Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Sonoma, CA.

Stress is an inevitable part of modern life. Anxiety seems to be part of this same package, but does it have to be? Anxiety is the uncomfortable and often intolerable gap between where we are and where we want to be. It can run everything and ruin everything. The where-we-are that anxiety so painfully stretches away from is usually our difficult-to-be-with internal emotional reality involving hurt, shame, anger or fear. Learning to be with ourselves and find release usually requires the help of someone who is intuitive, warm, sensitive and familiar with the terrain of emotions. This is what I do. This is my everyday work. Let me help you.

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.

Anxiety often serves a useful function for humanity when it is not overused, facilitating us keeping our responsibilities and agreements, and remaining ethical and moral in our behavior. Yet, anxiety, leading to stress is the most common dysfunctional problem in today's high pressured world where stressors abound. Anxiety when overused, like too much anger, is self destructive to our minds and bodies. My therapy style assists you to get to the root of your anxiety, determining what secondary gain you may be getting from this behavior and weighing it against the cost. I can assist you to get to the source of your anxiety and learn behaviors thta will serve you and your family better in life.

We hold our anxiety and stress in our body. We feel tension, gut problems, hot flashes, disrupted sleep and more. I work with anxiety and stress by helping individuals learn and develop tools to re-regulate their nervous system. When we have a coherent and fluid nervous system, we can do difficult things without feeling paralyzed by overwhelming fear.

While most treatment approaches for anxiety and stress are effective on the surface, they don’t treat the real problem. Mantras, deep breathing, and rational dialogues about your fear being irrational rarely work---for most people don’t believe it or you! Imagine if you can trick the brain into changing without you telling your conscious mind that you are changing it? Problem with anxiety and stress is that the brain in this state knows you want to change it and it resists. Contact Kevin@kevinfleminphd.com for the ultimate stress and anxiety solution that will literally change your brain's autonomic nervous system patterns while you sit on your butt. 877-606-6161.

Anxiety and stress are so prevalent in today's society. I can help you gather the tools you need to successfully handle those moments when you feel overwhelmed - even if those moments seem like they are all the time. I utilize psychodynamic and/or a cognitive behavioral approach to treating anxiety and stress. I also treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder using Exposure and Response Prevention.

Anxiety and stress are two words that often go hand in hand. They can creep into our waking hours and haunt the evenings when we need to go to sleep. Together, you and I will come up with a plan for both waking hours and for nighttime if needed. We will develop coping skills you can use in the real world and some for when you have more time on your hands. Anxiety doesn't need to consume you and doesn't need to rob you of the good things in life such as being with people or saying yes to activities.

Anxiety can affect your whole life. Like physical pain, anxiety is a symptom that something is wrong, and like pain, it can be treated. Often, understanding the source of your anxiety is enough to lessen or eliminate it completely. We can help you identify what triggers a sense of apprehension and stress in your life. As we come to understand the underlying causes, we will develop tools and strategies to help you cope with your anxiety.

Anxiety and fear are primal emotions that under ideal circumstances help prepare you to face danger trhough fleeing or fighting if trapped. However, when anxiety is triggerred too easily the protective function is lost and you are at risk for developing anxiety disorders like social anxiety, panic, phobias, chronic worry, and PTSD. Once an anxiety disorder has developed it is maintained in a vicious cycle of fear and avoidance. I help people break this cycle by learning to deescalate their anxiety response and gradually confront, rather then avoid, their fears. People who have experience trauma growing up may also have anxiety in the form of PTSD. I have special training to help you.

Free 30 minute zoom call - Anxiety can arise from several places - one is the mind - people can think & imagine scenarios in their minds that create anxiety, when their thoughts and imagination may not even be true. Anxiety is also common in people who did not have a safe & secure experience with caregivers as they were growing up. The brain ends up being wired in a way that reproduces anxiety. Fortunately, due to new research in the field of neuropsychology & neuroplasticity, this can be changed!

Would you like to feel calmer -- while experiencing more satisfaction in your life, and have closer connections with your loved ones, friends and co-workers? Psychotherapy can be your gateway to a life with more happiness and balance. I am experienced at helping you understand and utilize your strengths as a foundation to help create the life you desire. This isn’t a magical cure - walking this path may take some time, energy and focus. Yet the rewards can be great. For some, the goals are more about resolving old hurts and trauma - for others, improving relationship skills, and communication skills. In all cases, my aim is to increase your ability to create the life you want.

Anxiety and stress are most common conditions that result in physical ailments, disease and impairment in living. I show you how to use the whole body to both contain stress responses and to find a more solid, stable foundation with which to process anxious and stressed places. These are usually aspects of ourselves that do not feel safe or supported- so grounding in the whole body, breathing, letting the body unwind tension allows for a way to not get caught up in these stress patterns. Rather we then learn how to enter into the places of anxiety/stress- so that these parts of ourselves feel safe to experience, express and release what they have been carrying- including unresolved traumas.

With the current times, stress and anxiety may be heightened and affecting various aspects of your life such as: work, relationships, sleep, and every day responsibilities. Anxiety can be overwhelming but it can be treated and you will get better. I will help you learn tools to manage and decrease your anxiety by developing an awareness of your triggers.

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.

I work with clients using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, mindfulness, Narrative Therapy, Expressive Arts, and psychoeducation to address anxiety and stress. Many folks are experiencing extreme stress as a result of all we have experienced in the last year. I'm able to work with clients experiencing burnout, increased anxiety, and higher stress relying on neuroscience as the guide.