Nicholas Kenien
PHD, LPC, NCSP
Dr. Nick Kenien is a nationally certified school psychologist and a licensed professional counselor with a specialization in behavioral medicine. He earned his PhD in health psychology in 2014, and a post-masters certification in school psychology in 1999. He specializes in the diagnoses and management of learning disabilities, ADHD, tics, and emotional and behavioral disorders. Dr. Kenien also specializes in anxiety and mood, and their impact on everyday life. Blending his experiences as a former collegiate athlete and coach with unique training in psychophysiology, Dr. Kenien offers sports and performance training for athletes and performers of all ages and levels. Treatment modalities include Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback(HRV), and Comprehensive Behavior Intervention for Tics (CBIT).
Jennifer Kenien
MA
Jennifer earned a Master of Arts degree in Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University in 1998. She has over 20 years of experience practicing as a child and family therapist. Jennifer has extensive experience in the areas of trauma, attachment trauma, abandonment, adoption, abuse and neglect, marital conflict, and divorce.
Jennifer is passionate about providing personal, parent and family relationship coaching. She sees the inherent worth in each individual and seeks to instill a supportive, grace-filled, and solution-oriented approach to coach and guide client(s) toward the resolution of presenting problems or concerns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
(MBCT)?
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) combines cognitive behavioral techniques with mindfulness strategies in order to help individuals better understand and manage their thoughts and emotions in order to achieve relief from feelings of distress. In this therapy approach, people can learn how to use cognitive methods and mindfulness meditation to interrupt the automatic processes often triggering depression.
MBCT helps participants learn how to recognize their sense of being and see themselves as separate from their thoughts and moods. This disconnect can allow people to become liberated from thought patterns in which the same negative messages may be replayed over and over. After developing an awareness of the separation between thoughts, emotions, and the self, people in treatment may find that while the self and the emotions may exist simultaneously, they do not have to exist within the same dimension. This insight can contribute to healing by helping individuals learn to interject positive thoughts into negative moods in order to disarm those negative moods.
What is Comprehensive Behavior Intervention for Tics (CBIT)?
CBIT is a first-line behavioral treatment for the management of Tics in sufferers diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome (TS) and other tic disorders. The treatment, which is appropriate for children and adults (ages 9 and older), typically lasts 8-15 sessions over a 2 - 4 month period. CBIT involved psychoeducation, habit reversal training (HRT), relaxation training, and function-based treatments. Ultimately patients strive learning to effectively manage their tics. This behavioral treatment can serve as a stand-alone or in conjunction with medication management prescribed by neurology or PCP.
What is Sports & Performance Counseling?
Whether you play on a team, such as in soccer, basketball or baseball, or compete individually, such as in tennis, golf, gymnastics or triathlons, athletes sometimes need assistance to help them perform at their best. If your performances are not at the level you expect given your physical training and technical skills or you are not enjoying practices and competitions and find yourself lacking motivation to train, you may benefit from working with Dr. Kenien. Sports & Performance Counseling may help the athlete/performer:
• Improve performance consistency
• Create effective practice habits
• Improve communication skills
• Enhance motivation
• Fine tune focus
• Gain ability to perform in pressure situations.
Dr. Kenien has had the good fortune to work with several athletes competing at the highest levels of their scholastic and collegiate careers. From golfers and soccer players competing for national rankings, to sports officials striving to achieve licenses at the intercollegiate and Olympic levels, to swimmers and tennis players working to overcome anxiety and obtain or reclaim confidence, Dr. Kenien seeks for every athlete the reclaiming of joy and flow in their competitive journey. He draws upon his training in the management of anxiety, mind-body medicine, and his years as a competitive athlete. Dr. Kenien achieved success on the soccer field as a previous state semi-finalist in soccer, and in tennis, being named captain, Most Valuable Player, and playing number one singles for his varsity high school and college teams. He has also head coached varsity tennis teams at both the collegiate and high school varsity levels.
“It’s not up to me whether I win or lose. Ultimately, this might not be my day. And is is that philosophy towards sports, something that I really truly live by. I am emotional. I want to win. I am hungry. I am a competitor. I have that fire. But deep down, I truly enjoy the art of competing so much more than the result.” –Apolo Ohno
“I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.” –Mia Hamm
