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Anxiety is exhausting.

You feel it in your gut – maybe you eat more to soothe it, or maybe you can’t eat at all. Your shoulders and chest feel heavy with a weight that you just can’t seem to let down. You struggle to sleep while both your heart and your thoughts are racing.

You’ve convinced yourself that if you could just pretend it never happened, you could be happy. Sometimes this has worked. You begin to think that maybe, just maybe, you can have a “normal” life. But then something happens and the memories rush back and you find yourself sweaty and shaking, trying to breathe through a dry mouth and lungs that just won’t take in the air. Sometimes you know exactly what hijacked you, but often you don’t. It just doesn’t make sense. What you do know is that you let your guard down; the one thing you know not to do and the one thing you most want to do.

No one seems to understand you. They call you irrational, crybaby, needy, stupid, delusional, and aggressive. As a result, you’ve learned how to not have emotions, or, more accurately, how not to show them. Because when people know how to hurt you, they use it to hurt you more. But those emotions can only be bottled up for so long before they explode and you bleed all over someone else who didn’t cut you. If you could just get rid of your feelings, that’d be great.

You’ve even been told that what you know happened, didn’t actually happen. “You didn’t have a bad childhood. I gave you an idyllic childhood,” “he didn’t mean to rape you. It was a mistake. It’s not all that bad.” You feel stuck between giving in to others out of love and your desire to just feel safe, valued, and loved. You end up going back and forth, trying to figure out, “Am I to blame?”

You needed protection as a child, but you seldom, if ever, had it. The people you have loved and needed the most always had love and time for others, but not for you. Even though you worked your butt off, harder than anyone else in fact, you couldn’t gain what you needed, leaving you to ask, “What’s wrong with me?”

I’ve Never Been in Therapy Before, What Does it Look Like?

When you click on the contact me button, you will be asked for your name, phone number, and email address. I will reach out to you by either phone or email, whichever is better for you, to answer any questions you may have and to set up your first appointment. You will receive an email invite to join my client portal and complete paperwork that will take about 15-30 minutes.

Our first session is what is called an intake session. During this session we will get to know each other. I will start the session with some information about me and the counseling relationship as a whole and give you time to ask questions. We will then discuss what has brought you into counseling and what you hope to gain from our time together.

Over the course of your therapy, there will be different kinds of sessions. Initially, our sessions will involve us continuing to get to know each other and will include finding ways to help calm your anxiety symptoms when they come up. As time goes on, there will be sessions where we delve deeper into your experiences and how they have affected you. Other sessions will carry a lighter note, and may involve focusing on the wins that you have achieved. Each of these kinds of sessions are critical to healing and are largely determined by you.

We will work in our sessions to give you tools to reduce your anxiety and calm it when it comes up. We will seek to develop self-compassion and self-trust in a way you never thought possible. Throughout the process, we will also search out the root causes of your anxiety.

I might be the therapist for you if:

You want to gain a better understanding of why you react the way you do.
You are seeking ways to calm anxiety-driven responses within your body and mind.
You are looking for more peace in your life.
You’ve already looked at the self-help sites and blogs and videos, and they haven’t given you as much relief as you want.
Want to parent in a way different from how you were parented.
You want to be believed, heard, seen, and valued.

Therapist Testimonial

Melanie is a trusted friend and colleague who’s authenticity and desire to continue learning make her an excellent resource for clients. Her passion for helping people heal from their trauma is like no other.

Melanie is not only a highly competent and professional colleague of mine, but she’s a friend. She shows warmth and compassion to everyone she encounters, but especially her clients. She is client-centered and trained in many modalities, such as CBT, Brainspotting, and EMDR. With her expertise, she can choose the modalities that will work best for each individual. Choosing Melanie as a therapist is an excellent decision to better your life and relationships.

Would you like me to get in touch?