Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Yountville, CA.

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.

Anxiety feeds on the demand for certainty and comfort, and during these incredibly crazy times, we find these two staples to be in short supply! No wonder you are feeling stressed and anxious right now. The key to working with your anxiety is to befriend it - as anxiety-provoking as that may sound - because having a relationship with anxiety will actually help you to understand what it needs and how to soothe it when uncertainty and discomfort are the prevailing themes of our time. I can help you to do the scary but courageous thing - to hold it and listen to it, drawing it in and providing it with the safety, warmth and welcome it has been longing for!

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.

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.

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.

I take a practical approach to treating anxiety and stress. I help you identify the sources of anxiety if you do not already know them. I support you in learning skills to regulate your emotions and increase awareness of body sensations and experiences in order to help you be able to control and reduce feelings of anxiety. I also use a combination of exposure therapy, if appropriate, and adjustment to lifestyle to help you reduce or eliminate sources of anxiety or stress. I know that every experience of anxiety or stress is unique and I will work with you to develop a plan of support tailored to your needs. I will provide a safe environment for you to challenge and overcome your fear/stress

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!

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.

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 like an evil and corrosive thread that work their way through every aspect of a life. It can rob the joy that can make life worth living. I know from both personal and professional experience how anxiety and stress can take the joy out of life and also how to overcome these issues and put them in your past. With the aid of tools like EMDR CBT and guided visualizations I can help you overcome this issue and heal from the issues that drive it. Additionally, I can provide tools, coping skills, and other resources to help you manage this particular issue, and experience increased relief from these symptoms with each session.

Anxious and stressed clients often experience rapid relief after working with me. While each client has their own unique path, they often learn how to create a daily lifestyle that supports calmness and decreases anxiety and stress in a proactive and preventive way. This comes about through developing habits of exercise, healthy food, and communication skills. My clients also learn how to recognize when they are beginning to become anxious or stressed. They develop the ability to calm themselves when this is neeeded. My clients also benefit from learning how to recognize and describe to others how they are feeling and what they are needing.

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.

As an experience psychologist, I can help people who struggle with nervousness, excessive worry, or stress; intense discomfort in social settings; sudden and intense feelings of panic. Through specific evidence-based interventions as a certified Mindfulness-Based Therapist, and guided by the principles of neuroplasticity, I help people mindfully navigate these painful emotions and experiences in a healthy way.