Therapy for Anxiety in DC, VA & TN

  • Are you feeling so overwhelmed with worry, what if’s, or fear that you sometimes feel like you can’t think straight or even breathe?

  • Do you find that your brain just won’t shut off and wonder if you’ll ever get some rest?

  • Do you find yourself overthinking things or trying to keep control of, well…practically everything?

 

You ask yourself, how long can I keep this up for? when will this stop? I’m tired.

You may struggle to let people know how you’re really feeling, so you keep it all in and you feel like you’re about to explode. Sometimes, you do explode. Maybe you take it out on yourself and degrade your efforts, saying things to yourself like, “you should be better”, “just do more”, “why aren’t you good enough”. Sometimes the feelings flood onto relationships with loved ones, coworkers, or even strangers. After, you feel shame and embarrassment and worst of all, you’re not only still stuck with feelings that you’re not good enough, but now you feel as though you have more ammo to validate the negative thoughts about yourself.

Sometimes you can get so good at trying to get control of life you even justify your reactions, yet others express frustration or concern that it keeps happening. You may even just try to avoid situations or people because it’s just too hard and exhausting.

It’s not easy to operate through life with anxiety. This. is. hard. You just want to be able to have some emotional freedom to enjoy life and REST.

Together we will…

  • Identify destructive thought patterns and how to stop them

  • Learn how to identify when you’re being flooded by emotions and what to do when it happens

  • Build & strengthen coping skills so you will have ways to fight against the anxiety and stress

  • Learn ways to reset physiological symptoms with practical tools that work

  • Challenge your thoughts to work for you, not against you.

A racing mind doesn’t have to control your life…

there’s relief.

FAQs

 

There’s so much going on, what if I don’t know where to start when I get to the appointment?

First just know, this is OK! This is totally normal and it can feel a little intimidating if you’re new to counseling, or even just new to me! I’m going to review your intake paperwork with you briefly and through this, we will begin a conversation about what’s going on for you that you’d like help with. Most often, once we start reviewing this, it feels more comfortable. I will do my best to help guide you so you feel more at ease.

I feel like I’m all over the place when I talk…can you keep up?

I’m a pro at keeping up! Part of the reason you likely are seeking therapy is because your mind feels all over the place. I’m not here to judge, I’m here to help. I will follow you throughout your discussions and you’ll find that I will pause the conversation at some points as we discover things that I need clarification on, or for us to work to untangle. I will help pace you as time goes on, but especially at the beginning, it’s common for things to just come flooding out!

I’m worried I’m overwhelming at times….what if I overwhelm you?

I understand why you might be worried about this. I want you to know that one thing we’ll work on together is taking responsibility for our own emotions, thoughts and behavior. With this said, it is my job to take care of me, not your job. We are all human and have moments of overwhelm…this is normal! When or if you experience worry that you’re overwhelming me, we will talk about this and work through it together.

I don’t know if I would call this anxiety…I’ve had some bad things happen in my life that I’ve struggled with…can you help with that?

Sometimes there are situational things in life that lead to symptoms of anxiety, depression or other problems. If we discover trauma(s) in your life that you’d like to work through, I am here for you. I bring expertise in trauma specific treatment to help. If you’re interested in this, please talk to me at any time. In order to best serve you, I may bring this up as well if clinically appropriate.

How long will therapy take?

The short answer is, it depends. You can expect therapy to be like an onion. There are layers, it’s potent and sometimes makes you tear up, but in the end it’s worth it because it adds life to our plate. We will develop a specific plan for you and your needs. I’m always here to answer questions along the way.