Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Annandale, VA.

I can help you identify and address the thought and situations that are contributing to your anxiety. In a safe, supportive and nonjudgmental environment, you can work through difficult emotions and learn ways to gain more control over your thoughts and your life. In your counseling sessions, you can also develop more self-awareness, breathing techniques and other mindfulness-based stress reduction strategies to reduce anxiety and tension.As you develop more mindfulness, you can also begin to identify, examine and address any self-limiting behaviors or negative self-beliefs that keep you from coping effectively.

All of us have times when worries pile up, we face situations that seem impossible, and life feels out of control. There are proven ways of coping with stress and anxiety and you don’t have to deal with it alone. Together, we will explore your fears and understand the stressors in your life. We will use evidence-based techniques to help you quiet the anxious thoughts and cope with the stress. By confronting your anxiety in a supportive environment, you can tap into your strengths and overcome the challenges in your life.

As we all know stress is from anything in life and left undone, it will start bringing levels of anxiety. If we allow anxiety to grow unchecked it will start overwhelming us and can lead to a life "out of control". Here is one of my principles called "margins". A "margin" is when we give adequate space for the fluctuations of life. If you have put together a serious budget, it needs to have some room for the unexpected. When our "margins" are packed without room to adjust, we are headed for trouble. As we build "margins" with adequate space, we start experiencing rest, hope and joy. For we are not overwhelmed. One cannot have a "crises" management attitude. There is real hope.

There are at least four components to reducing anxiety. The first is to learn self-soothing techniques. the second is to become aware of the thoughts and images which are making you anxious and replace then with other thoughts and images. The third is to face what you are most afraid of. Sometimes, when there has been trauma, this fear is something that has already happened.. Often it is something out of your control, a fact of life, like death! We need to make peace with these, accept their reality and make the best of what we have. I have some excellent tools for transforming anxiety, Including Accelerated Resolution Therapy, A.R.T, see acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com.

There are many things that cause us to feel uneasy or uncertain as we move through our daily activities. We may be worried that we will be late for work or may feel anxious about getting a job. Together we will look at ways to reduce stress and make changes to make life less complicated. Sometimes the level of anxiety always is very high and I will help you find interventions to reduce that feeling of being overwhelmed. We may be able to use cognitive behavioral techniques along with meditation and tai chi movements. All sessions will focus on helping you move toward a less stressful life.

In the fast-paced Northern Virginia area, high levels of stress and anxiety are common. I create an understanding, compassionate therapeutic environment. My approach is to address both anxious thinking and the body’s stress response. You will learn practical skills to help adjust the thought patterns that support anxiety. Because anxiety is also physical I use relaxation and mindfulness techniques to achieve a calmer, more focused state by slowing down racing thoughts. With these skills, we examine all areas of life, including any outside factors that contribute to stress. I never take a “one-size-fits-all” approach to my work. Therapy is a collaborative process, the best results coming from honoring the uniqueness of each person.

Life can present you with difficult situations which are hard to process and move past. These challenges are not on your timeline and affect everything. Having worked in many healthcare settings, I am familiar navigating life-changing events and grief. I understand the territory of encountering loss, coping with trauma, the complexity of the medical system and living with illness. These issues can have ripple effects on your relationships, sense of self and perceptions of the world. I know how complex things can get, and I will support you during this process.

Our Christian counselors can provide problem-solving skills, and enhanced coping strategies for issues such as depression, anxiety, relationship troubles, unresolved childhood issues, grief, and stress management. Many people also find that Christian counselors can be a significant benefit to managing personal and spiritual growth, interpersonal relationships, family concerns, marriage issues, and the stresses of daily life. Christian counselors can provide a fresh perception of difficult problems or refer you in the direction of a solution.

As a normal reaction to stress, mild anxiety is sometimes helpful: you study for a test, or drive within the speed limit. But excessive anxiety and stress make everyday activities much more difficult – they choke the joy out of life. Perhaps you worry way too much about normal things, find it hard to concentrate, or often experience an impending sense of doom or dread. Maybe you’re afraid of having panic attacks you can’t control. Perhaps you avoid social activities because you fear embarrassment or humiliation. Change is possible! With counseling, you can learn to soothe your anxious body, tame your anxious mind, and change your anxious behavior. Please contact me for more info.

Anxiety and stress often get in the way of a fulfilling life and I believe therapy can help. I am a marriage and family therapist (MFT), so I have been trained to help clients think about the stress in their lives in the context of their relationships. This type of 'systems thinking' is unique to Licensed MFTs. Clients benefit from this approach because it brings your stress outside of your own self and into the world of your relationships. This is very freeing! We work together to achieve your goals, always reaching toward a more peaceful life.

We are counselors that know how to help you with anxiety in its many forms. Our psychotherapy for anxiety and stress can be the relief you need. Anxiety comes in many forms and is not usually a welcome part of our life. Fortunately, there are many ways to improve how you respond to your anxiety so that you can enjoy life, be productive, have healthy relationships, and boost your creativity. Our psychotherapy for anxiety can help you discover your body’s natural relaxation response that you can learn to stimulate through regular practice until it becomes part of your memorized set-point.

Anxiety and stress go hand in hand. Anxiety is a customary reaction to a stressful situation. But, in some cases it becomes excessive and can cause sufferers to dread everyday situations. Stress is a reality for all of us. But, it does not have to overwhelm us. Some people may have a genetic predisposition to anxiety. Early traumatic experiences can also reset the body's normal fear-processing system so that it is hyper-reactive to stress. The goal would be to; rid the exaggerated worries and negative outcomes in unknown situations. I will counsel you on the many ways to reduce the amount of stress in your life, along with techniques to adjust your reaction to those factors.

There is no doubt that anxiety, shyness, worrying, phobias, and panic attacks can interfere in your life. They can wreck havoc on your professional and personal life. Anxiety can adversely affect your most important relationships especially if you are experiencing severe symptoms. Many people experiencing severe anxiety confuse the symptoms with medical problems. We can help! We can teach you a set of skills, techniques and methods that will help you effectively manage and even eliminate all of these issues. We use techniques that are proven to be effective in treating anxiety such as: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Clinical Hypnosis, and Emotional Freedom Technique.