Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Lions Bay, BC.

I primarily work with anxiety from an EMDR/body-based perspective. Anxiety is a very "old" physiological response, in that there are parts of anxiety that are unconscious rather than "cognitive." I typically find that if we only attend to the cognitive side of anxiety, the physiological parts, such as body memory and activation, will find somewhere else to pop up. By working on the physical activation, we can better address and move through the anxiety.

We are far more primitive in our reactions than we like to think, and fear, stress, or anxiety, can go from an adaptive warning to a very non adaptive over reaction, arresting our ability to function. I have worked extensively in this area, in giving workshops and as a trainer for other counsellors, focusing first on understanding the body's reaction and then developing skills to over-ride the anxiety response. Using a mindfulness approach, staying connected with our needs, and focusing on resiliency, anxiety can be tamed.

Do you suffer from Social Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, or another form of anxiety? I use a combination of approaches to support your efforts to reduce your distress, creating relief and hope. My therapeutic approach includes using the tools of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, a highly effective clinically proven short term approach, along with Mindfulness Therapy and Relaxation techniques. I also work to provide a warm, intuitive environment where you will feel safe to explore and process the roots of your pain as you learn new skills that can bring a sense of safety, relaxation and well being to your life.

While our bodies are perfectly designed to adapt and react to stress, modern problems mean that we tend to detect life threatening dangers in very ordinary places. Conflicts at work, arguments in our relationships and uncertainties such as the post-Covid world activate old survival mechanisms. We may be stuck in the buzzing, fear states of ‘fight-flight’ or the numb and paralyzed states of ‘freeze and shut down.’ The good news is that I have a long history of safely and successfully helping individuals and couples to reduce and release stress using a variety of CBT and mindfulness techniques, as well as trauma-informed therapy. You have my commitment to compassionate and educated care.

Life is like a bathtub, except there are usually lots of drains and not enough taps to fill it up - so we live in a state of not having being able to fill up fast enough which causes anxiety and stress. Sometimes there are physiological reasons for anxiety and stress, and those need to be addressed medically. I will help you identify if that could be your case. But if it is or isn't, counselling can help you identify and explore those drains and taps and help you plug up some drains and create more taps. The goal is to help you live out of fullness rather than emptiness.

Stress and anxiety can be overwhelming and challenging to manage. I provide a supportive and compassionate space where clients can explore the root causes of their stress and anxiety. I use a combination of evidence-based techniques, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques to help clients develop coping strategies to help tackle their triggers and responses. My goal is to provide you with the tools you need to better understand your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors so you can manage your stress and anxiety in a healthier and more productive way.

As a society we tend fear anxiety and stress and make many efforts to avoid or get rid of it. My approach to anxiety and stress is to show you that it does not have to inhibit your functioning – you CAN do things while also being anxious, and you likely already have. Anxiety and stress were once adaptive traits that helped humans survive, and together we can work towards creating a healthier relationship with them, one that does not interfere with your daily life. We will look at your core values, underlying beliefs, and negative thought patterns that might be getting in the way, and work towards a healthier mind and body.

How is anxiety standing in your way of living your life? Do you overthink to the point where your worries seem like absolute realities? What conversations are you avoiding out of fear you would embarrass yourself and sound stupid? Who are you not getting closer to because anxiety is telling you old stories about rejection & judgement? How much longer do you want to live like this? WITH ANXIETY COUNSELLING, I CAN HELP YOU DEVELOP RICHER CONNECTIONS TO YOURSELF AND OTHERS – AND START LIVING A MORE FULFILLING LIFE.

Anxiety and stress take a mighty toll on our mental, physical and spiritual well being. I work from the "inside out" in other words I help my clients look at what their own beliefs are about themselves and others too. As we slowly work towards more self acceptance, relaxation, mindfullness and acceptance..stress lessens and anxiety dissapears as it is well managed...and self regulation kicks in.

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.

Anxiety and stress management, I could not have obtained my two degrees without learning the techniques that help manage both stress and anxiety!! I have a two page stress and anxiety assessment form that we use in the first appointment which takes us right to the strategies and techniques tha help clients deal with anxiety and stress management. Each person's situation is personallized to help them have rapid response to gettting rid of anxiety and or stress

Anxiety and stress take a hold on you and never let go, leaving you trapped and frozen. I help my clients to learn all about the magic of mindfulness practice. It's one of the most effective ways to put you in control of your emotions, rather than them controlling you. Imagine how great it would be to have an internal place of peace and serenity that you can use at any time to relax and become grounded. Mindfulness is an ancient practice that is also supported by scientific empirical studies. It's one of the best ways to change your life.

Do you have difficulty “turning off” your brain? Is your anxiety creeping back up on you or has it become overwhelming or paralyzing? Are stress and anxiety negatively impacting your health, relationships, or career? Stress can be even more difficult to manage for those with a pre-disposition towards anxiety. We would like to help. We provide treatment to help you relieve anxiety and stress, develop coping skills, and build confidence. We will address your triggers, your relationship with anxiety as well as your attempts to “control” it, and learn more adaptive ways that allow you to flourish. Call us today at (604) 614 – 7177 to get started.

Anxiety and Stress can be incredibly debilitating - and make the smallest of tasks seem like large mountains to climb. I have lived experience with stress and anxiety and support clients with building tools, increase understanding and education and help improve daily functioning. We will work together to determine your goals and take a proactive approach to follow through on a plan for effective solutions. The sessions will lead to improved mood, increased daily functioning and moving from surviving to thriving in your life!

I approach anxiety counseling with a professional and evidence-based methodology, ensuring that you receive the utmost quality of care. Drawing from a robust background in psychology, education, and therapy, I am well-prepared to navigate the intricacies of anxiety and its impact on your life. While anxiety is a natural response to stress, I recognize that, for some, it can become overwhelming and disruptive. It may manifest in various forms, such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, panic disorder, or specific phobias. Together we will implement proved techniques to relieve you of the anxiety that is impacting your well-being.

Anxiety has a purpose - once you understand it you can benefit from it. The feeling of anxiety is giving you information about who you are and what you need to do to be yourself. In counselling, you can learn how to process anxiety instead of fearing it. You can learn concrete skills to work through anxiety; You can learn from the emotions and in the process find a more colourful and rich, positive experience of life.

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.

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.

Whether you're trying to avoid conflict or getting hurt physically or emotionally, Anxiety can hijack your life unless you develop tools to help you self soothe. Anxiety leads to stress and together they can not only make life difficult but make you ill because your body ends up being in a constant state of fight or flight. This means your adrenals are working overtime. Insomnia, weight gain, heart problems, and self medicating with drugs or alcohol can be the result. As a certified Integrative Body Psychotherapist, I will be able to help you develop specific tools that address your particular anxiety challenges. I will work with you so, you can calm your mind and consequently your body.

Anxiety is a feeling of dread at its least, or thoughts that lead you to believe you are unsafe and/or about to die at its worst. I offer interventions to this challenge, all of which engage the brain and body. We can take a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approach and examine and challenge faulty thinking. We can also use Neurofeedback (NFB) as an approach to calming the central nervous system so the frontal cortex of the brain can engage in logical thinking and keep the brain from having to go to the place of anxiety unnecessarily. Another approach I use, EMDR, helps the brain to reprocess old hurts and or trauma, taking the charge out of the experience.

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.

Are you a gay man that struggles with felling anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed? Perhaps you’ve even felt the out of control experience of a panic attack before. All of these experiences can show up in unique ways for gay men, and sometimes a general approach to these issues just isn’t enough. First, I’ll help you with anxiety by teaching you tools that can get you quick relief from some of your anxiety right away. From there, I’ll work with you to grow your progress further, and understand the roots of your anxiety so that you can maintain your freedom from anxiety long term.

Want to free yourself from anxieties, panic attacks or phobias? Want to learn to stop worrying or feeling stressed out constantly? Want to feel more comfortable and confident in social situations? You don’t have to live with anxieties anymore! The EMDR therapy I use can effectively help you with various types of anxiety, making changes in your brain and your nervous system. The powerful hypnotherapy I use can free you from anxiety by reprograming your subconscious mind that perpetuates anxieties. Many people can start to get great relief from anxiety working with me from 1 to several sessions, even if they have had anxieties for years! Fear no more! Worry no more! Call ME 778-548-7345!

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.

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.