Thinking about Individual Counseling?
Something has been so heavy on your mind that you’ve begun to look up individual counseling. Is constant stress eating away at you? Do you lie awake at night, weighed down by worries? Perhaps, you sense that something is wrong, but you can’t put a name to it. Or, you suspect that it’s actually anxiety or depression you’re struggling with, but haven’t known where to turn for help.
Feelings of unhappiness, and distressed thoughts and rumination can have an exhausting and depressing impact on your life. They can keep you from enjoying work, hobbies, and time spent with friends and family. You may feel as though all of your waking hours are spent juggling an ever-growing list of responsibilities, as you’re pulled in a thousand directions with no time left to care for yourself.
True happiness and contentment might seem forever out of reach.
You Are Not Alone
Most of us endure difficult times in our lives that can seem insurmountable and lead to feelings of helplessness and frustration. While conditions like anxiety and depression are highly manageable and treatable, only about one-third of those struggling with these conditions receive proper treatment.
It’s natural to look for relief; either consciously or unconsciously. You might find yourself self-medicating with alcohol, drugs, food or even shopping. Sometimes relief, though counter-intuitive, looks like an obsession or compulsion, panic attacks, or other confusing reactions or behavior.
While these methods may dull the pain temporarily, they can be ultimately damaging to yourself and those around you. Often these reactions can feel incredibly frustrating and daunting; as though they control you rather than you controlling it.
There are a wide variety of triggers for periods of intense stress or unhappiness, including trauma, loss, or other profound changes in your life. Whatever the cause, episodes of anxiety or depression are normal and increasingly common in our culture. However, when these moods stay with you for weeks or months, it’s crucial that you seek help.
The good news is that there is hope.
Individual counseling with a skilled and compassionate therapist can help you deal with the challenges of life, trading in anxiety, stress, and depression for calm, clarity, and connectedness.
Individual Counseling Can Provide You With Skills, Support And Relief
Therapy is a safe way to ease the stress and difficult feelings that can impact daily life. In our counseling sessions, we will work collaboratively to discover more about who you are, identifying parts of yourself that influence your decision-making and view of the world. Along with increasing self-awareness, you can learn to become more in tune with your body, and able to understand the physical effects and symptoms your emotional state can cause.
Since every person and situation is unique, I will tailor a therapy strategy specifically for you. Together, we will address as much of your personal history as you are interested in sharing, identify strengths and resources that you can build on, equip you with healthy coping methods, and explore the goals that you’d like to achieve in our time together.
As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I have dedicated my life to understanding and helping those in pain find relief. My training in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) has aided me in developing an approach that is guided by how you notice parts of yourself and your experience of emotion. I focus on getting to the root of the problem and less so on a ‘quick-fix,’ which is more likely to lead to sustainable, long-term results.
By better knowing all the parts of who you are and acknowledging yourself fully you will find better balance and fulfillment in your life. With the clarity gained and techniques learned in individual therapy, you can find lasting relief and begin living a better life.
But, you still may have concerns about individual counseling…
I don’t need therapy. I can handle things on my own. If there’s even a small part of you that thinks depression treatment, anxiety treatment or individual counseling could help, it’s worth listening to—especially if you are in pain. Listen to your heart and give it a try.
I’ve heard that therapy is expensive. It can be helpful to think about therapy as a valuable investment in yourself. People spend money on many things that they don’t see a return on, but how you feel, how you feel about yourself, and how you feel about others will impact you for the rest of your life.
I am afraid of what I might discover if I open up. I will support and guide you, but never push you. If there are elements of your story that you’d rather not describe or discuss, I completely respect that and can still work with you around that topic without knowing all the details. We will take sessions as slowly as you need, so you feel safe and comfortable.
What if it’s too overwhelming? That’s exactly why I’m here. I help to pace our work together and ensure that you don’t get too overwhelmed with whatever emotion, thoughts, or memories arise. There are therapeutic interventions that are useful to help any parts of you that feel overwhelmed to feel calmer.
What happened in the past is in the past, does it really matter now? This is such a common question. You tell me, does it matter now? Do you notice emotions, memories, or the way you organize or control your life in regards to past events, loses, or trauma? Try as we may, it’s often impossible to suppress the difficulty of the past. There actually is great relief in processing the past and coming to terms with it.
It’s Time to Feel Better
Therapy is not always easy, there will be sessions that feel incredibly healing and others that leave you feeling like you’re still working on it all. By working through the parts of you that hold deep emotion, worries and fears, you can come out other side feeling greater peace within yourself and hopeful for your future. I invite you to contact me at heather@insightcounselingalexandria.com for a free 15-minute consultation.
I look forward to talking with you and answering your questions about my unique approach and practice. It only takes a moment to start on the path to a better life!
