In the Media

2023

4/19/2023

Get Healthy - NWI Times: Fear Factor 

“Procrastination can become a
problem, even pathological, if it
significantly interferes with one’s
physical and mental well-being or one’s
quality of life,” she says. “This is because
the person experiences ever-increasing commitments pile up and multiply over time.”
- ​Read the full article here.

2022

5/25/2022

NWI Times
Voted Best in the Region in
​Mental Health Counseling

2021

5/25/2021

NWI Times

Voted Best in the Region in
​Mental Health Counseling

2019

12/16/2019

"THE COUNSELOR IS IN" RADIO SHOW WITH ERIC V. HARWELL on WYCA REJOICE 102.3 FM - HOARDING DISORDER
Listen to Heather (Chik) Plinovich, Ph.D., discuss Hoarding Disorder with counselor Eric V. Harwell. Interview starts at 8:16 minute mark.

2016

“While there are many cognitive behavioral clinical psychologists in Chicago who specialize in treating anxiety disorders and OCD, there were none in Northwest Indiana,” says Chik, who has more than 10 years of experience in using cognitive behavioral therapy and other evidence-based psychological treatments. “So I took a calculated risk, did some market research and went ahead to start my own solo practice.”
- ​Read the full article starting on page 28 here.

2015

1/6/15

 The National Psychologist:
 Hoarding differs from OCD
Hoarding is a unique compulsion, so different from others that the DSM 5 now designates it as a separate disorder rather than a specific form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, as it was covered in earlier editions. ​Heather M. Chik, Ph.D., who gave a presentation at the Indiana Psychological Association’s Fall Conference, said hoarding is so different from OCD that pharmaceutical drugs (antidepressant SSRIs) that often help relieve symptoms of other compulsive disorders are ineffective in hoarders. “We need a different strategy,” Chik told about 40 listeners in a breakout session of the conference Nov. 7-8 in the Hilton North Indianapolis.
​- Read more about Dr. Chik's (Plinovich) talk at the IPA conference.

2014

"Phobias can get pretty extreme," Chik said. "It can get to a level of paranoia when it's to that degree." More common phobias involve heights and fears of blood, injury and needles, she said. Exposure therapy gradually puts patients face to face with their fears and is usually most effective, she said.
- Read the full article here.
From clowns and ghosts to escalators, cockroaches and even vomit, fear can take almost any shape. When it interferes with everyday functioning, that's when people tend to seek professional help, said Heather Chik, a clinical psychologist and director of the Anxiety & OCD Behavioral Health Center in Munster. "Specific phobias are the most treatable anxiety problem out of all the anxiety disorders," Chik said.
- Read the full article here.

2013

10/17/13

POST-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL: 
OCD AFFECTS MORE OF US THAN WE THINK
The 27-year-old Highland woman has harbored irrational fears, feelings and obsessions since she was a teenager. She worried about germs...
- Link no longer active.

8/21/13

GET HEALTHY -
​NWI Times:
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: MANAGING CHRONIC ANXIETY
Chronic anxiety can negatively affect a person’s well being and if not treated properly, can lead to more problems. Local experts recommend anxiety sufferers begin with lifestyle changes and cognitive behavioral therapy. Heather Chik, a clinical psychologist and director of the Anxiety and OCD Behavioral Health Center in Munster, says chronic anxiety can come in many forms but most often would be diagnosed as general anxiety disorder. 
​Continue with article here.

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