Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Comox, BC.

Anxiety is a powerful and normal human response that can be either positive or negative depending on how it is experienced and perceived. There can be a range of symptoms. In counselling sessions we will identify what type of anxiety you may be experiencing, explore triggers that may bring on the anxious feelings, thoughts processes that may be contributing as well as some of your daily behaviours. Benefits to treating anxiety issues are endless and can be life transforming on a day to day basis as well as long term enhancing of your life.

Our focus is to support individuals who are struggling with anxiety and stress to a more relaxed and manageable way of being. Not only is stress and anxiety hard on our health and energy, but it also can have a significant impact on our world around us. We will work in a collaborative manor to break apart the building blocks that have contributed to the imbalance of anxiety and stress in your life, and empower you with the tools and techniques to remain in balance.

Anxiety and stress are both extremely common in Western culture. Both of these things deal with an unregulated nervous system and a fight/flight mode that is overextended. In working with you, I will be able to help you get back in tune with your body, learn to regulate your nervous system, treat yourself with compassion and relieve stress. The more you are able to listen to the message your body is sending you, the less your body will feel the need to scream to be heard.

Anxiety is an illness where we take our concerns and experiences and project them into the future to the extent that some people experience all the stress of a negative outcome. Postpartum anxiety is a particular interest to me as it often is ignored when a woman doesn't present with postpartum depression. Mindfulness based cognitive behavioural therapy and group therapy are two approaches I use. I love it when a group of women I gathered connect after the sessions are over. That community made for them is my benchmark for success.

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.

Common treatment for anxiety and stress includes a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy, stress management techniques and having a good self care plan (things you actively do to nurture yourself: walking, swimming, Yoga, mediation, volunteering). For deeper and longstanding issues, psychodynamic approaches tend to be more successful at reaching some point of resolution. Should anxiety and stress negatively impact your quality of life, be it immediate crisis, or longstanding, I can help you move to taking control of your life circumstances (stressors), an alleviate the stress your experiencing.

I offer an integrative blend of somatic awareness, mindfulness practices, relational attunement, and trauma-informed presencing to help my clients address anxiety and stress in their lives. Using your natural healing process as our guide, we can help the nervous system learn what a peaceful state of health and vitality is again. I am currently offering sessions online and in person.

If you're struggling with anxious thoughts, you may find it hard to focus. The fight or flight alarm is going off in your brain, constantly sending you messages starting with "what if...." If worrying is keeping you trapped in a hamster wheel, tired, but unable to rest, you may find yourself turning to addictive substances or behaviours to cope. As an addiction counsellor, I help clients cope with the anxious thoughts keeping them trapped in addictive behaviours. By uncovering these underlying thoughts, I help you develop coping skills so you can gain a sense of focus, clarity, confidence, and freedom from constantly overthinking. Send me a message and I'll guide you through the next steps.