Individual Therapy can be helpful in the following situations:
Major Life Changes
Perhaps you’re moving away from home, starting a new job, getting married, having a baby — these are just a few of the transitions that many of us face at some point in our life. Although you may be excited about the upcoming changes, it’s natural to feel scared, or even sad about the situation you’re leaving. At these important transition points, therapy can help you to: anticipate and plan for the changes you will need to make, cope with feelings of anxiety and sadness, and adjust emotionally to your new situation.
Relationship Issues
You’re in a relationship that’s causing you pain or you’ve just gone through a breakup. While couples therapy makes sense if you’re trying to improve your relationship or recover from a breach of trust, individual therapy is a better choice in the following situations:
- You’re not sure you want to maintain the relationship.
- You’ve just ended a relationship and don’t know how to let go and move on.
- Your partner has an addiction and you need some extra support.
In these circumstances, therapy can help you explore the “pros and cons” of your relationship, work through feelings of loss, and build up your support network. Down the line, it is also very useful to figure out what YOU can do differently in your next relationship.
Stress & Anger
All of struggle to find an ideal work-life balance. We try to juggle the demands of our jobs and/or school, families, and social life. Most of the time, we take on too much, while failing to set aside enough time for relaxation, exercise, and rest.
Here are some of the warning signs of too much stress:
- You often feel tired and depleted.
- You are more irritable and impatient and fly off the handle easily.
- You have problems falling asleep because you can’t turn off your thoughts.
- You wake up often during the night.
- You have more aches and pains than usual.
- You engage in unhealthy behavior in order to relax.
- You have panic attacks.
If any of these apply to you, therapy can teach you effective ways to:
- Monitor your stress level.
- Reduce your stress naturally.
- Calm yourself during a panic attack.
- Relax and quiet your mind.
- Manage frustration and anger.
- Protect your me time.
Something is Off
Everyone goes through rough times when you don’t feel great about yourself or your situation. Maybe you’ve experienced a recent loss or setback; or maybe there’s no specific cause, but you just can’t get out of your funk.
The following signs suggest that you may be depressed:
- You have trouble getting out of bed in the morning.
- You’re sleeping more than usual, yet still have little energy.
- You have to force yourself to eat cause you’re not hungry.
- You don’t feel like going out with friends or family.
- You’re blaming yourself for decisions you’ve made.
- You’re having difficulty concentrating at work.
- You simply can’t enjoy yourself.
The good news is that meeting regularly with an experienced therapist can help you to get unstuck and feel better. We’ll work together to help you figure out WHY you may be depressed, WHAT’S keeping you depressed (for example, what are you doing to sabotage yourself?), and HOW you can let go of disappointment and create a happier you.
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In our sessions, I invite you to share your story. I’ll help you to sort out your feelings and thoughts, identify your goals, and come up with a plan to reach these goals. The plan may include activities for you to do, or things to think about, between sessions.
While I can’t guarantee that you’ll feel better instantly, I have found that most people who commit to the process find relief and reach their desired goals.