Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in East Dundee, IL.

Today's world brings many stressors into our lives. I would encourage the individual to discuss their stressors, and assist them in learning positive coping strategies. Sometimes it is difficult to make these changes after years of habits, but I would stress the benefits of change. I would encourage the individual not to have such impossible standards for their behavior, which often leads to stress and anxiety. I have found that many individuals who are supportive of their friends often over extend themselves, so I would also encourage healthy boundaries.

Similar in approach to the treatment of depression, I take a holistic approach to the treatment of anxiety and stress disorders. I seek to restore function and break the momentum cause by ineffective habits that were created as a knee-jerk way of responding to anxiety symptoms. The instinct to try to control our emotional experience is strong and understandable, but often creates difficulties that make anxiety symptoms more entrenched and difficult to treat. Learning techniques of relaxation and mindfulness are instrumental in the effective treatment of anxiety symptoms and regaining the kind of balance lost in the unrestrained experience of anxiety symptoms.

Anxiety is what we feel when we worry too much about the future or overthink events from the past in the present moment. It's a physiological experience that can feel overwhelming, even frightening at times, it can prevent us from making good decisions or prevent us from making any decisions at all! Fortunately anxiety is treatable, in many case without medication. I will help you understand anxiety and provide you with tools and strategies you can use to begin to free your mind. Within a few sessions, most clients are able to think more clearly and make better decisions. They feel more at ease and relaxed to do the things they'd like to do to lead a happier life.

Does your child seem more anxious or stressed than normal? I work with youth aged 3-25 who are experiencing some level of anxiety, or experiencing some level of stress. This may include homework stress, behavioral issues, self-harm, sexting, tantrums and arguing/talking back. I can support parents in different techniques, because even good parents need extra support at times. Kids don't come with owner's manuals, and we tend to default to our own family's dynamics as parents. Simple changes can have a significant effect on your child's behaviors. I also help youth identify their feelings and make better choices. Don't hesitate to call for a free phone consultation!

I work with anxiety and stress using a cognitive behavioral approach. The goal is to help the client learn that they can manage their anxiety and stress. This is done through gaining insight into their perception and thinking around the circumstances causing them stress. We also work to help them reduce the anxiety through physical activity including exercise and relaxation. Combining the thought process with the physical component work well in reducing anxiety and stress.

I specialize in the treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Worry), Panic Disorder with or without Agoraphobia, Health Anxiety Disorder, Specific Phobias, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I would describe my therapeutic approach to be cognitive behavioral (CBT), with an emphasis on the behavioral. I also like to integrate other third wave mindfulness-based CBT approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy when indicated.

If you are experiencing stress and anxiety, I will help you learn strategies to manage the stress while helping you process and work through these experiences. It is my goal to fully understand you and grasp how this impacts your life; I work to integrate each biopsychosocial aspect of your experience when working through anxiety and stress. I will provide you guidance and support while empowering you to overcome these obstacles and helping you growing from them.

Clients seeking therapy for anxiety and stress can benefit from cognitive treatment which aims at changing thinking patterns to ease symptoms and promote positive insight. With cognitive therapy, you will learn to model healthier behaviors and ways of thinking to help change the perception of issues/situations that cause anxiety and stress. The goal of this therapy is for you to gain the ability to differentiate negative or overwhelming thoughts from healthy thoughts to prevent future self-depreciating feelings. Therapy can also help you to assess your need for any anti-anxiety medication to assist with symptom reduction.

Anxiety is a physiological response that occurs in several body systems. Stress may be one contributing cause. But there are so many others including undiscovered medical issues, unproductive thought processes, the use of stimulants, and co-occurring mental health issues. Once we identify anxiety's origin, we can draft a useful treatment plan and address the problem. And depending upon the anxiety's origin, our approach will vary. It's a cognitive-behavioral, reality based, solution-focused process that takes some time, but the results are worth the process.

Anxiety and stress can keep you locked up from living your life fully. Often anxiety can be biochemical in nature or can result from ongoing stress, lack of balance or unresolved issues. Christians can struggle with these issues and often feel quite guilty in knowing that they shouldn't worry or have fear. In therapy we will carefully assess these issues in a loving, grace based manner so that you can be free from debilitating anxiety and stress.

Anxiety and stress are a normal part of life, but are problematic when it interferes with your ability to function well. Therapy can provide psycho-education and an understanding of how you experience anxiety and stress in order to best manage it. Physical symptoms, emotional distress, and thought rumination are common aspects of anxiety and stress and we can begin to relieve and treat each of these through therapeutic approaches.

Worry is a normal reaction to everyday stress and traumatic life events. Some ways of coping will reduce your discomfort. However, you may be one of the millions who experience anxiety to such a degree that it impairs your functioning at home, work or school. Left unchecked, anxiety will affect your overall quality of life. CBT, Mindfulness, and Exposure Therapy are proven methods for dealing social or performance anxiety, nightmares and sleep fears, intrusive negative thoughts, or OCD. Kari can assist you, your child or adolescent, in controlling anxiety and achieving relief from the mental and physical symptoms that can be debilitating.

I personally have suffered from anxiety and come from a family where anxiety was a pervasive undertow. I know how anxiety can dominate a life and stress the lives of others. Medications may have been tried and and medical services utilized and proven not enough. In counseling I work with my clients individually, sometimes together with a spouse, in a conversational manner to get at the thought patterns contributing to stress and anxiety. Helping the client to get to the base of their anxiety, how they are stressing themselves out in their given life situation and how specifically to change these entrenched patterns is my goal. Referrals are made for other forms of help as necessary,