Anxiety, Depression & PTSD

Anxiety and depression are emotional conditions or disorders that influence how you think, feel and function in daily life. Both anxiety and depression have a thought-based component and an action-based component that can make it difficult to keep yourself in a calm, content and productive emotional state. You may have noticed that your thoughts tend to spin in depressed or worried circles, or that the thoughts that pass through your mind are frequently gloomy or frightening. Both anxiety and depression rob you of joy, rewarding human contact and feelings of self-confidence. Over time, you may find it more and more difficult to do the things you want or need to do, and at a loss about how to get yourself back to the way you want to feel.

Together, we will help you look at and start to change your unhealthy thinking habits and to experience improved peace of mind. We will work together using evidence-based approaches to help you get a handle on panic symptoms, worry and low mood. If you have OCD, we will use a specialized therapy that will help you to gradually reduce the amount of space taken up by your thoughts and rituals, and to increasingly regain control over your time and your life. We will also work together to help you resume activities that you value or enjoy, or to identify new areas of interest if it has been so long that you can’t remember. Yes, it is possible! Therapy may also involve looking at life events so that you can come to understand them differently and start to put them behind you. You will learn CBT skills, as well as skills from other types of therapy, to help you increase your resilience and build tools for feeling more positive and motivated in your day-to-day.

Experiences that threatened your life or safety can be very frightening and difficult to move on from, as can threats or violations of your physical or psychological integrity (including emotional, psychological, sexual and other forms of abuse, as well as sexual assault). Sometimes, witnessing or hearing about such events happening to people we care about, or happening during the course of our employment, can be traumatizing even if we ourselves were not in danger or victimized.

After such traumatic events, you may find yourself understandably frightened or emotionally numb, on edge, experiencing unwanted memories of the event or even flashbacks, as well as other symptoms similar to those experienced in anxiety and depression. These responses are normal and can often be worked through with the help of a supportive friend, family member, pastor, rabbi or therapist. However, if trauma-related symptoms continue for 6 months or more, you may have post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. Working with a therapist specialized in treating PTSD can help you to move past the events that thrown your life off course.

If you have survived a traumatic experience, the most important thing to me in working with you will be to help you feel safe within therapy. This means that, if you are dealing with difficult symptoms, we will work together to help you learn to press pause and use the coping skills you will learn before becoming overwhelmed, both in therapy and in the rest of your life. Over time, you will find yourself more and more able to remain emotionally and psychologically in the here-and-now. The restoration of your healthy beliefs about yourself, others, or the world which may have been impacted by trauma will be another cornerstone of our work together. It will also be important to help you to return to the daily activities that you value, at whatever pace that you feel can handle. I approach PTSD work using mindfulness, person-centered therapy and specialized cognitive behavioral therapy for PTSD, and have completed advanced training with international expert Pascale Brillon.