Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Western Springs, IL.

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 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.

Anxiety is miserable but it's also one of the easier things to treat in therapy. Whether you are stressed out and worried about "everything" or if your anxiety has a compulsive side to it I can help. I enjoy working with anxious people because there is a lot of energy that can get channeled towards fast improvement. I initially approach anxiety work from a cognitive side as to how the thought processes generate the anxiety. Understanding the emotions underneath the anxiety is an important part of the process as well. I work with generalized anxiety (worriers), OCD, social anxiety, and specific anxieties. Believe it or not - anxiety work can actually be fun and there's often a lot of laughs.

Anxiety is an obstacle that keeps people from moving towards their goals and dreams. Anxiety hinders relationships, career opportunities, dreams, and keeps people from being successful. I believe in order to get through anxieties one must change their "yes but" language to "yes and" so that opportunities begin to present themselves. The biggest regrets in life are generally now what we have done, but what we didn't do. I believe it is never too late to do the next right thing. Using evidence based modalities of CBT, ACT, and DBT interventions, I can assist you in moving past the anxiety and back to the life you desire.

In anxiety and stress treatment, the first goal is to reduce your discomfort. Anxiety and Stress cause real physiological symptoms; a day of anxiety can result in feeling emotionally and physically exhausted. By addressing the events that trigger you, negative thoughts and reactive behaviors that are intertwined anxiety and stress, you can expect a quick reduction of symptoms while making pathways to new positive behaviors and reactions. Longer term, you'll learn to be aware of your triggers and stop anxiety before it starts; you'll work to achieve inner peace and reduce your stress with new self-care actions.

Anxiety and Stress (and Phobias) are common and can be treated with many tools. We can examine the source of your stress or anxiety, determine how it plays itself out in your day-to-day life, and develop very specific, customized strategies for your unique situation and issues. For example, with Fear of Flying - we can use printed material, homework assignments, educational information/teaching approaches, hypnosis.

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.

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.

Our best approach on anxiety and stress counseling include teaching mindfulness techniques, cognitive restructuring strategies, and relaxation practices to help individuals identify and manage their anxious thoughts and physical sensations in the present moment. We also address the underlying triggers and beliefs contributing to their anxiety which involves deep breathing exercises, grounding techniques, and exploring cognitive distortions to challenge negative thought patterns.

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 and Stress are one of my primary specialties. Anxiety and stress can affect all aspects of your life. My approach to counseling is down to earth, supportive, and informative. I will help you gain insights and teach you new coping skills. My goal is to provide you relief from your suffering. Counseling is a proven way to help manage anxiety and stress. Seeking a new therapist can be stressful and anxiety provoking. I strive to make the process as frustration free as possible. If you have any questions before making an appointment I would be more than happy to answer them.

I view anxiety as a tender signal—your mind and body’s way of trying to keep you safe in a world that can sometimes feel overwhelming. Rather than pushing it away, we’ll gently turn toward it with curiosity and compassion. In our work together, you’ll find a safe, steady space to slow down, breathe, and untangle what anxiety is truly asking of you. With warmth and care, we’ll work toward calm, clarity, and deeper inner trust.

Are you feeling overwhelmed from stress and anxiety? Is it getting in the way of your work, personal life, and even relationships? The good news is that therapy can help. When you see me for therapy, we will identify events contributing to your stress and anxiety and create a plan together to cope with them so that you can get back to enjoying your life again. Give me a call today for a free consultation and we can put together a preliminary plan over the telephone.