Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in East Rockaway, NY.

Anxiety is excessive worry about negative events that you expect to happen, but are not necessarily in the cards. The worry is enough to bring on dread, panic, obsessions, compulsions, and phobias. Usually, early life experiences – perhaps forgotten or suppressed -- taught you to anticipate the worst. Together, we will bring these memories into consciousness so you can consider if they still apply to you in your current life as an adult. This will help you stay more grounded in the reality of the here and now, which can significantly reduce anxious symptoms. I will also teach you calming techniques, including mindfulness practices and self-compassion to counter anxiety when it arises.

Counseling will allow you to identity the things that triggers your feelings of anxiety and stress. It is important to explore current coping strategies whether successful or not. You will learn skills and technique to better manage your feelings and reaction. Some of these skills may involve relaxation, reframing thoughts, prioritizing or delegating tasks.

Anxiety will often involve more than temporary worry or fear—and its symptoms can interfere with daily activities such as job performance, school work, and relationships. Anxiety disorders can be treated—and licensed professional counselors can help. I would look forward to working through this with you. Please feel free to call today to schedule your first appointment.

I will show you how you make yourself anxious about the things you find threatening and challenging. Anxiety and stress are largely self-created by the beliefs we tacitly hold about adversity or potential adversity. I will show you your self-defeating beliefs and teach you how to think so you feel sensible concern and do what you can do to avoid danger and threats. I will show you how to philosophically accept what cannot be avoided and thereby minimize the stress you feel about what cannot be changed or avoided. Using the power of your own ability to think in a self-helping way I will help you to change your feelings of anxiety.

Feelings of anxiety and stress are the number one reason people seek out therapy with me. We live in a fast paced and solution oriented world. Here in New York these pressures are often multiplied. This can lead to extreme stress and anxiety. With a focus on mindfulness and stress reduction I will use motivating techniques to both give you tools to minimize these feelings as well as ways to mitigate it in the future.

I teach clients tools that they can use to help calm them when they are feeling stressed. I also teach clients specific strategies to keep their stress and anxiety-related thoughts from interfering with their lives. I give clients positive and adaptive responses to stress. I explore with clients the root of their their fears and the importance of not letting those fears keep them from doing the things they want to do.

Fear is about the past, anxiety is about what we imagine will happen in the future. Fear and Anxiety mean, by definition, that you are not living in the moment. In order to help you identify what is causing you anxiety, the approach is for you to vent what you are feeling and how it is hindering you. I will ask strategic questions that will make you think, behave differently, and take back your life! I will offer you as many approaches to handle your anxiety as you will need to relinquish the hold it has had over you. Stress occurs when we feel out of control. I will help you manage it and even reduce the instances of stress in your life.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy is a highly effective treatment for anxiety disorders, particularly OCD. It involves gradually exposing individuals to feared stimuli or situations while preventing the typical compulsive response. Through repeated exposure to these anxiety-provoking triggers, clients learn to tolerate distress without engaging in compulsive behaviors. ERP therapy is based on the principle of habituation, where anxiety decreases over time with repeated exposure. Therapists work collaboratively with clients to develop personalized exposure hierarchies and teach coping skills to manage anxiety. ERP has been shown to significantly reduce symptoms.

We have all had moments of anxiety and we remain anxious due to the beliefs we hold about our reality and the thoughts we have about our situation. An individual becomes anxious when they overestimate the negative aspects of their situation and underestimate their ability to cope and function in problem situations. The anxious individual will imagine and create even more negative consequences than are actually present. I guide my clients to a more rational approach of focusing on the task at hand, not engaging in or imagining negative outcomes, and not engaging in or exaggerating possible negative outcomes. We focus together on ways that enable coping, behavioral change and flourishing in that situation.

Stress is a normal part of our daily experience. Too much stress can bring devastating consequences including stomach issues, increased blood pressure, difficulty sleeping, increased fatigue, reduced immunity to illness, physical pain and can make us more vulnerable to mood issues like anger and depression. Finding proven ways to cope with stress can provide joy throughout our entire lives. When we stop worrying about our lives and start being present and actively participating in our daily world, we often find the relief and comfort that we have been seeking all along. Together we can find the strategies that work best for you.

We’ll start by getting on the same page: what is bringing you to therapy, what are our goals for incorporating medication, and what would it look like to truly feel “better?” We’ll discuss your past history with both psychotherapy and medication, the current challenges you’re facing, and what you hope to get out of this process. You and I will collaborate on a treatment plan that maps out how we’re going to get there.

Many individuals have anxiety and stress in their lives. Chris has treated clients for stress and anxiety through effective counseling and psychotherapy in Westchester and Putnam County. As a therapist, I partner with clients to offer techniques such as cognitive behavior therapy and solutions oriented counseling yielding good results. Many clients have generalized anxiety, panic attacks, or phobias that Chris has experience in treating these types of anxiety. Stress can impact clients in many ways where depression and anxiety effect your quality of life. With proper stress management counseling, clients can go back to normal functioning and enjoy life again.

We all experience stress from time to time. But, when stress or anxiety starts to impact your relationships and functioning, that’s often a sign that it’s time to seek help. I approach anxiety and stress management from a skills-based perspective. I use CBT and DBT frameworks to provide skills that help you to manage symptoms and gain independence.