Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Paterson, NJ.

Anxiety and stress are are essential to a productive life. However, like fuel in a car. Too little or too much can cause you to stall or damage your engine. Often the things we worry about are fantasies (or nightmares) about the future. Therapy for anxiety and stress often begin with developing mindfulness based practices. These practices will help you to non-judgmentally accept the present moment, find compassion for yourself and others, and learn techniques to cope with and tolerate distress and emotional overwhelm.

Many people have anxiety. Anxiety is the most common problem that clients bring into psychotherapy. Anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness, and dread. Sometimes you can say what it is bothering you. Your job or relationship may be causing you stress and you want to solve the problems. You don’t know how to deal with the mounting pressures. Friends will often say “don’t worry about it” but that doesn’t help. Sometimes you don’t really know what is bothering you it just is. I can show you how spot these feelings before they overwhelm you and what you can do about it. We’ll get clear on what has been difficult for you and how have you been feeling.

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.

Life is stressful, especially for teenagers! With my counseling support your teen will learn to regulate their emotions during times of stress and anxiety. Together, we will recognize negative automatic thoughts (cognitive distortions) and practice reframing them into adaptive responses. Your teen will learn that they are in control, not the anxiety and stress. They will learn to ground themselves during times of overwhelm by engaging in techniques that work for them. Your teen will leave our sessions feeling empowered to manage their life stressors in effective and healthy ways.