Stress, PTSD and Anxiety Therapists in Binbrook, ON.

For the past 10 years, I have enjoyed helping clients work through their struggles related to anxiety and stress, especially when it comes to career and workplace related stresses. I have found success using client-centred, Cognitive Behavioural Theoretical and Dialectical Behavioural theories in associated sessions. As well, I also tend to rely on Solution-Focused Theory to help client find and implement coping strategies.

Anxiety is a gift… it’s not the kind of gift a typical person would ask for, but it’s still a gift. It is our body’s way of telling us something is wrong and we need to fix it. Anxiety is not evil like many people think, but it can hold us back from being the person we were meant to be. Together, we will find ways to reduce this while addressing the source of the problem in order to bring healing into your life. It’s time to regain control of your life.

Stress and anxiety can have a negative impact on an individual and their health. Without proper support and understanding, an individual can struggle with their daily functioning or even get physically ill. Fortunately, talking it out and exploring the anxiety and the stress through counselling can also help individuals who battle stress on a regular basis. Counselling can help you gain perspective on your current thought patterns and coping skills, while also working to give you the advantage over the stress and anxiety.

It is normal to worry and feel stressed about life's problems and pressures. But when compounded symptoms begin to overwhelm us to the point where we are getting headaches, heart palpitations, a churning stomach, cold sweats, sleepless nights, weight loss, obsessive thoughts, a distressed GI tract - then we need help to break the adrenaline-fear cycle. Anxiety feeds on fear and needs to be confronted, appropriately and safely, with relaxation techniques, new perceptions and constructive thinking patterns. A counsellor can help you do this.

My approach to anxiety and stress counseling combines evidence-based therapies with a deeply compassionate, holistic perspective. I support clients in identifying the root causes of their anxiety—whether tied to trauma, perfectionism, or chronic stress—and help them develop practical tools for emotional regulation and nervous system balance. Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), mindfulness, and somatic practices, clients learn to shift anxious thought patterns, reconnect with their inner calm, and build resilience. Over time, they experience greater clarity, confidence, and peace in their daily lives.

We all face various sources of stress, but what is important is how we manage our response to it. Matt helps you identify what triggers your stress, why your body reacts the way it does, and how to interrupt patterns of over-reactions that keep you stuck. Learn to incorporate practical tools to manage the ongoing tension, racing thoughts, or overwhelm that’s been getting in the way of living your best life. Stressful situations will continue to arise, but let’s work together on keeping calm and confidently taking action to get to what’s most important to you.

Think of anxiety as. your mind's overzealous gaurdian, a little like a worried friend who double-checks everything. It's an ancient system designed to keep you on your toes! It ensures we are vigilant in everyday life, but sometimes anxiety over-estimates the amount of danger we are in, and this is when it becomes a problem. Therapy can help get anxiety back to healthy levels by identifying triggers, teaching coping strategies and providing tools to manage those anxious thoughts.

Anxiety and stress have become all too common in our lives, often going unnoticed or even normalized and dismissed. My goal is to support you as you explore the various aspects of your life that are contributing to such anxiety and stress as well as uncovering the factors that influence your ‘window of tolerance’—the space where you can manage stress effectively. Together, we’ll identify your strengths and resources that will help you expand your ability to cope. Book a free 15-minute consultation with me to see if I’m the right fit for you.

Untreated anxiety has the potential to reappear throughout a person's life. This is why it is so important to seek treatment as soon as symptoms arise. Here at Whiteboard, we believe there are two realities in life: 1) Everyone has some level of anxiety; 2) No one should be crippled by the fallout from that anxiety. Racing thoughts, mood swings, difficult emotions — these are all hallmarks of anxiety which require treatment. Our treatment approach involves breaking down the component parts of a client's anxiety in order for them to better understand the motivating factors behind it. Once this occurs, steps are taken to help clients understand the steps they need to take to discover freedom.

When it comes to treating anxiety disorders, research shows that therapy is usually the most effective option. That’s because anxiety therapy, unlike medication, treats more than just the symptoms of the problem. Meristem can help clients uncover the underlying causes of their worries and fears; learn how to relax; look at situations in new, less frightening ways; and develop better coping and problem-solving skills. Our approach gives clients the tools to overcome anxiety and teaches them how to use them. Since anxiety disorders differ considerably, therapy is tailored to our clients' specific symptoms and diagnosis.

I use a variety of counselling techniques including therapeutic art making combined with talking therapy to aid my clients in identifying their triggers for stress and anxiety. The art making process can be used along with meditative techniques to help clients to calm the stress and anxiety that they are feeling. It can provide a safe and effective outlet for the excess energy and/or tension that anxiety and stress can create. I help my clients learn coping techniques to help them manage their stress and anxiety.

In working with individuals who struggle with anxiety, I use both a cognitive behavioural therapeutic (CBT) approach and eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. The principal aim of cognitive behavioural therapy is to increase awareness that thoughts and behaviour drive emotion. My aim is to increase consciousness of distorted perceptions, and then assist individuals in rebalancing those perceptions to be more accurate. EMDR focuses specifically on reprocessing traumatic memories that are at the root of the anxiety. Through EMDR individuals can come to terms with traumatic and distressing memories that underlie anxiety.

It's like you're under attack from an invisible force no one else can see. You're tired of explaining it to people, knowing they won't understand. Unless you've experienced anxiety, you just don't know what it's like. I've dealt with it personally, and I've combined what works for me with what has worked for hundreds of other clients over the past seven years to create a unique counselling approach. Expect no-nonsense, down to earth counselling where we talk like normal people. Work through your issues, but also learn new strategies and set goals for the future. You supply the effort, and I'll supply the framework you need to realize the changes you'd like to see in your life.

In my work with people with anxiety, I take a two-fold approach. First, we work on developing set of strategies that help manage anxiety, including mindfulness techniques, distraction and self-soothing. At the same time, I work on acceptance of anxiety with a focus on moving towards valued goals in spite of the discomfort of anxiety. In my experience, the struggle that often accompanies anxiety can be as debilitating as the anxiety itself.

Anxiety and stress can affect our lives in many different ways. Whether it be parenting, work, social relationship ( to name a few) , it can impact our ability to function each day. Psychotherapy can help us understand what is happening from a cognitive, emotional, behavioural and situational lens. Additionally , it can provide strategies to cope with stress and anxiety more productively

Anxiety is a pervasive mental health issue that can also be associated with a variety of factors including depression, low self-esteem, trauma, exposure to accumulative stressors, or acute situational stress. The experience of anxiety can exist in the absence of obvious triggers. Given the variables, it is essential to hear a client’s story fully to define a clearer map of psycho-educational needs. By exploring alternative ways of thinking and employing CBT-based, anxiolytic strategies (imagery, relaxation and breathing exercises), clients are better equipped to gain control–i.e., unlearn bad habits contributing to patterns of negative thinking, fears, and unwanted physiological responses.

Life is hard. It can also be wonderful. Flux and flow. Often anxiety is created by a faulty belief system, and by the way the human brain works...I will explain in session...with what we now know about the brain and how it works, we know that we have a lot more power over our thoughts than we used to think we have. We CAN begin to shift our thinking. Yes, sometimes medication is also needed, especially as we learn how to have more control over our thoughts.

Dealing with anxiety is difficult as it is the body's natural response to a perceived threat and that response, is unique to each individual and can often present itself as a sense of discomfort, emotional reactions, physical sensations, and unhelpful behavioural patterns. Your anxiety can be triggered through situational or environmental events and can often feel chronic. Schedule a free consultation to me to see if I am the right fit to help you manage your anxiety.