies, meditation, mindfulness strategies, rational thinking skills, relationship skills, among many other stress management strategies. You pick what you want to learn and I’ll work with you on those things.
To empower my patients I give them a link to a library of 800 audio files and dozens of PDF’s I have written, which explains specific examples of how people have changed their thinking to develop more confidence and emotional self-control.
Another innovation we’ve made is different visit times. I have longer work hours until 6 pm on Mondays and Tuesdays for people who work. I see people for a 45 minute first visit. Depending on what we think is reasonable, followup visits can be for 15 minutes or 30 minute visits. You can specify you only want 15 minute visits.
Work hours: Monday and Tuesday: 8 am to 6 pm, Wednesday through Friday: 8 am to 3 pm or 5 pm depending on the week.
Text reminders have been very popular. We send out text reminders of your office appointment time 48 hours in advance to help you remember your visit time.
I have taught over 400 people a 3 step meditation technique that works well to stop some kinds of obsessions. I can review different herbal medicines that have the potential for replacing in part traditional medicine. Examples: valerian root tea and meditation to help for sleep. Chamomille or cinnamon tea tea for excess nervous tension. Cooking with whole food and Italian herbs for better health. How to resist urges for fast food and junk food. Outdoor natural meditation for stress management. Aroma therapy for relaxation. These can be used with or without traditional medication.