START NOW: Therapy for Anxiety and Depression
The START NOW Program is a strengths-based therapy approach for anxiety, stress and depression that emphasizes self-empowerment, growth, change and acceptance.
About
START NOW is a program built on the foundation of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which consists of proven strategies and concepts shown effective for improving depression, anxiety, stress, and general distress. The START NOW program walks participants through specific skills for regulating difficult emotions and distress, learning effective distress management and coping skills, and applying cognitive behavioral strategies in their daily life.
START NOW for Generalized Anxiety, Depression, Life Distress and Mood Disorders
Developed for individuals diagnosed with anxiety disorder, major depression, mood disorders and general life distress, this group program consists of three sections lasting six weeks each. Each section utilizes education and reading material, and teaches strategies that are applied outside of the group to achieve improvements:
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Section 1: Living with Purpose and Intention
This lesson is designed to help individuals identify their motivation and to help improve their ability to accomplish realistic goals. Strategies around motivation, alignment of goals with purpose, and strategies for being productive and effective in daily roles are provided. -
Section 2: Core Cognitive Behavioral Strategies
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is considered one of the most effective non-medication treatments for anxiety and depression. This section teaches participants core cognitive behavioral therapy strategies for addressing behavioral, emotional, and thinking patterns that are often associated with elevated anxiety, depression, and distress. -
Section 3: Healthy and Effective Relationships
Emphasis on health and effective relationships has been included in START NOW since so much of our time and life is spent with others and communication with others. This section offers strategies for better understanding and evaluating patterns in relationships and improving communication and relationship functioning.
Additional START NOW therapy will be available for treatment related to substance use disorders, and postpartum and perinatal care. More information is coming soon.
See our Locations tab for meeting days and times. Consistent attendance is required to maintain enrollment in the program. In-person and virtual options are available.
Meet the Doctor
Joe Gieck, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist providing psychotherapy to adult and adolescent individuals. Dr. Gieck received his doctoral degree from the University of Wyoming in 2007 and completed his psychology internship at the Salem VA Medical center in 2006-2007. He and his family have resided in the Roanoke Valley since 2006. His primary responsibilities at Carilion include working improving delivery of integrated mental health and behavioral health therapy services to all communities served by Carilion Clinic.
Prior to coming to Carilion Clinic Dr. Gieck worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs where he was involved in a range of clinical and research activities, as well as development of population-based education and care systems. Most recently Dr. Gieck served as the Director of Psychology Training and Psychology Professional Practice at the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care system.
Dr. Gieck's primary philosophy as a psychologist includes providing patient-centered, evidenced-based care to help individuals reach their personal health goals. He is trained in multiple evidenced-based treatments for a range of psychiatric disorders, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Insomnia, Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD, Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD, Exposure and Response Prevention for anxiety disorders, and Motivational Interviewing. Dr. Gieck's areas of clinical interests include treatment of health-related psychological conditions, depression and mood disorders, and anxiety and trauma disorders. Primary areas of research interest include high reliability systems in healthcare and operations-based research to inform population-based mental healthcare delivery.
How to Enroll
How to Enroll
- Request a referral from your primary care physician or other clinician to Carilion Psychology
- Ask that START NOW be referenced in the referral information.
- Once received, you will be contacted for an intake appointment to determine whether this group or other treatment options are more appropriate.
Most health insurances are accepted by Carilion Clinic; a co-pay may be required. Please contact your insurer for specific behavioral health benefits and co-pay requirements.
Resources
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Prework intake forms
Location
Carilion Mental Health at Tanglewood Center
4434 Electric Road, Roanoke
Thursdays, 1 – 2:30 p.m.
For more information, call 540-527-4900.
*Consistent attendance is required to maintain enrollment in the program. In-person and virtual options are available.
For Professionals
START NOW integrates research, theory and clinical experience. It is designed to be a strengths-based approach, focusing on an accepting and collaborative clinical style. At the same time, this approach places the primary responsibility for change on the participant. This intervention was also designed to take into account the pragmatic factors of a variety of care delivery settings, which frequently face limited treatment resources.
START NOW incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, neurocognitive modifications, trauma-sensitive care, gender-specific guidance, focusing skills and functional analysis in a highly structured, nonjudgmental approach to skills building.
- All materials are freely available and in the public domain.
- Spanish versions are available.
- START NOW is currently used in 21 states and 7 countries.
To learn more and access START NOW training and support materials, click here.
Giving Back
Carilion Mental Health programs welcomes active support and contributions from the community, which increases our ability to offer mental health services and programming throughout the Roanoke area, the New River Valley and Southwest Virginia.
If you are interested in directly supporting the Carilion Mental Health through a gift or donation, please visit the Carilion Clinic Foundation webpage. To contribute specifically to mental health programming, select “Other” under the “Designation” tab and enter “Carilion Mental Health” in the text box. We appreciate your support.
