Individual Therapy
Emotion Regulation
Emotions are hard to regulate for most people. And if you find yourself as someone who is more emotionally vulnerable, regulating emotions probably feel exponentially harder. Regulating emotions requires us to first understand what emotions do for us, be able to recognize and identify emotions, and understand our unique emotional experiences before we can gain control of them through reducing their intensity or changing them all together. This would be the focus of emotion regulation skills that we can develop together.
Anxiety
It is natural for anxiety to make us want to avoid. While it is natural, this avoidance reinforces the intensity of our anxiety which reinforces our urge to avoid next time. This becomes ineffective when we find that we are avoiding what we need to or want to do. In order to interrupt this cycle of reinforcement, we will create opportunities to expose ourselves to what’s triggering our anxiety. At the same time, being compassionate to the self by inviting an attitude of acceptance and bringing in skills to avoid the avoidance. Over time, this exposure will allow for new thought patterns and experiences to be formed, lessening the intensity of anxiety associated.
Depression
Sometimes we just don’t feel like doing anything. With consistency, this starts to affect our relationships, our ability to care for ourselves, and even our ability together out of bed. And at some point we realize that this is not the way we want to live. Together we will explore some of the thought patterns that are contributing to how we feel and keeping us stuck. By behaviourally activating ourselves we can work to challenge these thoughts and reframe them to more accurately represent our reality. This will allow for new experiences and thought patterns to be formed to shift how we feel.
Impulsive Behaviour
Do you struggle with making decisions impulsively that often lead to new problems and/or feelings of regret? We often make impulsive behaviours when experiencing intense emotions, in hopes to change how we are feeling. However, the options generated in those moments are often less favourable than if we were to give ourselves more time. Here we can work together to understand the function of our impulsive behaviour and find a way to replace it with more effective strategies that don’t result in such consequences.
Self-Esteem
Is confidence something we struggle with? Do we notice a constant voice indicating our worthlessness and inadequacy? Have these thoughts affected how we perceive our interactions and further reinforce these beliefs? In our work together we will focus on increasing awareness, self-acceptance, kindness and compassion for the self, building mastery through taking care of the physical body and developing new skills and interests, and setting boundaries and limits to increase self-respect.
Personal Growth & Exploration
Are we figuring out who we are or who we want to be? When in difficult situations, do we know how we will behave? Do we know what we will do? Do we have values that guide us? Are we able to behave in ways that are in line with our values? Or do we sometimes feel lost in who we are because we find ourselves quite different in different situations. It can be hard to be honest with ourselves causing us to rarely take the time to stop and ask ourselves what we actually need, where we want to be, or who we are. Together we can explore all of these areas and rebuild that relationship with ourselves.
Stress Management
Stress can be a result of many things, work, relationship, school, family, you name it. Regardless, managing it and not letting it burn you out can be extremely difficult. Often times we bring stresses from the past and future into our present reality, compounding its’ effects; and only being aware of it when it’s passed our threshold. Our work together will focus on bringing awareness to only the present moment, catching ourselves the moment stress starts to build earlier on, finding ways to reduce our vulnerabilities in other areas of our life where we have more control, and setting limits and boundaries to maintain our wellness.
Family Conflict
Sometimes family can be a difficult relationship to manage. With deep rooted pasts and many experiences shared, breaking out of communication dynamics can be challenging. And if these are relationships you want to maintain or strengthen, I want to help. Together we can explore how past interactions have shaped current realities and how both sides have reinforced each other to perpetuate this cycle of communication. This will guide us on what what our goals are for the relationship and identify the skills to develop to get us there.
Potential Risks
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emotional discomfort from increased awareness;
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distress from new found opportunities for decisions;
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feeling disconnected or lonely;
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feeling hopeless that things may not change;
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distress that change is not happening as desired rate;
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feeling stuck;
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difficulty tolerating environmental responses to our changes
Possible Benefits
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ability to regulate and cope with emotions;
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increased ability to tolerate life stresses;
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feel more connected to people and the world around you;
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develop a better understanding of self and direction;
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form healthy boundaries to improve relationships;
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increase confidence and self-worth;
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increase quality of life;