The impact of the recession has seen an increase in stress levels among employees in Bermuda.And the Island’s ageing population means there is a greater risk of cases of dementia.But clinical psychologist Robyn Montarsolo, who this week opened her own private practice in Hamilton, will be focusing on early identification and intervention of such issues at an early stage, while providing support to the individual concerned and their family to maximise their quality of life, and hopes her practice will help to fill a need in the market.Ms Montarsolo, who is a Bermudian, has launched Equilibrium Ltd as a community-based service providing comprehensive, individual psychological assessment and treatment for depressive and bipolar disorders, general anxiety, panic disorders, social and specific phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, personality disorders, grief, loss and trauma, dementia and memory problems, stress and occupational burnout and traumatic brain injury.She uses evidence-based psychotherapeutic techniques to find out what is causing and maintaining the issues and develops the skills and strategies needed to overcome such problems in order to restore a person’s psychological well-being.Ms Montarsolo, who completed her high school and university education in the UK and did her clinical training in Australia, qualifying in 1999, worked in the UK before returning to Bermuda in the early 2000s and joined the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute.It has always been her goal to set up a community-based practice for adults and seniors that was easily accessible and felt the time was right to branch out of her own and so she established a clinic in Bermudiana Road in the past month.So far Ms Montarsolo said that the response had been very positive to her new venture and given the current rate of referrals she hopes to have a full case load by next month. She intends to expand the business further next year.“There are lots of opportunities in Bermuda, particularly in the development of older adult services,” she said.“I accept referrals from GPs, relatives and directly. I look forward to working in collaboration with both the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute.“I have got a very good working relationship with the National Office and hope to link up with community agencies to provide and develop whatever services are needed to fill the gaps.”Ms Montarsolo, who is the chair of the Bermuda Psychologists Registration Council, said that stress was definitely being experienced throughout the community and to avoid occupational burnout she planned to work with businesses and organisations to help build up their staff’s resilience and diagnose the problem before it escalates, as well as offering life coaching and working on relationship issues.“All of these issues are going to be exacerbated at times of economic challenges,” she said.Ms Montarsolo said that there was no one-size-fits-all method of treatment and that it varied from case to case depending on the client’s needs.One of the biggest challenges is the lack of public awareness about dementia and other problems experienced by seniors, which if not treated at an early stage can significantly impact on their functioning and quality of life. She said it was important that the person was formally assessed rather than the issue simply being dismissed as a part of ageing.Equilibrium is open from Monday to Friday between 9am and 4pm but with flexible outside hours offered to clients.For more information contact 400-7001, email info[AT]equilibrium.bm or visit the website at www.equilibrium.bm