Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Lake Ridge, VA.

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.

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.

Anxiety can take on a variety of different forms depending on the individual. Oftentimes people who come into therapy for anxiety because they experience excessive anxiety and worry (apprehensive expectation) over a number of events in their life (work, children, relationships, finances, activities) and the source of the worry can change from day-to-day. People experiencing this kind of anxiety feel they cannot control or lessen the worry and that they are intruded upon by it on an hourly/daily basis. My recent book, Be Calm Proven Techniques to Stop Anxiety Now-offers strategies to reduce anxiety on the spot and I use these strategies in my client work.

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.

Anxiety and stress is how our body and mind react to the compounding minor stresses of everyday life or major complications. The goal of therapy is to change how the body and mind respond to intense, overwhelming, or uncertain situations. First, you will develop an awareness of your reactions to stress. Next, we will develop and practice strategies that help you feel in control of the present and face the future with courage and strength.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For those who suffer from anxiety and stress it can be difficult to get through a day! I work with my clients to organize the challenges that need to be conquered as well as find ways to manage overwhelming emotions in order to not only survive, but to succeed. Learning how to manage stress, practice self care, and find balance will be key. It's important to not only understand but to also actively practice.

Anxiety takes many forms in life, and many activities in life that can be rewarding or meaning can also cause anxiety. When anxiety is too high, it inhibits us from living a life that feels full and worthwhile. Therapy can help you to understand the underlying dynamics of what contributes to feeling anxious and the sense of risk in engaging in your life in a more full way.

Everyone talks about stress and anxiety, but for many of us, it gets to be too much — interfering with work, sleep, relationships, health, or just being able to enjoy life. There are many options to help reduce the ways anxiety and stress "hijack" you, and to better manage and reduce your stressors. As a psychologist and a neuropsychologist, I'll work with you using the best strategies and practical ways for you to get past the obstacles that stress and anxiety can cause, making excellent use of the ways your brain and mind can shift your response to stress, and helping you move forward in your life with greater freedom and ease.