Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Ottawa, ON.

Anxiety and stress can make your world feel smaller and your body feel permanently on edge. The good news is that they respond well to treatment. Cognitive behaviour therapy, desensitization, and hypnotherapy, all of which I practise, are often genuinely effective at bringing your arousal level back down and giving you room to breathe again. I have been a psychologist since 1986, and I can help. I am based in Calgary and see clients across Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick by secure video. Book a session now: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14249112

Anxiety and stress can appear in many forms — constant worry, racing thoughts, tension in the body, difficulty sleeping, or a sense of being “on edge.” While some stress is a natural part of life, ongoing anxiety can begin to affect our work, relationships, and overall sense of well-being. Through psychotherapy, I provide a supportive space to understand the root causes of your anxiety and the patterns that maintain it. Together, we will identify triggers, challenge unhelpful thought patterns, and build coping strategies to help you feel more grounded and in control. My goal is to help you develop practical tools for managing anxiety and stress, while also exploring the underlying emotions

My approach to anxiety and stress treatment is compassionate, client-centered, and practical, helping individuals understand the root causes of their worries and build strategies to manage overwhelming thoughts and feelings. I draw from evidence-informed techniques, including behavioural and emotionally focused approaches, to support clients in identifying triggers, developing coping skills, and creating routines that promote calm and balance. Clients benefit by gaining greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, and resilience, enabling them to navigate daily stressors with confidence and reduce the impact of anxiety on their overall well-being.

Anxiety can show up in countless ways. It can be a monkey mind, the jitters, a twirling stomach, and even fear. Stress can also show up in a number of ways: a short fuse, social isolation, and physical discomfort. Both anxiety and stress - whether on their own or together - can be debilitating. Working through our anxiety involves understanding it, for starters. Once we know where the anxiety is coming from and why it exists, we can begin to explore a range of coping skills and management strategies. Treatment for stress is an individualized process that involves debriefing as well as solution-focused intervention.

For anxiety and fears, a multimodal approach will be used with cognitive behavioural therapy and narrative. It will facilitate the identification of the anxiety or fears while creating a preferred narrative surrounding it. The benefits of using the combination of these two approach is that it will allow for an alternative perspective and to better understand what one is thinking and feeling.

In working with clients on their anxiety and stress I primarily aim to promote understanding: understanding of why we are feeling so anxious and stressed, what factors contribute, what can be done to better manage or eliminate anxiety and stress from our lives, and most importantly, how to eliminate ambiguity from our lives. I specialize in working with clients on their stress and anxiety, whether it stems from work, relationships, family, trauma, lifestyle, or beliefs. It is only through understanding that we can promote comprehensive and meaningful change in our lives. I utilize principles of cognitive behavioural therapy, solution-focused work, and psychodynamics in my work.

At Your Mindful Therapist, I support individuals who are experiencing anxiety and overwhelming stress. In a safe and compassionate space, we work together to understand your anxiety patterns and develop practical tools for calm and resilience. Combining mindfulness, CBT, ACT, and relaxation techniques, I help clients reduce anxious thoughts, manage stress more effectively, and regain a greater sense of control and peace in their lives.

External stressors cause internal reactions as a survival mechanism. Fight, flight, freeze! being tense and constantly hypervigilant is exhausting and often leads to the development of fatigue and generally unhelpful habits (working too much, drinking too much, eating too much, using anger to obtain what we and then feeling guilty & ashamed). Learning to relax, have fun and enjoy life on its own terms is critical. To help people accomplish this task, I start with providing education about what happens physiologically when we are under stress. Then, I teach CBT based strategies including confronting unhelpful thought patterns, exposure and connecting with and processing difficult emotions.

Anxiety and stress can disrupt your life and affect your overall well-being. My approach combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and mindfulness techniques to help you manage and reduce these feelings. Together, we’ll explore the root causes of your anxiety and stress, develop practical coping strategies, and work on building resilience. I aim to provide a supportive environment where you can gain control over your stressors and cultivate a more balanced and calm life. Contact me to schedule a free 15-minute consultation to start taking steps towards greater peace of mind.