Anxiety/Depression:

I have a lot of empathy for those going through life sad, discouraged, stressed and/or worried. Pragmatic and results-oriented, I have found IFS and ACT counseling interventions to be helpful, as well as Mindfulness and Self-Compassion training.

 

I've learned to be on the watch for anxiety in particular.  Anxiety leads to avoidance, and a lot of avoidance can end up restricting important aspects of our lives, like our relationships, career choices, job performance, social interactions and our ability to try new things.  Which can make us feel stuck and unable to change.  Which leads to depression...but the anxiety came first.

Here's the good news - anxiety is statistically the most successfully treated of any mental health issue.

 

 

Women's issues:

Working with women on issues of depression, anxiety, parenting, relationships, and stage of life adjustments i.e. marriage, divorce, empty-nest, menopause, career change, is another special interest of mine. As a woman of a certain age, it's easy for me to understand and be sensitive to some of the life-issues that come up as we move through the roles of daughter, sibling, friend, partner, worker, community member, parent.  

 

Career/Workplace Issues:

When I first heard in grad school that we were going to spend an entire semester learning about issues related to careers, I thought "not relevant to much".  Boy, did I have that wrong.  More and more, our careers can encompass our largest sense of self, some of our most challenging relationships, some of our biggest stressors, and the vast percentage of our waking hours.  How you feel about your job, co-workers and work life is pretty "relevant" indeed!  Sometimes when we can calm down the work-related stress, whether it's from "impostor syndrome" or a boss with no boundaries, 

everything gets better.

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Family/Relational Issues:

Usually nothing impacts us more than the state of our relationships.  Getting some help with getting our childhood/family into some sort of perspective and maybe healing some old wounds, can end up making a big difference in the peacefulness of life.  As can getting clarity on what might be triggering us in the present and maybe even having more productive conversations about whatever is going on.

 

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