Depression & Anxiety
No two individuals come to therapy for the same reason or the same problem. In my experience, a common underlying problem is simply psychological pain.
Symptoms of anxiety and depression are extremely common in today’s society. The current economic climate is not helping to calm anyone’s fears or daily stress.
For some, past overwhelming events or an ongoing life situation and an individual’s belief system about the same converge with daily stresses. Not even including the symptoms of anxiety and depression, the feelings of sadness, fear, anger, and the sense of being unable to ‘fix it’ can become unbearable. There is usually some insight into how behavior and attitudes are creating painful symptoms, but the person decides to seek help because they have tried different ways of alleviating their pain on their own with little success.
I provide psychotherapy with two initial goals in mind. The first is immediate symptom relief, and the second is to help the individual restore to their previous well-being. I work using a mixture of cognitive behavioral therapy as well as insight-oriented work to reach those goals. By decreasing negative thoughts and self-damaging behaviors, and by bringing unconscious thoughts, feelings, and motivations into awareness, life can be lived with more intention and action that results in less pain and eventually, more joy. Most important to this process is creating a safe and caring environment together wherein the client senses my commitment to helping them return to a healthier and more comfortable state of being.