Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Are You Frustrated By Unsuccessful Attempts At Treating Your Complex Trauma, PTSD Symptoms By Talking in Circles?
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) is a highly effective alternative therapy for individuals struggling with the effects of Trauma and PTSD. Delivered by a licensed Trauma and Mental Health Therapist in Halifax, NS, EMDR is growing in popularity as a therapy for Veterans, First Responders, Victims of Violence or Sexual Abuse, Eating Disorders, and Anxiety / Panic Disorders. It has many other clinical applications. EMDR can be used as part of an integrated mental health treatment plan alongside psychotherapy and / or medications, as it relies on neither in the traditional sense. Instead, EMDR helps release the volatile emotional states associated with past trauma by re-patterning the rapid eye movements that occur when recalling distressing events.
The ability to recall traumatic memories without experiencing overwhelming mental, physical, and emotional distress is a crucial aid in dealing with those memories and beginning to heal and move forward. Coping mechanisms for daily symptoms of stress and anxiety become much more effective when the powerful negative triggers are neutralized and removed. Clients enjoy experiencing a greater sense of control over control over their thinking as well as their behavioural response to previous triggers.
Is EMDR safe?
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing therapy is safe. In fact, it typically has less side effects than psychiatric medications. While there is always some “risk” involved in exploring vulnerable parts of ourselves, the clinical risk of “triggering” unwanted symptoms is less common with EMDR than with other types of therapies. Under the supervision of a licensed mental health counselor, EMDR is a safe alternative or complementary clinical approach.
Since EMDR stimulates both hemispheres of the brain, it’s normal to feel mildly disoriented or light-headed for a short time after a session. These symptoms are not normally disruptive. Some clients report more dreaming more vividly.
What are the benefits of EMDR?
- Lessened desire to engage in addictive or harmful behaviours
- Relief from feelings of overwhelm associated with problems
- Greater sense of self-awareness and personal responsibility
- Mood, sleep, appetite regulation
- Experience more full spectrum of emotions, including positive ones
- Ability to see life - and yourself - differently
Mental and emotional trauma, PTSD, chronic anxiety and depression DO NOT have to be a life sentence for you and your loved ones. Taking steps to actively manage and eliminate aggravating mental health symptoms includes finding the right qualified support system, AND an individualized treatment plan that is perfectly suited to your unique situation.
An integrative mental health plan including holistic support for trauma and sensory reprocessing could be the foundation you need to reclaim your life.
Even if you’ve been frustrated by trying different approaches in the past, it’s important to remember that you deserve every opportunity to find the way out of what you’re going through. You can feel like YOURSELF again; and your friends, family, coworkers, and community will be all the better for it.
Are you interested in learning more about EMDR?
Book Your FREE 30 Minute Consultation Today!
Hypno-Therapy
Can Clinical Hypnosis Actually Improve My Mental, Physical, and Emotional Health?
Just Imagine How Much Better You’d Feel NOT Fighting Against Your Own Mind All The Time! Clincal Hypno-Therapy helps support your subconscious mind while you’re making big changes - like achieving your goals for life and personal happiness
Licensed Trauma and Mental Health Therapist offering Clinical Hypnosis in Halifax, NS. Specializing in integrated treatment for Emotional Disorders, Weight Loss, Insomnia, Anxiety and Depression, PTSD, Addictions / Substance Abuse, Eating Disorders, Women’s Issues and more.
Certified Hypnotherapy techniques can provide invaluable support to your subconscious mind as you work on changing your attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours. Clinical hypnosis sessions can be integrated into regular psychotherapy (most effective) or used as a standalone treatment for specific challenges, measures or goals.
Did you know? Our minds think between 60 - 80,000 thoughts per day on average. That’s a lot of activity! But the real kicker is this: experts estimate that over 90% of the thoughts we have today are the same ones we had yesterday.
What does that mean? If most of our thinking is repetitive or cyclical in nature, it means that many of us are walking around with harmful, unproductive thoughts playing in our heads like a broken record! No wonder it’s so difficult to make significant changes in our belief systems or habits. With all that subconscious reinforcement taking place over months, years, or an entire lifetime - it’s extremely common to find ourselves STUCK in a pattern of thinking or BEING that just isn’t working anymore.
While clinical hypnosis is not a “magic pill” or quick-fix for all situations, it does follow a natural process that allows you to enter a more receptive mental state. From there, you and your therapist can work more directly with the thoughts and beliefs that have been holding you back, or keeping you trapped in negative emotional reactions and bad habits you’d like to let go of.
Do I lose consciousness during a hypnotherapy session?
You remain fully conscious at all times. “Going under” in clinical hypnotherapy terms is not the same thing you might have seen on stage or in the movies. In therapeutic applications, hypnotic inductions are effortless, natural, and maybe even a little playful. You will maintain control of your own mind; the therapist will not be able to force you to say or do anything you don’t want to.
The goal of hypnosis is to introduce an interrupting pattern into the negative, destructive, or painful thoughts and beliefs that have been causing problems in your life. These gentle interruptions create powerful opportunities to suggest or “re-program” your own mind towards the outcomes you actually DO WANT to create.
The ripple effect of these treatments can be huge, as positive changes occur for yourself and by extension, for everyone else in your life who benefits when you’re thinking and feeling better.
What are the benefits of Clinical Hypnosis?
- Measurable progress towards your personal goals
- Relief from painful negative emotional states
- Finally able to get “unstuck” and gain more clarity
- Replace destructive habits with self-supportive ones
- Enjoy more peace of mind and ease with yourself and your loved ones
Would you like to see if Clinical Hypnotherapy Techniques will be effective for you?
Book Your FREE 30 Minute Consultation And Find Out If These Techniques Can Work For You, Today!
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
At What Point Did You Realize That Anxiety And Depression Is Taking Over Your life?
There is an effective therapy for social anxiety, panic attacks, or anxiety disorders - and it can work for you faster than you’d think. COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT) can help you feel better, sooner. CBT techniques are some of the most effective short-term treatments available for: Generalized anxiety, excessive nerves, depressive disorders, compulsive behaviours, eating disorders; or simply to gain greater confidence, self-awareness, for personal growth.
As a goal-oriented therapy, CBT is a great way to create significant, measurable improvements in your mental and emotional wellbeing.
What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?
CBT offers a practical approach to dealing with emotional problems. Its goal is to help you realize the relationship between your THOUGHTS and BEHAVIOURS so that you can make different CHOICES. Taking greater control over the quality of your thinking (by realizing the impact it has on what you choose to DO) helps you make choices which ultimately feel better and result in more of what you want in life. These tools help through a wrench in the mental processes that are causing you problems and keeping you stuck. Once you understand CBT, you can use it yourself anytime to rewire your natural response to life from anxious, to harmonious.
What are the benefits of CBT?
- Improved mental clarity and functioning
- Greater self awareness
- Enhanced ability to “respond” rather than “react” to problems
- Interrupt addictive or compulsive thought patterns or behaviours
- Feel more at ease with yourself and others
What kinds of things can CBT help with?
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is helpful in treating a wide range of anxiety disorders, mood disorders, depression, addictions and substance abuse, eating disorders, and re-programming traumatic reactions to stress. It’s also generally helpful for anyone seeking more self-understanding, internal stability, self-control. CBT is an active, thought and behaviour based therapy that works to help you achieve your personal goals, whatever they are. For individuals dealing with relationship issues, codependency, or family breakdowns; CBT can help neutralize intense emotional reactions and allow for more genuine communication to take place.
How long does CBT take to start working?
CBT is most effective as part of an integrated mental health approach; however, one of its benefits is the speed and effectiveness with which it can help you feel better and start to change your life. Like many things, the more you practice USING the techniques, the more you will get out of them. Cognitive behavioural therapy is generally given over a relatively short term of 3-5 months. While you could say the effects are cumulative, in some cases the result of changing or releasing certain thought patterns and beliefs is immediate RELIEF. You don’t have to be weighed down by stress, anxiety, and strained relationships any longer. Taking control of your thoughts and behaviours is undeniably one of the most self-affirming steps you can take to experience less problems and more contentment. Getting qualified counseling and support from a licensed psychotherapist
Why wait to begin feeling more at ease?
Book Your FREE 30 Minute Consultation And Find Out If These Techniques Can Work For You, Today!
Therapy
Are You Exhausted By Trying To Hide Your Chronic Anxiety From Friends, Co-workers, and Loved Ones?
Excessive Nervousness, Stress/Overwhelm, Depression and Related Disorders DO NOT have to to be NORMAL for you.
You can regain stability in your life and relationships - By learning how to STOP fearful, anxious thinking and unpredictable mood swings BEFORE they take over.Halifax, NS - PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING, COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT) techniques combined with CLINICAL HYPNOTHERAPY and SPECIALIZED TRAUMA THERAPY can provide profound, long-lasting relief for mild to severe symptoms of anxiety and depression. Learn simple, easy-to-understand ways to cope with: Stress, life transitions, social anxiety, addictions, situational or long term mood disturbances due to complex trauma, PTSD.
integrated psychotherapy is a natural, powerful process to help you gain more control over your dominant thoughts. Using a combined approach to mental health challenges means having a fully supportive therapeutic plan in place to help you achieve your goals.
For most people, that simply means re-claiming the ability to think freely, feel comfortable, and enjoy the full spectrum of life’s experiences; including peace, relaxation, and contentment.
The problem is, the negative impact of long-term stress and anxiety eventually makes it very difficult to control our anxious thinking and emotional reactions.
Without the ability to properly regulate our thoughts and behaviours, our nervous system gradually becomes more sensitive to anticipate and respond to “danger”. We go into internal “high alert” mode, which equates to symptoms ranging from mild nervousness to crippling anxiety and compounding depression.
When You Stop “Living”, And Just “Exist”
Unfortunately, without a good support system and thought-monitoring habits in place, CHRONIC MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS can develop; creating an enormous feeling of internal PRESSURE (and sadness) affecting every area of life. Feelings of guilt resulting from the loss of joy and enthusiasm only seem to make things worse.
For many individuals with high-functioning anxiety, it’s not always possible to take time away from work, family, and community obligations - even while struggling with destructive or exhausting mental health symptoms. Life continues, but the pervasive anxiousness and nagging feeling that “something is wrong” grows stronger and more difficult to ignore.
Left unchecked, these feelings can develop their own character and thought patterns that seem to take over; stealing any good feelings that used to naturally arise from everyday events.
No matter what the individual triggers are, anxiety’s common thread is a heightened nervous reaction accompanied by thoughts around one or more of the following root stressors:
Something is wrong with me.
Something is wrong with my life.
Something is wrong with the world.
Something bad is going to happen, or already has.
With practice, this type of thinking forms an underlying sense of negativity, mistrust, and lack of self-confidence. As we struggle to project an outwardly “normal” image, the unsettling feelings taking over the inside make it harder to laugh, socialize, concentrate, and just be normal.
Whether it happens slowly or all of a sudden; there comes a time when the pressure caused by all of this becomes unmanageable; escalating into anxiety attacks and/or episodes of panic, extreme stress and emotional breakdown.
Alarmingly, this is more common than uncommon. Statistics show that Canadians of all ages are affected by serious mental health issues; a silent epidemic taking place throughout every institution and every walk of life.
By age 40, about 50% of people will be suffering or previously been afflicted by mental illness. (CMHA)
To further complicate things, the RIGHT HELP at the RIGHT TIME can be difficult to find. Sometimes it’s available, but with significant wait times that can range from weeks to months. This is especially true when individuals are suffering from disruptive mental health symptoms but are still “high-functioning” and not in a place of immediate threat or danger.
That’s why choosing a qualified, independent psychotherapist is a great option for individuals who’ve been frustrated by waiting lists and lack of therapeutic resources in the past.
You Don’t Have To Wait To Get Help For PTSD, Depression, And Anxiety
For so many reasons, finding the right COUNSELING and SUPPORT is crucial to making a fresh start, and beginning to feel like yourself again.
A licensed therapist operating outside of the mental health system can often see clients more quickly, with greater flexibility to offer more customized individual approach.
There’s more good news in all this too:
- You CAN change the way you think
- You CAN change the way you feel
- You CAN improve the quality of your relationships
- Rediscover Who YOU Really Are WITHOUT depression and anxiety
And the best part? It doesn’t have to take years, or decades for you to start feeling better.
When you learn the right tools and processes, and begin to apply them - there’s no restriction to how quickly you can begin to see improvement in your day-to-day functioning.
Your personal therapeutic plan should include measurable benchmarks and goals for your healing; with your counselor providing personalized support to help you begin moving forward right away.
After all, how long has it been since you’ve felt comfortable just being yourself? If you’ve been living with chronic anxiety and depression, you understand how just smiling and going through the motions can make you feel like an imposter.
Restlessness, low motivation, social fears and relentless self-judgement are constant companions for those with anxiety and mood disorders. Not to mention irritability, poor concentration, and often some form of addiction born from the desire or need to self-medicate.
If you’ve been feeling this way for more than a period of six months, it’s time to take a serious look at what options are available to get you swiftly and firmly turned around.
There is NO REASON that you cannot begin to take steps towards a mental health treatment plan that will dramatically increase your level of enjoyment, and engagement with your life and the people you care about.
There Are Proven Strategies For Overcoming Long-term Stress, Depression, and Trauma
Anxiety is not a life sentence - you CAN learn how to break free. If you’re tired, frustrated, and feeling discouraged by the challenges of managing your daily symptoms, it’s important to know that there is still hope for you.
There will always be ups and downs on the road to recovery. Some moments will be more difficult than others. There will always be setbacks along the way.
The important thing for you now is that you’re taking steps towards a different outcome. Exploring your options for professional psychotherapy and integrative mental health treatments means that you’re taking responsibility for your situation - the essential first step in making the changes you want to see happen.
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can finally take control over your anxiety and experience more relief from chronic mental health disorders:
Reserve Your Complimentary 30-minute Consultation Today and find out if an integrative approach is right for you.