Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Anmore, BC.

Anxiety is a powerful emotion that can cause a lot of distress when not managed well. Anxiety is a normal human emotion in response to stress or a threat in our environment but can sometimes get out of hand. Therapy at West Coast Counseling can help you to manage your anxiety, identify the stressors in your life and develop coping skills to manage your life better all in a safe, supportive environment.

Anxiety for the most part is an important part of life as the Fight-or-Fight response is a powerful survival tool. If walking in the forest and you are confronted by a bear a surge of adrenaline is helpful. However, if one is experiencing this same intense response while walking through a shopping mall their quality of life rapidly diminishes. There are several effective treatments for anxiety, such as: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Systematic Desensitization, EMDR, and the development of positive self soothing skills. I incorporate these, customized for each person and their own unique experience with anxiety. You will be surprised at how fast your life can change.

I will teach you how to reduce anxiety and stress response through calming your mind and body. Using Mindfulness and Mindful Self-Compassion strategies, you will be able to take control of how you respond to difficult life situations. When the mind and body are calm, we are able to expand our thinking about our problems, and solutions to challenges become more readily available.

Most of us suffer from anxiety and stress at some point in our lives. And we live with it. What if we didn't have to live with it? What if there was a way to alleviate it from our lives? What if it was a choice? Most of the stress and anxiety in our lives comes from our perspective of what is happening in our lives. This perspective is coming from us, and therefore it is possible to change it. I help clients do this through cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness, meditation and other methods that enable them to become much more aware of their thoughts and the choices they have to think differently. There is no need to suffer. There is another way!

Anxiety can severely impact the quality of a person's life. It can impact their sleep, work, relationships, school, and their physical health. Sometimes, anxiety can become so intense that people experience physical symptoms like sweating, heart racing, dizziness, nausea, etc. The good news is that there are effective psychological treatments for anxiety. CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy), which is the type of therapy I practice, is an evidence-based approach that provides individuals with skills to help manage their anxiety and get control over their lives back.

Anxiety and stress can often times be something that we need to distract ourselves from, however when this is the only approach for too long we can find it coming back stronger. My hope is that we can find ways to face these issues with an increasing sense of control and confidence, so that each time it will be a good experience that leads to more desire to do it again.

Anxiety is a kind of stage fright. It stems from trying to control what can't be controlled: the future, other people, the outcomes of some of our efforts. Because anxiety is so uncomfortable, we often want to avoid facing what’s stirring it up. We may even feel embarrassed or ashamed that we’re anxious. Counselling provides a supportive environment that helps you talk about your anxiety and find better ways of managing it. Feeling connected to another person helps you steady yourself. Counselling provides strategies for handling anxiety in the moment. It also looks at how relationships in your past are contributing to the reactions you’re having now so you can make changes for the better.

Anxiety can feel overwhelming and debilitating at times. During our sessions, you'll learn tools on how to better manage your anxiety using evidence-based modalities like CBT and DBT. Your thoughts play a crucial factor in your anxiety and you'll learn how to better control them to help improve your anxiety symptoms. You will start to feel more at ease and more in control of yourself.

Clients can expect a safe, warm and caring environment in which to express their own personal thoughts, and feelings. Although clients are the expert of their own lives I help them gain insight into what they can't see. I often use CBT to help clients find new ways of coping wth many different types of anxiety. I also use mindfulness and grounding activities to help clients feel more settled. In general clients find that after counselling for a time they experience either less anxiety or anxiety less of the time.

Anxiety and Stress can be related to a number of things going on in our lives at a given time. Typically it is how we perceive the stressors in our life, or the feeling that we don't have the resources to cope that determines whether or not we feel anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed. If we are unable to get into a RECOVERY zone, anxiety and stress can quickly seem to spin out of control and EVERYTHING may feel too hard. I use Cognitive and Behavioural, Mindfulness, and Ego State therapies to help individuals quickly acquire the tools, and insights that help them reduce the Anxiety symptoms and navigate their anxiety triggers. Moreover, they regain a sense of calm and control in their lives.