Larry W. Tyndall, Ph.D.

Larry W. Tyndall, Ph.D. is a Licensed Psychologist (in Kansas and Missouri) with 35 years of clinical experience.  He is co-founder and co-owner of Counseling Associates of Overland Park, LLC.  Dr. Tyndall received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the College of William and Mary in Virginia in 1979.  He completed his Masters of Science in Education (Counseling Psychology emphasis) at the University of Kansas in 1983.  Dr. Tyndall received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Kansas in 1989.  He has been in full-time private practice since 1995 and prior to that Dr. Tyndall served as program director for the Masters and Johnson Trauma and Dissociative Disorders Program at Two Rivers Psychiatric Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.  He has also worked as a staff psychologist at Osawatomie State Hospital in Kansas and at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.  Dr. Tyndall also held an adjunct teaching appointment at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and at Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri.  He is a member of Division 39 of the American Psychological Association and has served on the Board of the Greater Kansas City Psychological Association.  In addition, Dr. Tyndall is a psychoanalyst and is Director of the Greater Kansas City Psychoanalytic Institute where he also serves as a faculty member and chair of the Curriculum and Faculty committee.  Dr. Tyndall is a well-rounded psychologist and psychoanalyst with considerable experience working with a broad range of life issues and a diversity of clients.

Clinical Expertise

Experienced in working with mood, anxiety, and relationship issues, Dr. Tyndall specializes in working with adults who have experienced sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and/or neglect in childhood.   His expertise with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) likewise includes working with adults who have experienced more recent trauma such as combat, domestic violence, and assault.  Dr. Tyndall is skilled in working with sexuality and relationship issues, personality disorders, and gay, lesbian, and bisexual issues.  In addition to providing individual, couples, and family therapy, Dr. Tyndall also offers psychoanalysis.

Treatment Philosophy

Fundamentally, I believe psychotherapy is a mixture of psychoeducation (providing information to help people develop new coping and relationship skills), emotional processing (learning to identify and work through uncomfortable feelings), and corrective emotional experience (using the counseling relationship as a safe place to experiment with new interpersonal behaviors and skills).  Therefore, I utilize a mixture of the following therapy approaches:  Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (addressing how our thoughts and beliefs impact our emotional experience, self-image, and behavior); Family Systems Therapy (to help people gain insight into their characteristic relationship patterns); and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (understanding how ways of coping developed earlier in life may influence our choices and actions in the present).

In my view, most issues that people bring to therapy (for example, anxiety, addictions, and struggles with various moods) are actually adaptations to their life circumstances and therefore, represent efforts at coping rather than some kind of disorder.  I strive to create a safe and supportive therapy environment where people are free to explore the emotional challenges and stresses of daily living that are affecting them.  By encouraging people to talk out loud about their hopes and struggles, I believe counseling provides a way for people to gain perspective on their lives that often frees them up to recognize alternatives.  Together we can examine your needs as well as your dreams in an effort to help you improve the quality of your life.