Individual Therapy
Therapy to learn how to live life on your own terms
Anxiety, unresolved trauma, fear, depression…. these emotions can keep you stuck in a life that feels heavy, exhausting and unfulfilling. Trapped in the same cycles, you feel like nothing will ever be different… but what if it could be?
Life can become wildly overwhelming so quickly, and when you’ve been taught to just put your head down and keep moving, it’s easy to start feeling like you’re drowning. When you’re stuck in the past or constantly have that voice in your head, telling you ‘it’s not good enough; you’re not good enough yet’, joy and happiness end up feeling like they’re further and further away. Maybe you’re even at a point of feeling like throwing up your hands and saying to hell with it all, why bother - because nothing feels like it could really ever be different.
Maybe you’ve thought about therapy, or someone has suggested it - but even that feels overwhelming. You might catch yourself thinking:
‘Will talking about my problems really even help?’
‘Isn’t it easier to just shove everything aside and keep trudging forward?’
In the thick of your suffering it’s so hard to see that life could be different.
Do you:
Overfunction or overschedule
Act as a people pleaser
Put the needs of others ahead of yourself
Struggle to have close, intimate relationships
Feel chronically tired or sick
Have intrusive thoughts or flashbacks
Live with intense feelings of fear, anxiety, or panic
Have difficult connecting with others or feel like your relationships are unstable
If you’re feeling any of these things - they’re all symptoms of unresolved trauma. That trauma is holding you back from the life you’ve always wanted… that life you maybe have started to think wasn’t possible.
On some level, you know life isn't meant to be pushed through or just simply survived. Yet you continue to push the boulder down the road, hoping that in a day, or month or year there will be time and space for things to change. There’s a part of you that knows you need space for you to heal so that you can start living the life you actually want. You long for improvement, the desire for inner peace, and the need to quiet the relentless inner critic. There’s a deep desire you feel, to find a voice that is reassuring you that safety and acceptance are within reach despite past mistakes, imperfections, and circumstances that were out of your control
You’ve lived this way up until now, because it worked for you. It kept you safe by creating disconnections where you weren’t sure how to connect. It kept you busy and occupied so you didn’t have to deal with or feel your feelings.
The longer you stayed in this place, the more it became familiar and comfortable.
My Approach
Let’s start with this - you and I are a team. I just don’t sit and nod my head and say ‘tell me more.’
People are the most successful in therapy when they have a good relationship with their therapist - and that means that I’m not just going to sit there silently while you talk. We’ll work together to unpack all the places you’ve been stuck, the traumas or old stories you’ve held on to for way too long, and we’ll rebuild your relationships starting with the one you have with yourself.
I find my clients tend to feel better, faster, when I offer various types of therapy that I weave together during sessions. When I do this, it’s always going to be based on your unique needs and goals, and what makes sense for you as an individual. By integrating techniques such as CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy), mindfulness practices, IFS (Internal Family Systems) and EMDR, I create a holistic approach to help you find the path that will lead to your growth, feeling empowered, and living the life you want. Together, we’ll explore the ups and downs of your life, so that you can understand yourself better, become stronger, and feel more confident. You'll learn how to tackle your current problems and build skills that will support you long after our sessions end. After all - therapy isn’t just about growing and finding happiness… It's also about learning how to sustain that.
Often I get asked - ‘do I have to be in therapy forever?’ My answer is no - a commitment to weekly or bi-weekly sessions for at least six months will help you not only understand and practice the skills you’ll learn, but also come to each session to discuss what is and isn’t working and where you could be stuck. The routine of therapy is meant to support you in taking steps towards the growth you most want, and help you figure out how to sustain that in the long term on your own.
There are so many different mountains any one of us will have to climb throughout our lives. When you’re doing that on your own, not only putting the effort into climbing but also putting effort into being your own sherpa - that’s exhausting.