Individual Counseling

Would You Like to Improve Your Overall Mental Health?

Are you struggling to sleep, get out of bed or generally function throughout the day? Is the task of dealing with problems at work, managing familial responsibilities or simultaneously fulfilling multiple roles creating more stress than you know how to handle?

Perhaps, you are experiencing a sudden change in your love life, a loss of connection with your children or difficulties forming healthy relationships and you want support and help understanding and changing your behavior. Or, maybe you have lost your sense of self-worth, motivation or joy and you want help getting back to the person you once were.

Maybe you are grieving over the loss of a loved one or coping with the painful feelings associated with a traumatic event but feel like the burden is too heavy to bear on your own.  Do you wish you could alleviate your symptoms, understand your emotions and learn more effective ways of dealing with stress, anxiety and depression?

Everyone Could Use A Little Support and Guidance Now and Then

Regardless of our individual backgrounds, personal histories and current life circumstances, life presents us all with obstacles we must overcome to find fulfillment and contentment. This can be especially true of the thousands of high-achieving individuals living in the heart of Silicon Valley. Being surrounded by affluence, prestige and the trappings of professional success can be alienating, making it seem like everyone but you is functioning flawlessly and living a perfect life. However, that is rarely the case.

The competitive demands of work, unrealistic expectations of self-sufficiency and the stress of balancing professional responsibilities with personal and family needs can be overwhelming at times. And, even though social media makes it seem like we have a community of support, those relationships may lack the power to provide any real support or connection and may, in fact, contribute to our sense of not being good enough. As a result, many people feel isolated, inadequate and powerless. The ability to achieve any genuine, lasting joy and satisfaction for themselves seems elusive.

Many of the ways we try to self-correct, deal with or ignore these obstacles only serve to make matters worse. Withdrawal from friends and family, the habitual use of electronics and gaming devices and other unhealthy coping mechanisms only mask the problems and perpetuate self-defeating cycles. Even if you feel you’ve found a way to successfully work around problems in your life, in a time of crisis, it is possible that the crisis will overwhelm the coping strategies you have historically relied upon. 

Fortunately, with the help of a compassionate and skilled mental health counselor, you can ease the burden of painful emotions, enhance your well-being and cultivate a genuine love and respect for yourself. You can achieve greater satisfaction and intimacy in relationships and have a greater understanding of how you behave under certain circumstances and how that affects your relationships, for better or worse.

Individual Counseling Can Give You a New Perspective

Personal counseling allows you a space to give voice to your thoughts and feelings and find validation for your concerns. With help and support, you can develop strategies to positively change troublesome aspects of your life, whatever they might be. As your personal therapist, I will act as an ally, guiding you to a happier, more empowered version of yourself.

In a space of respect and compassion, we’ll begin our sessions by looking at possible sources of your pain, how your challenges manifest and what purpose possible self-destructive behaviors may be secretly serving in your daily life. We can identify how family of origin issues, personal experiences or distorted perceptions of yourself and others may be impacting your situation, emotional state, well-being and relationships.

I’ll teach you how to identify and draw on your intrinsic strengths and natural capabilities for healing, managing stress, mitigating intense emotions and stopping the cycle of self-sabotaging behaviors. We can develop a practical plan of action that can give you a sense of control and accomplishment as you work toward your personal goals. Whatever your needs are, I’ll support you with unconditional positive regard, focusing on reinforcing your sense of self-worth and optimism as well as your ability to find value and acceptance in who you are.

I want you to tell me your story so I can meet you where you are in your life and guide you to where you want to be. If you are struggling to make sense out of a past traumatic event, I will teach you how trauma affects the brain and is stored in the body. I will offer you healthy alternatives for coping with difficult emotions and destructive behaviors and ultimately, help you separate yourself from painful memories so a single experience does not define you.

If you are dealing with anxiety, we can use meditation exercises and other holistic techniques to help you regulate breathing, calm intense physical sensations and remain focused on the present. We can also use cognitive therapy techniques to change the way you think about situations which, in turn, changes the way you feel about them. Or, if you are suffering from low self-esteem and issues of self-worth and depression, we can use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies to generate greater self-awareness, improve non-polar thinking and reframe distorted perceptions of yourself into something positive and healthy.

If you struggle to make and sustain healthy relationships, maintain appropriate boundaries in relationships, feel good within your relationships or find yourself in relationships that are doing you more harm than good, we can look at family of origin and attachments, which are often at the root of these dynamics. Having an understanding of these dynamics, what your needs are and possessing the language to meet those needs is a good first step in breaking these cycles.

I understand that it can be hard reaching out to someone you don’t know for help, which is why I genuinely admire and respect those who ask me for guidance. With the support, self-awareness and strategies I offer, you can feel better about yourself, less burdened by your pain and more connected in your relationships.

I am considering individual counseling, but I still have a few concerns…

I’m not sure anything can help me at this point.

As Fred Rogers said, “Anything that’s human is mentionable, anything mentionable can be more manageable.” I love this quote because it exemplifies the power of individual counseling. What you’re going through is human. When we talk about our emotions, they become less overwhelming and less upsetting and we are able to think more clearly and objectively about the situation. Painful thoughts and feelings become more tolerable and doors to new possibilities open. Unfortunately, people often don’t have others in their lives who will listen to them in an unbiased, supportive and non-judgmental way. This is the gift that professional counseling provides.

I feel like my situation may be too painful to talk about right now.

Making the first call is usually the hardest part of the healing process. Overcoming the inertia and getting over that first step can be daunting because change can be uncomfortable. The idea of opening up and talking to a stranger about your problems can be difficult, especially if you have never experienced therapy before and aren’t sure what to expect.

But, once you start talking, you begin to build a natural momentum toward positive change. You begin to feel relief by getting your thoughts and feelings out of your head and you experience the relief that comes from having someone listen to you, validate your experience and help you clarify your thoughts and feelings. This momentum can make talking about your situation much easier. Private counseling isn’t always a difficult experience. It can be a profoundly validating and empowering experience. Additionally, I value meeting clients where they are at and respecting their pacing. You are never required to talk about something until you feel ready to do so.

I’m not sure if I want to invest my time and money into personal counseling.

Professional counseling will require an investment of time and money, but the financial cost is a long-term investment in the very foundation of your life. Everything you do, every relationship and choice you make in life, rests on the foundation of your mental and physical well-being. Your career, family and relationships are all of paramount importance, so look at individual therapy as a way of honoring those commitments. Most clients find that individual therapy benefits them in many other areas of life.  You will likely find that you’ve become more motivated and productive as an employee, more intimate and successful as a partner and more engaged and content as an individual.

You Don’t Have to Carry Your Pain Forever

If you want greater strength, confidence and joy in your life, I may be able to help. Please call me at 408-868-9390, text me at 408-868-9390, or fill out the form on this page. I would be honored to listen to your story and address any concerns or questions you may have about my approach to individual counseling in Saratoga, CA, and how I may be able to help you.