Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Bowen Island, BC.

Anxiety is a natural response to stress but can become a constant state for some. It serves as a signal that something needs attention, often pointing to unmet needs or deeper emotions like fear, anger, or grief. Anxiety distracts from these core emotions, especially if expressing them feels unsafe. It also has energy, pushing us to work harder and stay functional, unlike depression, which tends to lead to helplessness. By slowing down and exploring anxiety’s roots, we can uncover what it’s trying to teach us, offering insight into deeper emotional truths.

Do you find yourself worrying about whether you locked the front door,even though you know that you checked it three times? Do you feel your palms sweating and your heart racing, with an impending sense of doom as a sense panic washes over you? These are both forms of anxiety, that sense that the world is not a safe place and worry and concern over the future. Together we will work together to improve your sense of well being, decrease your anxiety and release you from the need to devote energy and brain space to safety behaviours.

Real Solutions to Real Challenges. Stress is necessary for survival and provides opportunity for growth. However, it can aslo result in anxiety and even panic with accompaning physical symptoms. Unproductive coping mechanisms may kick in that have become entrenched and difficult to break. In more severe cases Obsessive-Complusive Behaviors may surface to distract us from the anxieties. These obsessive-compulsive behaviors may become debilitating and incredibly frustrating. Martin helps clients deminish their anieties by cognitive restructuring, relaxation training, and overcoming avoidance. Avoidance only provides short-term relief, at the cost significantly damaging our self-esteem

I help clients dealing with anxiety and stress by using CBT, DBT, and Mindfulness based approaches. I help clients develop awareness and insight around the way they think to then create change in their thinking. Thoughts, Behaviours, and Emotions are all interconnected and drive each person's experience of an event and of themselves. By changing one, we change the other two. I help clients do this while pairing their thoughts with mindfulness based strategies to soothe their stress and anxiety.

Are you living your life constantly feeling on-edge? Are you a worrier who can't seem to turn it off? Does anxiety or stress keep you from being fully present for your family? As an anxiety and stress specialist, I know rough this can be. But there is hope. Together, we can deploy powerful techniques to get you feeling calm, relaxed, and emotionally thriving, so you can effectively deal with life challenges. Imagine: going about your day feeling excited rather than worried, confident rather than stressed, and focused rather than scattered. If you’re ready to stop worrying and start living, reach out.

Are you a gay man that struggles with felling anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed? Perhaps you’ve even felt the out of control experience of a panic attack before. All of these experiences can show up in unique ways for gay men, and sometimes a general approach to these issues just isn’t enough. First, I’ll help you with anxiety by teaching you tools that can get you quick relief from some of your anxiety right away. From there, I’ll work with you to grow your progress further, and understand the roots of your anxiety so that you can maintain your freedom from anxiety long term.

Anxiety and stress are among the most common concerns that people seek counselling for. Sometimes people find themselves in anxiety-provoking circumstances for which immediate, short-term counselling interventions are appropriate and effective (for example, preparing for a performance or exam). Others may find that their anxiety is chronic and invades almost every aspect of their life. In this case, I offer a counselling perspective that considers deeper issues that might be feeding the anxiety. Whether you experience anxiety as situational or chronic, it is possible to learn how to tame your anxiety and enjoy greater peace, confidence, and a sense of calm in your life.

Want to free yourself from anxieties, panic attacks or phobias? Want to learn to stop worrying or feeling stressed out constantly? Want to feel more comfortable and confident in social situations? You don’t have to live with anxieties anymore! The EMDR therapy I use can effectively help you with various types of anxiety, making changes in your brain and your nervous system. The powerful hypnotherapy I use can free you from anxiety by reprograming your subconscious mind that perpetuates anxieties. Many people can start to get great relief from anxiety working with me from 1 to several sessions, even if they have had anxieties for years! Fear no more! Worry no more! Call ME 778-548-7345!

Everyone experiences anxiety and stress at times. If anxiety and stress persist over a long period of time, and interferes with your daily life, you may have an anxiety disorder. Therapy can provide you with a safe space to help find relief and give you tools to move forward with your life. As a therapist, I will support you as you develop new skills, thinking patterns, and improve self esteem.

You might be familiar with that tense, unsettled feeling that you can't shake. The overthinking, ruminating, and worrying. It's so hard to be present and engaged when we suffer with anxiety! Anxiety is the #1 reason people seek out my services. I can help you get to the roots of your anxiety (hint: it's not ONLY about disputing your irrational thoughts) so that you feel more grounded and alive. Through their work with me, my clients have reported that they are more socially engaged, less in their heads, more in tune with their bodies, and better able to attend to the underlying emotions and needs underlying the anxiety. I look forward to supporting you in moving beyond your anxiety.

Anxiety and Stress can be related to a number of things going on in our lives at a given time. Typically it is how we perceive the stressors in our life, or the feeling that we don't have the resources to cope that determines whether or not we feel anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed. If we are unable to get into a RECOVERY zone, anxiety and stress can quickly seem to spin out of control and EVERYTHING may feel too hard. I use Cognitive and Behavioural, Mindfulness, and Ego State therapies to help individuals quickly acquire the tools, and insights that help them reduce the Anxiety symptoms and navigate their anxiety triggers. Moreover, they regain a sense of calm and control in their lives.

Some worry is a normal part of the physical and emotional human experience. It helps us get things done and keeps us safe. When worry becomes so big that it gets in the way of daily functioning and wellbeing then it may be time to seek help. Heather draws on several types of therapeutic approaches, including mindfulness, cognitive behavioural therapy, and somatic therapies for trauma and relational injuries, to help clients understand and manage anxiety.

In my professional and personal experience I have found that problems with anxiety, stress, depression, and anger issues are often overlapping. Many people feel mixed emotions of fear, worry, pressure, frustration, guilt, shame and low self worth. Unfortunately we have a tendency to doubt our abilities and our value which can quickly become a 'self fulfilling prophecy' and cause us to judge ourselves harshly, and/or isolate from others. This can become a cycle but it can often be broken by speaking openly with a professional who is competent, kind and encouraging. I am diligent in helping clients identify the false core beliefs and establish new beliefs that empower them again.

If you're up against anxiety, I offer an empowering and collaborative approach. There is an opportunity to explore your experience and to begin to see yourself as separate from anxiety. Through conversations, you may begin to identify alternative stories that challenge anxious thoughts and beliefs. We'd attend to your capacity and establish coping strategies to foster a sense of possibility. Together the we would co-create a new narrative that emphasizes the your resiliency, self-compassion and a greater sense of calm.

Anxiety and stress is experienced by everyone and sometimes people have certain situations that elevate the symptoms. Counselling can provide a safe space to discuss what is currently going on for you to be able to develop coping skills and move forward. During our time together we will discuss what causes your anxiety and stress and use CBT techniques through the sessions.

Anxiety and stress counseling offers individuals practical tools and emotional support to manage overwhelming feelings and regain a sense of balance and well-being. Evidence-based techniques such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), relaxation exercises, and mindfulness practices are utilized to help clients identify and challenge anxious thoughts, regulate physiological responses, and develop coping strategies. Through collaborative goal-setting and validation, counseling empowers individuals to build resilience, enhance self-care practices, and cultivate a greater sense of calm and mastery in navigating life's challenges.

Anxiety, panic, and stress often show up as tension or unpleasant physical sensations in the body as fear and other emotions are held back. Trauma, relationship problems, losses, and attachment issues are often the hidden source of emotional pain. To resolve anxiety and panic, I use a mind-body approach which integrates cognitive, emotional, and body sensing techniques to get curious about and resolve the true underlying issues.

Every day , we are exposed to different distresses. How we perceive the external distresses could result in how we feel. When we feel anxious and stressed out, we feel scared and vulnerable , because of the activation of emotional memories of harmful and painful experiences in the absence of protection and support. In the process of therapy , while I help my clients process the past harmful experiences in to helpful ones , I assist the clients in: Enhancing self-efficacy or sense of agency , Resolving discrepancies between self-beliefs and self-standards, Increasing tolerance for—and ownership of negative affects and perhaps affective experience in general.

We live in a fast paced 24/7 world dealing with social media, technology and lots of things to worry about in the media. No wonder we are all a little anxious these days. I will help you change your relationship with your thoughts so they have less power and control over you. When we give in and avoid things due to anxiety we end up feeling pretty isolated. I will teach you tools and strategies to get through your stress and anxiety.

Anxiety is often the manifestation of an overactive fight or flight mechanism. This mechanism is in us for a reason, so we won't try to shut it down. But we will look at ways to modulate the alarm response so our lives are enjoyable and fulfilling. Stress is not the same as anxiety, and my favourite intervention for it involves reframing stress as a challenge and opportunity to build capacity. With a little work, stress can become your friend.

Anxiety and stress keep us out of connection to ourselves. Anxiety often helps protect you from other feelings that are too seemingly to distressing to bear. But then it came seem to overtake everything else in your life. If you would like to start to understand your anxiety and who you are underneath it, please reach out. A combination of approaches tailored to you can help you connect to yourself and lift the anxiety.

Anxiety and stress impact our sleep, physical health, and our ability to be fully present in our lives. Stress acts as a ‘check engine’ light to let us know something in our environment needs to be addressed. We cannot eliminate stress without attending to our stressors. Some people find a moderate amount of anxiety gives them the umph they need to get things done. Ultimately, we want to feel good in our bodies, and be fully present, without the shadow of worry at every turn. What are these emotions trying to tell us? Getting to their roots gives us the information we need to make healthy adjustments in our lives, so the ‘check engine’ lights can turn back off.

Anxiety can create fears, threat safety, clients need to recognise their stress levels, their coping skills, and how their respond to stress. My treatment plan involves searching ways to help clients talk through strategies for comprehending and coping with anxiety. Understanding how they regulate their emotions when faced with stress and discovering the underlying issues behind the anxiety, is vital to the healing process.

We are far more primitive in our reactions than we like to think, and fear, stress, or anxiety, can go from an adaptive warning to a very non adaptive over reaction, arresting our ability to function. I have worked extensively in this area, in giving workshops and as a trainer for other counsellors, focusing first on understanding the body's reaction and then developing skills to over-ride the anxiety response. Using a mindfulness approach, staying connected with our needs, and focusing on resiliency, anxiety can be tamed.

Evidence-based therapies are used to identify and reframe anxious thought patterns. Mindfulness and relaxation techniques can help create space and capacity to sit with, and move through anxious periods. Consideration is given to how anxiety has served you. Stressors are explored and treatment is tailored to your unique needs - what relationship would you like to have with anxiety?