Individual Therapy
Are you ready for a life that offers more?
Adulting is hard.
You had your dreams, and you’ve worked towards achieving them. You’ve accomplished some and continue to work on others.
But…you just don’t feel fulfilled.
Anxiety creeps in when you consider all your responsibilities and decisions to make. It’s almost paralyzing at times. You procrastinate to avoid these overwhelming feelings.
You constantly feel exhausted and have to force yourself out of bed every morning, and you don’t look forward to the routines and expectations that will follow.
You’ve tried all the “things”…
… healthier diet (so time-consuming and expensive!), exercise (who has time, it’s so intimidating to get started), and you’ve read the self-help books.
But the motivation… it’s just missing, and you can’t seem to get it going.
You spend your days… and let’s be real, some nights, caring for everyone. There are schedules to manage, carpool lines, reminding your husband of appointments and updates about the kids, “girl nights” and “date nights?” HA!
Then there’s the laundry, dishes, and all the cleaning.
If you’re working… forget it – there’s so much to do!
You’ve been told, “take care of yourself… self-care, self-care, self…” whatever!
You actually love your life. It just doesn’t fulfill you in the ways you hoped.
Instead the anxiety, depression, exhaustion, and procrastination are taking over, and you’re not sure which way is up anymore.
And it’s not just everyday responsibilities. Life goes on and can leave you in the past.
Grief and loss, divorce, trauma, health challenges, caring for children (always unpredictable).
It’s time for a change.
Welcome home.
I’ve been through many of these challenges.
I’ve worked through anxiety and depression, experienced grief and loss in different ways, divorced, raised children, and faced challenges I never imagined would be part of my life story.
I’ve experienced it and done the work to get to the other side. And sometimes, I’m in the working stage again. I know it’s hard, and I also know it’s worth it.
Every one of my adult clients is facing at least one of these challenges.
No one gets through life unscathed.
I have compassion for those grieving and insight into navigating infidelity, divorce, and co-parenting.
Trauma comes in many forms; sometimes, we don’t even realize it until it is debilitating or we’ve escaped it.
I can see the pain in my clients when they come in. I empathize with it.
I promise not to have all the answers to parenting, but I can share my challenges with my children. As a child and adolescent therapist, I can offer insight regarding what they are experiencing and how you can reconnect with them. You may even feel they need counseling. I’ll listen to your concerns and support your choices.
Say goodbye to uncertainty and confusion.
Our thoughts and behaviors change when we are focused on just surviving. Literally, our brain prioritizes our survival, creating a guard and tunnel vision, expressing negative emotions that we don’t understand or don’t know where they came from.
We begin to question whether we are good, capable, or worth it. We fear no one will understand our truth.
Our self-doubt clouds our thoughts, and it’s hard to see the positive—our achievements, our efforts, the small wins that happen every day. We can become blind to them all.
You’re here, so I know you’re ready for the change. You don’t want to lose hope that there is more that life has to offer than dragging yourself through each day, wishing your struggles would suddenly disappear.
“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.”
–Maya Angelou
You have nothing to prove to anybody!
That’s why I love Maya Angelou: She speaks the truth with clarity, insight, and understanding while honoring the human experience. I have another quote of hers hanging in my office—where you can see it every time you come in.
The neighborhood we live in, whether we’re stay-at-home or working moms, whether we and our family use technology too much or not enough, whether we would be accepted if others knew the truth about us…
We all have that buzzing noise in our heads of what we think OTHERS think about us. But how you feel, think, and behave only applies to YOU!
How do YOU want to feel about a situation?
How do YOU process your past and struggles?
How do YOU react when you engage with others?
You deserve the opportunity to prove to yourself…
… that you can feel good about the outcomes of a situation, even if it’s out of your control.
… that your past does not have to determine your future.
… that you are equipped to respond (not react) authentically no matter what you’re doing.
You can explore all of this with me… one-on-one.
During individual therapy, my goal is to help you identify your unique strengths, teach you self-compassion, and change your inner dialogue to one that leads to confidence, purpose, and internal pride for what you have achieved.
This is a safe place for you to explore these inner dynamics.
Our brain makes connections between similar emotions, thoughts, and sensations. Different memories get linked up in our brains as we go through life. That’s why many of us have trouble understanding where our beliefs come from, why we have such strong emotional responses to certain situations, and why it’s so difficult to change unwanted behaviors.
Exploring our past can help us understand our current difficulties and inform them.
I like to use different approaches.
You might imagine counseling as sitting on a couch, talking back and forth with a gentle, calming, soft-toned therapist. But it can be much more!
We’ll do “traditional talk therapy,” but I might encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and use more creative techniques to explore and understand yourself.
So… does that mean you’ll be loud or harsh?
No! I’m not that way at all. But I will empathize and meet you wherever you are emotionally… and hold you accountable for the work you need to do to create change. So, I might confront you (nicely) about an issue we aren’t making progress on… or repeated behaviors you engage in despite expressing your desire to stop them. My role is to guide you through a process of healing, which sometimes requires a little push forward to obtain our goals.
Wait… what kind of ‘creative techniques’ are you talking about?
I regularly use “creative approaches” with children and teens, but I’ve found that they’re particularly helpful for adults, too. If you’re stuck on an issue, having trouble putting words to your struggles or experiences, or struggling to gain insight, you might be surprised at how your “creative mind” can pick up the slack when your “logical mind” is falling behind.
If you’re up for it, we can do sand tray therapy, art therapy, or Lego therapy. You might be puzzled about how these things can help you solve your problems, and that’s okay. But I also say: “Come join me and see for yourself!”
You also might be thinking…
I am in so much pain and have been carrying it for so long. I don’t think that being creative and “playing” is the kind of therapy I need.
You very well might be right, and that’s perfectly okay. These are just tools I incorporate as needed, wanted, and appropriate.
If you’ve experienced trauma or a difficult upbringing, you likely have a lot of pain from which you don’t know how to escape. If that’s where you are, I might suggest Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). I know the name might be confusing, but it’s been researched and proven for over 30 years to be the most effective tool in resolving trauma, adverse life experiences, depression, anxiety, grief, and loss (and many more, but you get the point).
Take a deep breath and pause.
You’re in the right place.
My goal is to meet you exactly where and how you are. That’s our starting point.
Together, we will sort through the mess of emotions, daily challenges, and uncertain futures. I’ll be there to watch you blossom as you find relief and hope and be there when the unexpected happens.
I hope to develop a trusting, enjoyable, and therapeutic relationship with my clients.
I get excited when meeting new clients, and I can’t wait to learn about your experiences and how they’ve led you to who you are today.
I’ll feel proud every time you gain new insights, implement new skills, or solve a conflict in a way YOU are proud of.
You are just a click or phone call away from that first step: (770) 371-2332.
Request a free 15-minute consultation for us to explore what your needs are and if we feel we can work through them together. Ask your questions, and express your hesitations. Our relationship begins here, and I’m ready to calm your fears so we can start your healing journey.
