Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Metchosin, BC.

Dr. Sloat feels we live in a world that overstimulates us, and thus stress and anxiety are sometimes unavoidable, especially for the sensitive among us. She takes a triple approach to treatment in that it is, 1) aimed at teaching strategies and tools for dealing with anxiety and stress as we experience them, 2) geared toward challenging thoughts and beliefs that are anxiety and/or stress producing in themselves, and 3) facilitates management of one's lifestyle such that it becomes balanced.

Anxiety can be experienced as feelings of stress, overwhelm, overly-cautious disposition, fatigue, headaches, “churning of the stomach”, and problems sleeping. In therapy, clients can expect to explore thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, learn new ways to respond and cope with stress, and increase self-awareness. At the outcome of therapy, individuals will develop clarity around personal needs and boundaries, feel more connected, and have greater control over self and life, experience increased joy and peace-of-mind, and improved functioning in work, social life, and relationships.

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.

I am honoured that you are interested in my services and I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I have been described as slightly non-conventional in the counselling world, which suits me perfectly, and also tends to suit youth who are trying to stand up to the force of the problems in their life. I am very comfortable working with this population, and I feel fortunate that I can connect with teens the way I do, conventionally or in a way that makes sense to them.

Anxiety and Stress have become a ubiquitous part of our modern world. For many of us, they are an all too pervasive daily experience and sap the life out of our vital energies. Our work on anxiety and stress will include practical skills and tools to work with and deal with the anxiety and stress. It may involve changing ways of thinking that create more anxiety than necessary in certain situations. We will work toward finding ways of being that allow for more freedom, more ease and more enjoyment in being alive.

Anxiety, stress, and depression are common symptoms of relationship distress. Research shows that having close connections calms our nervous systems and promotes emotional balance and well-being. What we do with emotion impacts the quality of our relationships, and our relationships impact our emotions. I help clients access, understand, and order their emotional worlds so that they can be used as a compass and vehicle for connection with important others. What we do with emotion makes sense based on our biology and our life experiences, but at times our strategies become outdated. Contact today to schedule a free 15-minute consultation. 

I use therapeutic insights and my own experience to guide you. If stress and anxiety paralyses you and is hurting those you love, and you don't know what to do, professional assistance is called for. Feelings of anxiety result from our reality and how we look at this reality. Our perspective is shaped by our experience and thinking. By understanding emotionally why you are where you are and why you feel about this the way you will be helpful. By keeping judgment at bay, the emotional space for other insights and options that can help you manage your anxiety better and to discover what you need to do to move beyond your anxiety, will develop.

Do you worry about not being enough, not doing enough, trying to be perfect? Are you constantly wondering what others are thinking and saying. Maybe you worry about your anxiety, about anxiety symptoms like racing heart, chronic pain or dizziness and fatigue. If you have panic attacks, this can cause you to worry about having a panic attack as well as the actual trigger of the attack. Learn to find your triggers. Cognitive behavioural therapy has tools to help you overcome the fear. Wouldn't it be wonderful to believe you are enough and that perfection is some ideal that you never have to achieve because you are okay. Just the way you are. A work in progress and that's okay. Acceptance.

Anxiety and stress seem to be ever-present in our world today. Feeling anxious and stressed can often feel inevitable but we do have choices and we can behave differently when confronted with anxiety and stress provoking situations. With over 10 years experience developing resilience promoting programs and services, I will help you gain increased control over your reaction and have you feeling more confident and in charge of yourself. Resilience is a quality and a skill that can be learned.

Anxiety is a very common experience for many people and can manifest within a person's life in many different ways. I provide opportunities for people to learn about anxiety, develop an awareness about their thoughts, emotions and beliefs that fuel anxiety and offer clinically proven strategies for overcoming anxiety. I work together with individuals to develop a counselling program that entails understanding where a person's anxiety may have originated, developing an awareness into the situations and relationships that trigger their anxiety and employing coping methods to help manage anxiety in daily life.

You are not alone. Whether you are anxious in social situations, suffering from PTSD, OCD, or panic disorders, or experiencing a generalized and on-going anxiety, you are not the only one! And you don't have to face it by yourself. At your own pace we will work at alleviating the physical symptoms like nausea, dizziness, chest pain, muscle tension, trembling and sweating. We will manage the manifestations of your anxiety, like isolation, irrational fears, or heart racing panic attacks. Discover helpful anxiety and stress, and why it is essential to our survival. Find peace in our carefully created therapeutic relationship, and recreate it in all parts of your life.

I believe anxiety is a response to aspects of life that a person deems fearful, unsafe, or uncertain. It is possible to reduce or eliminate a person's anxiety in counselling, and in doing so, you will feel lighter, more secure, and grounded in your daily living. Similarly, high stress levels can perpetuate a person's sense of anxiety. I believe stress can be managed and significantly decreased through counselling.

Anxiety and stress can be the first signs that something is off that we need to respond to in our lives. They can snowball until they have power over us: their impulses conflicting with our greater needs. They can also be signs of deeper issues that are unique to each of our lives. Our personalities, senses of self, life histories, and individual understandings of the world all play a role; as do our nervous systems and embodied patterns of how we generate and resolve anxious feelings. Together we’ll collaborate to get every part of you on your team, aligned with the direction you want to take as as a whole.

Anxiety can severely impact the quality of a person's life. It can impact their sleep, work, relationships, school, and their physical health. Sometimes, anxiety can become so intense that people experience physical symptoms like sweating, heart racing, dizziness, nausea, etc. The good news is that there are effective psychological treatments for anxiety. CBT (Cognitive behavioural therapy), which is the type of therapy I practice, is an evidence-based approach that provides individuals with skills to help manage their anxiety and get control over their lives back.

Anxiety and stress can show up as overwhelming worry, chronic tension, disrupted sleep, or a sense of disconnection. I work with clients to explore the roots of their distress, and build capacity for more ease and joy, even while navigating difficult life circumstances. I draw on modalities that support clients in building more safety and trust in their bodies and relationships, including Somatic Experiencing, Intuitive Eating, EMDR, and parts work.

Everyone has anxiety and stress in their life! It is important to evaluate where the majority of it comes from and discover ways to cope at times that are difficult and challenging. It is also critical to recognize when anxiety and stress is past a point that is manageable. Some treatment methods I would use would be grounding techniques, meditation, and Socratic questioning. These techniques would be used to figure out the root cause of the anxiety and stress and also to help determine the cause. Other strategies that may be applied include journalling, incorporating exercise, and other activities to help manage both the anxiety and stress.

While most treatment approaches for anxiety and stress are effective on the surface, they don’t treat the real problem. Mantras, deep breathing, and rational dialogues about your fear being irrational rarely work---for most people don’t believe it or you! Imagine if you can trick the brain into changing without you telling your conscious mind that you are changing it? Problem with anxiety and stress is that the brain in this state knows you want to change it and it resists. Contact Kevin@kevinflemingphd.com for the ultimate stress and anxiety solution that will literally change your brain's autonomic nervous system patterns while you sit on your butt. 877-606-6161.

Shelley teaches her clients how to cope with stress and anxiety through Mindfulness, Compassion, and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Understanding the underlying fears that trigger their anxiety, can help clients become more aware of their negative thought patterns. Reframing those negative thoughts and unhealthy core beliefs can help clients to feel more in charge of their life as they experience their world more realistically. Shelley teaches valuable skills to help clients regulate and calm their anxiety by relaxation and visualisation techniques. Shelley's keen ability to attune to her clients with compassion and empathy as well as teaching skills is her gift that leads to her success.

When you worry you suffer in advance for outcomes which have not yet happened and, in fact, rarely do happen. It is bad enough to suffer the bad things that really do happen without suffering needlessly. We will seek to strengthen faith and trust that the world is mainly safe for you. Stress is the result of overloading our coping competencies. We will talk about riding through anxiety attacks and techniques to reduce uncomfortable hyper vigilance. We will look back into your history to find the roots of anxiety and stress. We may use trauma relief strategies such as EMDR or Traumatic Incident reduction (TIR). Counseling for anxiety and stress should make you happier and more relaxed.

In anxiety and stress counseling, I provide a safe, confidential space to express whatever thoughts and feelings are weighing on you. Anxiety often involves racing thoughts, physical tension, and feeling overwhelmed by worries about the future. Together we'll work on bringing you back to the present and developing practical tools that help. This might include mindfulness practices to interrupt anxious thought spirals, relaxation techniques to release tension, or examining thought patterns fueling your stress. Our therapeutic relationship matters most—having someone genuinely listen without judgment has real healing power. Clients report feeling calmer, more grounded, and able to handle challenges in a more balanced way.

I offer an integrative blend of somatic awareness, mindfulness practices, relational attunement, and trauma-informed presencing to help my clients address anxiety and stress in their lives. Using your natural healing process as our guide, we can help the nervous system learn what a peaceful state of health and vitality is again. I am currently offering sessions online and in person.

Anxiety can feel overwhelming, persistent and disruptive to the life you're wanting. Gravitate Counselling Inc. has five Registered Clinical Counsellors in British Columbia who offer counselling to help ease the impact of anxiety. We can help you identify what creates anxiety, understand how it impacts you, learn new coping skills and strategies, and make changes in your life to decrease how often and how intensely you experience anxiety. We can also help with stress-related concerns, including counselling for parenting and caregiving stress, work-related stress, burnout, and health issues.

As we explore anxiety and stress together, we’ll cultivate curiosity about where these feelings come from while learning practical tools to self-regulate and build resilience. My approach empowers you with coping strategies tailored to your needs, helping you navigate life’s challenges with greater calm, confidence, and balance for lasting well-being.

At Seasons Family Centre, we provide compassionate support for anxiety and stress across the lifespan, from young children to adults, including transitional moments such as pregnancy and parenthood. Understanding that these experiences are unique to each individual, we offer a variety of approaches to treatment and collaborate with our clients to determine the best path forward, ensuring they feel empowered as active agents in their own growth and well-being. Our culturally mindful approach prioritizes safety and trust, creating a supportive environment where individuals can explore, process, and develop strategies to navigate life’s challenges with greater ease and resilience.

I offer a safe and supportive space to explore inner experiences, understand anxiety and stress triggers, and develop effective tools for overwhelming emotions. Together, we will identify and challenge unhelpful thought and behavior patterns and core beliefs that fuel anxiety, while developing practical coping strategies. I incorporate distress tolerance and emotional regulation techniques to help clients manage overwhelming feelings and stress, stay in the present moment, and navigate relationships. Through deeper reflection, we also explore underlying patterns, past experiences, and relational dynamics that may contribute to persistent anxiety or stress.