Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Waterloo, ON.

I believe we all have moments in our lives when we experience stress and anxiety. Every single one of us could benefit from tools taken from mindfulness exercises as I do in my personal life. I tend to address these issues from a teaching and practicing approach with clients. Its one thing to suggest and explain something, but there has been greater success when we try it out together in session. I have used role play exercises from time to time when the client feels it would be beneficial to decrease the intensity of their anxiety. I love when my clients confidence starts to build because they have implemented what we have practiced in session and learned that it works!

Stress and anxiety when present within healthy limits can stimulate, motivate, challenge, warn and activate our bodies to react accordingly to the situation. When it's too much, too intense and for too long, stress and anxiety lead to poor functioning, impairment and exhaustion resulting in stress and anxiety overload, contributing heavily to triggering anxiety disorders. In my therapy, I use therapeutic approaches and techniques that help reduce stress and anxiety and enhance the quality of your life and build your emotional resilience. You develop skills to minimize distress and maximize efficacy in many areas of your living and live life in a happier and healthier manner

I hope to help you explore what a more preferred relationship with anxiety and stress could look like. In today’s hectic and often overwhelming environments, managing anxiety and stress can be one of the most important and difficult experience to manage. In our work together, you can expect me to ask about the impacts of both on your life, and gently explore what it could mean to live a little differently. Using evidence-based and individualized strategies, I help clients to find ways to manage and thrive. Book a free consultation to explore if we are a good fit.

Anxiety and stress are often met with the thoughts that they are out of your control. Through Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. By learning how to identify the thoughts, feelings and body reactions that you experience, you will be able to develop an action plan to reduce these reactions in stressful situations. Recommendations are made to track your moods and emotions outside of therapy and practice strategies when situations occur.

Stress and anxiety trigger the internal alarm system, alerting us to a threat, and activating our nervous system, sending a flood of stress hormones through the body in preparation to fight the threat, or run from it. When the brain determines the threat is gone it sends the signal that the body returns to its natural calm state. But what if the brain fails to tell the body that the threat is gone? This is where stress and anxiety start to build and become seemingly impossible to endure. I work with my clients to reduce the presence of stress, to cope and mange it better, while learning how to intentionally activate the body's calming mechanisms.

Anxiety can come in many forms, such as: panic and anxiety attacks; extreme fear; worrying thoughts from which one rarely gets a break; sleeplessness either due to going over and over how one behaved during the day, and judging oneself, or, from dreading what the following day might bring; fear and avoidance of one's own intense emotions; fear of rejection of others, leading to intense social anxiety or avoidance of close relationships; performance anxiety, such as worries about exams, job interviews, or performance appraisals at one's place of work. I like to get a sense of the frequency, intensity, and duration of somebody's anxiety, and then to help them to reduce all 3.

It is normal to worry and feel stressed about life's problems and pressures. But when compounded symptoms begin to overwhelm us to the point where we are getting headaches, heart palpitations, a churning stomach, cold sweats, sleepless nights, weight loss, obsessive thoughts, a distressed GI tract - then we need help to break the adrenaline-fear cycle. Anxiety feeds on fear and needs to be confronted, appropriately and safely, with relaxation techniques, new perceptions and constructive thinking patterns. A counsellor can help you do this.

There are multiple conditions associated with anxiety and stress, such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Adjustment Disorder or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. These are all complex conditions that require specific and nuanced therapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Exposure Therapy or Cognitive Processing Therapy. When delivered by a trained, qualified and experience professional, these treatments are considered highly effective.

While anxiety and stress in small amounts can be a helpful source of information, too much can become overwhelming and even interfere with our daily lives. Therapy can be a space to explore the impacts of anxiety and how it may have become engrained into your self-narrative. You and I can work together to co-create coping strategies that are unique to your specific situation. Contact me to book a free consultation so we can decide together if we would be a good fit.

In these unprecedented times in our lives many of us are dealing with feelings of great uncertainty about our individual future and how to handle and cope with life changes. Repetitive thoughts are often aligned with anxiety. Anxiety has a cyclical pattern and unless it is interrupted it will run its course, causes overwhelming feelings of fear and despair. Through a compassionate and observational lens reducing stress and anxiety will cultivate focus and clarity. Learning to connect to our senses is very grounded and can quickly break the anxiety cycle and help bring us back to our own center. Book a free consultation to see if we are a good fit.

Dealing with stress and anxiety can be a challenge for many and navigating GAD, SAD and OCD can feel like anxiety has the upper hand. There are many coping strategies available to help with anxiety. Research has shown that CBT can be as effective as medication (Source: APA Div. 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology). I use a blend of CBT and ACT to help with anxiety both of which are research-based and proven to be effective for many people.

Embark on a journey of healing and resilience with anxiety and stress counseling. As a therapist specializing in anxiety, trauma, grief, and relationships, I offer a compassionate approach grounded in Emotionally Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Polyvagal Theory, and Somatic EMDR. Together, we'll navigate your challenges, providing support and practical strategies to help you find peace and strength in the face of adversity. Take the first step towards a brighter tomorrow today.

Anxiety and stress can be ever present in the hustle and bustle of today’s society. I know first-hand how consuming these experiences can be and how much it can take to overcome them. When working with anxiety, it can be helpful to get to know the root causes of the anxiety so that we can identify and tackle it in any situation. In my work, I support clients in developing and applying individualized tools that best fit them, their lifestyle, and their experiences to manage and overcome the anxiety. Connect with me today for a free consultation to see if we are a good fit.