Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Ottawa, ON.

Dealing with anxiety and stress involves some understanding of the situation and what might be causing or contributing to a problem. Often it will be the unique way in which we think about something said to be our automatic thoughts and from there we learn to evaluate them for any sign of distortion. Our thoughts for example, may come across as catastrophizing or seeing only the worst in an event which will naturally lead to anxiety/stress. In counselling we can gain some valuable insight and achieve greater awareness learning to step back examining with a different lens and therefore expanding our perspective. This serves to allow for a more enlightened thought or mood to emerge.

Anxiety and stress can be overwhelming and debilitating. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is very effective in helping people manage and overcome anxiety and stress through changing their patterns of thinking and relating to the world. Within a supportive, therapeutic context, I help clients understand the nature of their anxiety and stress, then empower them to change their feelings through a variety of cognitive behavioral techniques.

Saint Paul University’s Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre welcomes a diverse clientele, for individual or couple’s therapy. Services are provided by counselling interns at the Master of Arts and Doctoral level in Counselling and Spirituality at Saint Paul University. *Services in French available

My cross-training in counselling, conflict resolution, mediation and hypnotherapy can be very empowering for clients who come to my practice suffering from anxiety and stress. Unfortunately most people attempt to reduce their stress by choosing a form of pleasure that only leads them into more stress. I remind my clients that they can choose to utilize stress reducing techniques rather than stress increasing choices. Another common symptom is anxiety about becoming anxious again. I teach clients that if they focus on the present moment that this anxiety can be markedly reduced. I teach clients the techniques of getting a good sleep....the most important stress reducing factor.

Anxiety disorders commonly coexist with addiction tendencies. Anxiety can severely inhibit a person's life, causing them to feel an irrational amount of panic, fear and other negative emotions in any given circumstance. Severe anxiety may influence a person to avoid leaving their house, or to become paralyzed in situations they interpret as stressful. Many people who struggle with anxiety will try to self medicate with alcohol or drugs, which ultimately makes their symptoms worse. A dual diagnosis of addiction and anxiety requires special treatment considerations; the kind that Valiant Recovery provides.

Anxiety and Stress are the most common issues that I work with. Anxiety can take many forms so I will take the time to understand the specific type of anxiety with you. We will start to track the anxiety frequency and severity to better understand it. We will then work in session on coping strategies to decrease the impact that the anxiety is having on your daily life. We will also work towards exposing you gradually in a way that will allow you to be better able to tolerate your anxiety and live with it!

Anxiety and its cousins, fear and panic, have cognitive and emotional components and behavioural manifestations. Clients become skilled in recognizing this negative spiral, where negative thinking reinforces emotional dis-regulation, by challenging this unconscious mechanism with conscious and healthy replacement tools. Clients are ultimately able to live a life of conscious choice in the present.

There’s a lot you can do to manage your stress, but the first thing you need is a break between stressors to give your parasympathetic nervous system a chance to restore your equilibrium. A hot bath or a relaxing book is good or Something much more powerful is necessary: deep relaxation. Deep relaxation is a practice that requires 15 minutes of your time each day. During that 15-minute period, your total concentration is focused on relaxing your body and mind to achieve a state of deep calm. This exercise releases endorphins (the body’s natural opiates), creating an emotional high. Deep relaxation practiced daily strengthens your immune system and reduces your risk of stress-related disea....

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.

Learning how to manage anxiety & deal with the irrational thoughts or distressing behaviours associated with anxiety is an essential first step to recovery. Processing the deeper emotions & meanings associated with past & present day difficult life situations is also important to build a more secure, resilient self that is capable of facing the challenges of everyday life without becoming overwhelmed.

Anxiety comes from many sources and affects all aspects of our lives. I work with clients to identify stressors, underlying patterns and dynamics affecting responses to stress, how stress impacts our bodies, our emotional health and relationships. Together we develop a plan to "lighten the load" in a realistic, productive and positive way. Clients feel empowered and ultimately understand how anxiety affects them, and how to deal with anxiety in the way that works best for them.

Anxiety and excessive worry can present in a variety of forms; however, when these experiences begin to act as roadblocks in our lives, Counselling support can help alleviate these challenging feelings while fostering a sense of mastery over these pesky worries and feelings of anxiety. Using a gentle, understanding, and compassionate approach to Counselling, the client can begin to feel confident in utilizing new and effective coping strategies in the face of anxiety-provoking situations.

Anxiety and Stress are both life and living challenges. They are part of the normal obstacles we face in our lifetime, be it in health, in illness, in marriage, in couple and relationship issues, in aging and with our children. The thoughts, feelings and behaviors associated with them can often overwhelm and even paralyze us when they occur. In a supportive and empathic environment I help people understand and demystify these feelings and find coping strategies so that they can overcome these crippling experiences in order to live productively again.