Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Monte Sereno, CA.

Anxiety is an internal alarm system that gives us information about our internal state as well as possible danger in the external world. Often, anxiety is a signal of deeper, more intense emotions such as sadness, anger, and fear. It can also be a consequence of not living authentically. Once these deeper feelings are identified and expressed, they can be readily released. For example, when we say "Yes" when we really mean "No," we will often experience anxiety. In this case, the anxiety is providing us with a warning that we are not being honest (living authentically) with ourself and/or another. Therapy is the perfect place to explore this common emotion.

Anxiety and stress are like an evil and corrosive thread that work their way through every aspect of a life. It can rob the joy that can make life worth living. I know from both personal and professional experience how anxiety and stress can take the joy out of life and also how to overcome these issues and put them in your past. With the aid of tools like EMDR CBT and guided visualizations I can help you overcome this issue and heal from the issues that drive it. Additionally, I can provide tools, coping skills, and other resources to help you manage this particular issue, and experience increased relief from these symptoms with each session.

Anxiety and Stress are part of the human condition. Many of us don't realize how much of our brain's real estate anxiety and stress take up - robbing us of being able to be present for what is in front of us instead of reacting to some fear or past trauma. I can help you build your inner resilience and recognition of when you are being driven by anxiety/stress so that you can find your way out of a historic reaction and into a more current narrative.

Anxiety falls along a continuum from acceptable to crippling, debilitating anxiety requiring professional intervention. The major forms that anxiety takes are: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, Phobic Disorders, Social Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD). A variety of proven therapeutic interventions are well established now, eg., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Yoga, Tai Chi, Breathwork. By diving into therapy clients regain a sense of optimism, courage and confidence in relationships, workplace and career, driving, aging, life transitions and more.

The modern world we live in is full of amazing technological advancements and organizational wonders, but it is also more complex and demanding than ever before. The myriad competing demands of our lives, how busy we are, the continual pressure to do and be more creates enormous stress for all of us. This stress can escalate into anxiety and the added strain of these issues easily begins to short-circuit our ability to function at our best, to feel good, to maintain relationships and responsibilities. I can help you understand the internal and external forces creating these negative feelings, and together we can find strategies for minimizing stress and anxiety so you can feel better.

Your stress may be triggered by job loss, illness, relationships or by "positive" stressors like a new job or a baby. I provide a solution-oriented and healing environment for people who are suffering from the stress of living a "real" life. I provide a place to change the way you talk to yourself so you will stop beating yourself up and start predicting and creating positive results in your, or your family's, future. We will join together to increase your ability to cope with stress and appreciate your strengths as a human being. You can increase your tolerance for making important changes, learn to accept uncertainty, and cope with the things in life that can't be changed.

I take a practical approach to treating anxiety and stress. I help you identify the sources of anxiety if you do not already know them. I support you in learning skills to regulate your emotions and increase awareness of body sensations and experiences in order to help you be able to control and reduce feelings of anxiety. I also use a combination of exposure therapy, if appropriate, and adjustment to lifestyle to help you reduce or eliminate sources of anxiety or stress. I know that every experience of anxiety or stress is unique and I will work with you to develop a plan of support tailored to your needs. I will provide a safe environment for you to challenge and overcome your fear/stress

In anxiety treatment sessions with me, you will learn to identify, feel, and let go of fear so that you can live more fully in the present. By better understanding your own unique anxiety process, you will feel more in control of the experience of this emotion. You will also be able to get through tense feelings more quickly. I will teach you valuable relaxation, stress management, and relapse prevention skills so that you can stay calmer in triggering situations even after completing therapy. You will enjoy the freedom of living more peacefully as well as feeling more confident in previously uncomfortable situations. Call me with any questions or to schedule an initial appointment.

Recent studies show that moderate stress can actually make us more productive and successful. But when stress and anxiety become too much to handle, they can make life miserable. I use mindfulness-based therapy to help you increase your own innate ability to decrease anxiety and keep stress manageable. If your symptoms are related to past experiences such as painful or difficult childhood experiences, abuse or trauma, I offer Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. EMDR therapy is a highly effective for relieving symptoms of PTSD and improving performance. Come experience it for yourself!

I begin by understanding how you experience anxiety/stress because how you experience them is unique for you. Then we begin to increase your tolerance for how you experience anxious/stressful thoughts, feelings, memories, and/or situations. This is necessary so the anxiety/stress stops being an overwhelming experience that interferes and gets in the way of your life. It's crucial to be able to become more comfortable when you experience anxiety/stress because they're a part life. The problem is the distressing and limiting to debilitating effect they have on you. As you learn to be able to do this, you will begin to experience more peacefulness, calm, hope, self-confidence and self-esteem.

Everyone feels anxiety at some point in their lives but when it starts to interfere with your life, counseling can help. Although anxiety can feel debilitating, it is treatable. People with anxiety don’t always share the same symptoms, they vary from person to person. Therapy will help you to reclaim your life and function in a chronically stressful world.

We have so many demands on us these days that most people experience stress and anxiety on a daily basis. However, many don't feel there is a solution to feeling this way so the feeling of fear, worry or unease just continues. In therapy, we learn how to identify the emotions present, learn how to tolerate the emotions themselves, and begin to heal within.

Is the weight of the world on your shoulders? Is it difficult to get up in the morning and face the day, even though it was difficult to fall asleep and turn off your mind the night before? Are your relationships suffering because you feel stressed and worried most of the time? A little anxiety can be a positive push toward action, but too much anxiety and stress are unhealthy and unhelpful. I can help you learn to de-stress with relaxation techniques and anxiety management. It doesn’t have to be this hard.

Anxiety is a debilitating disorder that deprives people of their happiness and sense of well-being. I work with children and adults to help alleviate their suffering. Together we explore their anxiety "triggers" e.g. what brings on their anxiety, and work with question those assumptions. Next I help my clients learn how to use tools to combat the thoughts that can paralyze and torment them and bring their negative thoughts back under their control, helping them to feel happy and confident once more.

I enjoy helping clients with anxiety and/or stress issues. First, we want to rule out any physical causes, so it is important to have a recent medical exam. Always remember, though, anxiety and stress are natural and in many ways beneficial feelings. They keep us motivated and productive! However, too much of a good thing is not good by any means. That's where I come in with my tools to reduce stress and/or anxiety.

At times excessive worry and difficult situations in life can make just getting through the day feel challenging. Through gaining an understanding of your relationship to stress and the causes of anxiety, I can help you recover and begin to cope. I will provide you with a safe, compassionate and non-judgmental place to explore and practice skills to approach life in a way that reduces stress and anxiety. I use an integrated approach depending on what will best support your needs, using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and DBT, as well as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) practices to support you. We can work together to help you gain the calm, clarity and peace you are seeking.

We hold our anxiety and stress in our body. We feel tension, gut problems, hot flashes, disrupted sleep and more. I work with anxiety and stress by helping individuals learn and develop tools to re-regulate their nervous system. When we have a coherent and fluid nervous system, we can do difficult things without feeling paralyzed by overwhelming fear.

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@kevinfleminphd.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.

Everyone experiences anxiety at some point, but for some the anxiety is so frequent or intense that it interferes with their lives or even triggers panic attacks. I use Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to help my clients get a sense of control over their own anxiety. We collaborate to learn skills to reduce the frequency or intensity of the anxious feelings, to tolerate the anxiety when it does occur so they can still function through it, and to practice habits that reduce stress and improve general mental health.

If you're struggling with anxious thoughts, you may find it hard to focus. The fight or flight alarm is going off in your brain, constantly sending you messages starting with "what if...." If worrying is keeping you trapped in a hamster wheel, tired, but unable to rest, you may find yourself turning to addictive substances or behaviours to cope. As an addiction counsellor, I help clients cope with the anxious thoughts keeping them trapped in addictive behaviours. By uncovering these underlying thoughts, I help you develop coping skills so you can gain a sense of focus, clarity, confidence, and freedom from constantly overthinking. Send me a message and I'll guide you through the next steps.

Working through anxiety in therapy involves developing and using coping tools such as mindfulness, grounding, deep breathing, meditation, creative self-expression, relaxation techniques, and emotional regulation skills. Therapy can help you create a healthy work life balance to buffer stress and understand what triggers your anxiety. Relief from anxiety will allow you to navigate life’s ups and downs without becoming overwhelmed. Working through anxiety leads to feeling calm, confident, centered, and present.

Anxiety and stress come in all shapes and sizes and can be thought of as acting on different levels, including the physiological, cognitive, and behavioral levels. These levels often interact with each other and can make it difficult to function in life. I can help you gain an objective understanding of your anxiety and stress and teach you skills to help you cope more effectively with future stressful events.

The anxiety disorders are usually very amenable to EMDR therapy, which deals with disturbing memories, negative beliefs, body sensations and emotions associated with the root of the anxiety. Stress leads to anxiety which leads to low serotonin levels and then poor functioning. The EMDR is a "non-drug" treatment for anxiety and stress. This is a preferable approach for real resolution rather than taking prescription medications for anxiety, which are the "benzos", highly addictive with regular use for just a few months, and difficult to get out of one's system. Anxiety, worrying, stressing, nervousness, phobias, fears, triggers, are common problems in our high strung culture but fixable.

I create a transformative experience that emphasizes your personal growth and well-being. My approach to anxiety recovery prioritizes the unique needs and goals of each client, fostering a safe and supportive environment where you can explore and overcome anxiety-related challenges. By focusing on practical strategies and personalized interventions, clients will gain the tools and insights needed to manage anxiety and stress more effectively. This tailored approach of somatic, emotion-focused, and attachment-focused therapeutic techniques will empower you to build resilience, enhance quality of life, and achieve a more balanced and fulfilling existence free from painful anxiety.

My clients work with me to learn coping strategies and techniques to manage anxiety and stress in their daily lives. This might include relaxation techniques, deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, and progressive muscle relaxation. I utilize tapping to reduce anxiety, and use EMDR to work on the root causes of anxiety with my clients. The goal of anxiety therapy is to help clients learn to live in the present moment and to build emotional resilience and self-regulation skills. Mindfulness, CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), and ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) are particularly useful tools for for working to improve anxiety.