Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Lantzville, BC.

It is my view that each client comes to my door with a unique combination of gifts, strengths and challenges. My primary focus is to help you remember and connect with your innate wisdom and your innate strength and resiliency. Then find your unique way of entering in conversation with it so you may connect with what you intrinsically know, with the aim of connecting with, strengthening and activating your emotional immune system, that can then activate the healing of the wounds you may have suffered. Taking into account your most pressing needs and concerns, we will design and create together the kind of therapy that works best for you at The Centre For Expressive Therapy.

Feelings of anxiety can become so intense that it becomes overwhelming. Often individuals struggling with anxiety express constant intruding thoughts that focus on fears of events of the future. Anxiety can create physical feelings of distress like a tight chest that makes it difficult to breath, an upset or tight feeling in the stomach, and general fatigue from constantly trying to control their thoughts and actions. Some people have battled anxiety for so long that they begin to believe it is just who they are and accept the restrictions it causes in their life. Through counselling we will work to break the cycle of anxiety controlling your inner world. Bringing a sense of relief, control and freedom that has been absent for so long.

Anxiety often manifests physically, storing tension in various areas of the body such as the chest, shoulders, or stomach. In our sessions, we gently explore, observe, and examine these somatic sensations to build somatic awareness and safety within your nervous system. Because anxiety is frequently rooted in the anticipation of future experiences, we bring compassionate curiosity to these fears, helping you process the underlying emotional triggers. To support grounding and emotional regulation, we incorporate somatic practices like Emotional Freedom Techniques (tapping) and body scanning.

Through my early career specialization in supporting women and children who have survived abuse, I have learned much about all other anxiety and stress-related mental and physiological stress concerns. I work with folks who have always experienced some level of anxiety and those whose symptoms are tied to significant life stress or traumatic experiences. Whether you have panic attacks, generalized or more specific anxiety, or you have trouble relaxing, live with a lot of life pressure or even have psychogenic seizures or vaso-vagal syncope, we can use CBT, nature-based approaches and listening therapies to bring down your symptoms and better regulate your nervous system.

Anxiety can be debilitating. Uncovering the underlying causes for the worries and fears then learning how to relax will help control your anxiety levels, stop worrisome thoughts, and conquer your fears. Developing more positive coping and problem solving skills will provide you with life long tools for managing unexpected situations. Realizing it is your thoughts and their perceptions, not the external event, that affects the way you feel and react, will allow you to replace the negative reaction with positive ones. Stress can be managed by taking control. Prioritize, identify the major source then each additional one then follow through with changes remembering you are in control.

Anxiety and Stress are very common reactions in today's world. Life can feel overwhelming, and managing all the moving pieces is just too much. My approach to this is to find ways to de-stress and make sure that a client's stress load is not always hovering at the 'boiling over' line. Clients have reported that using certain techniques to approach stress has been useful while also navigating the underlying issues.

Anxiety often arises when something important feels uncertain, threatened, or unresolved. While anxiety can narrow attention and exhaust the nervous system, it also carries information about unmet needs, conflicts, or pressures in one’s life. Therapy can support both steadiness in the present and a deeper understanding of what the anxiety is responding to over time. I work with anxiety in a way that emphasizes regulation, insight, and meaning, helping clients relate differently to worry rather than feeling ruled by it.

Therapy with me provides a calm, supportive space to help you understand and manage anxiety and stress. Together, we'll explore what's fueling your worry, calm your nervous system, and build practical strategies to regain a sense of control and ease. Whether anxiety shows up as racing thoughts, tension, or overwhelm, you don't have to navigate it alone. Our work will help you feel more grounded, resilient and able to face life's challenges with greater clarity and confidence.

Prolonged stress and anxiety can result in impairment to our mental and physical health. We may experience high blood pressure, significant weight loss or gain, inability to concentrate or sleep, panic attacks, agitation and irritability. Overtime, these ailments can not only decrease our life satisfaction, but reduced our overall health. Don’t ignore the symptoms. Get help. Counselling can help you learn ways to cope, identify the underlying causes of your stress and explore ways to reduce stress and anxiety in your life.

If you're up against anxiety, I offer an empowering and collaborative approach. There is an opportunity to explore your experience and to begin to see yourself as separate from anxiety. Through conversations, you may begin to identify alternative stories that challenge anxious thoughts and beliefs. We'd attend to your capacity and establish coping strategies to foster a sense of possibility. Together the we would co-create a new narrative that emphasizes the your resiliency, self-compassion and a greater sense of calm.

We live in a fast paced 24/7 world dealing with social media, technology and lots of things to worry about in the media. No wonder we are all a little anxious these days. I will help you change your relationship with your thoughts so they have less power and control over you. When we give in and avoid things due to anxiety we end up feeling pretty isolated. I will teach you tools and strategies to get through your stress and anxiety.

Anxiety as a result of stress is one of, if not the major contributing factor to poor health in most areas of people lives. If you have ever been tense before an exam or a visit to the dentist, you have a felt anxiety. Increased heart rate, sweating, rapid breathing, dry mouth, & a sense of dread are common. Changing this involves cognitive & behavioural approaches. Cognitive change is understanding how thoughts contribute to symptoms and how to change thought patterns to reduce the intensity of your anxiety. And behavioral changes involve using techniques to reduce or stop any undesired behaviors that are a result of the anxiety you have been experiencing.