Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Kelowna, BC.

I use ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) which is a mindfulness based approach to managing anxiety. We look at what can be controlled (what you do with your hands and feet) and what cannot be controlled (feelings and emotions). Mindfulness exercises are taught to help regulate emotions in the moment. Just a hint: We cannot turn our anxiety on or off like a light switch so we must learn to live with our anxiety.

Struggles with Anxiety and distress can both result from distress in relationships and precipitate distress. Support in addressing these issues can have a signifiacant positive impact on overall relationship functioning. The fact that relationships are one of our primary coping mechanisms multiplies the potential distress when these are present as ithey impact the very mechanisms we use to cope.

Therapy for anxiety and stress will often involve a two-pronged approach that includes both treatment and prevention. This may mean engaging in therapeutic activities to help decrease the experience of symptoms of anxiety and provide tools to help cope with anxiety, but will also likely involve exploring more deeply rooted issues that lie at the heart of an individual's anxiety.

My office is a safe space to express any thoughts and feelings about your life in complete confidence. Sharing painful experiences under the Witness of an empathic human being has incredible healing power. Within this therapeutic relationship, we can use mindfullness practices, progressive muscle-relaxation, and Cognitive Therapy to transform your experience of stress into the present, balanced, and relaxed way of living that you have not had in a very, very long time.

Everyone feels anxiety at some point in their lives but when it starts to interfere with your life, counseling can help. Although anxiety can feel debilitating, it is treatable. People with anxiety don’t always share the same symptoms, they vary from person to person. Therapy will help you to reclaim your life and function in a chronically stressful world.

Purposefully identifying problematic patterns in thinking that aren’t serving you, assist in build new skills, and help you understand how your brain and nervous system function together to help you move through anxiety and depression. I offer a positive relationship where you feel heard, understood, and accepted which will help you almost immediately in gaining control over your anxiety and depression.

Anxiety and stress are common, but then can become a problem when we start to worry about things that have not yet happened or we experience intense feelings of panic that are characterized by persistent worry about activities, people or events. Anxiety and stress can be caused by a mental disorder, adverse life events, and numerous other factors. Whether you find yourself thinking excessively about future events, panicking on a weekly basis, or unable to fall asleep at night, we will work with you to establish mechanisms to help you manage the symptoms of anxiety of stress. These include grounding techniques, mindfulness techniques, and physiological coping skills to manage.

Endless angst, fear, and stressors. Dragons and Death Eaters to terrify us! To repeat in our heads that we are not good enough, strong enough, cute enough, smart enough, and that we will surely fail. Mark Twain of Tom Sawyer fame said "I have faced many fears in my life, half of which were real". He was right however, some of our fears are real. Our task is to sort out which are real and which aren't. Once this is done we must learn how to be anxious productively. To avoid being scared silly. To resolve and free ourselves of the stressors and fears that risk stealing our sunshine. To learn to be anxious or scared smart! Call me and let's find that strategy for you!

Anxiety and stress are things we all feel, and part of a normal human experience. However, living with anxiety or stress day in and day out, feeling like we can no longer cope, or wondering how we can even survive, or if we even want to, is not! Just like pain in your body tells you something there is something that needs attending to, anxiety and stress are also a part of your body's way of letting you know it's time to seek help, too. That's what I am here for. I can not only help you to find out exactly what it is that is causing your anxiety and stress, but can also help you to deal with is so you can better cope, and feel free again. If you feel you're "at the end of your rope", please contact me.

Anxiety and panic are often driven by negative experiences or traumas that are stored in the brain and can trigger overwhelming emotional responses. EMDR helps to desensitize and reprocess these memories, reducing the intensity of the emotional response and decreasing symptoms of anxiety and panic. Through the use of bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or tapping, EMDR can help the brain reprocess the negative experiences, leading to increased emotional regulation and a greater sense of calm and well-being.

I am certified in cognitive behavioural therapy for children and youth, but I work with people of all ages to decrease their experience of anxiety, stress, discomfort and fear. Through teaching real skills, I will help you overcome phobias, obsessive compulsive behaviours, generalized anxiety, social anxiety and other fear-based responses. Without anxiety and stress dictating how you feel and react, you will be able to adapt and learn from the many experiences of life.

Anxiety and stress are normal responses to life events, work and relationship/family pressures, and worry and fear. In therapy we can explore the context of your life and relationships and how these relate to the stress and anxiety. Through individual or family counselling we can develop goals and strategies for addressing the stress or anxiety. I utilize therapeutic interventions from Response-Based Practice, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.