Counseling for Anxiety and Trauma

Quit your mind, embody your truth

You know logically saying “no” is an option. However, the voice inside just won’t let you off the hook.

You find yourself often ruminating over past or future situations, easily overwhelmed, irritable, or feeling on the verge of burnout. You often over extend yourself even though you know you need a break. Maybe you’ve tried the “self-care” strategies but still live with a constant state of discomfort or unease.

Anxiety and trauma are not your fault. Your system (brain and body) is stuck in a pattern- one that, although painful, has helped you survive. With my integrative body-mind approach to trauma therapy, we can help you make peace with your inner bully and find relief.

“No way to make the pain play fair, it doesn’t disappear just because you say it isn’t there.”

-Sara Bareilles, Eden

A creative approach to counseling for anxiety and trauma

There are many factors to consider when people struggle with chronic anxiety- not only are your thoughts, emotions, and past experiences influencing how you feel, but your somatic responses, spiritual health, and relationships are too. It is often the case that people with chronic anxiety also have unresolved trauma in their past or family history.

Long-term results come when every part of you is healthy. That’s why therapy with me brings together who you are as a whole person- physically, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally- with a combination of evidence-based and creative treatments. In addition to cognitive approaches which address your thoughts, emotions, and behavioral patterns, we’ll tap into the power of your authentic self to guide you towards and through the roots of your suffering. Creative expression anchors into the naturally resourceful parts of you and helps you confront your fears from a slightly altered state of mind so you don’t relive the experiences in the same way as through talk therapy.

What we’ll work on…

  • Identifying triggers & stressors, noticing your patterns of response, naming your inner critic, getting curious about shame/ fear/ guilt/ and self-deprecative thoughts, exploring your window of tolerance, exploring embodied content, learning about the nervous system and brain’s fear responses, defining healthy relationships.

  • Building your anxiety healing toolkit, learning healthy coping strategies from mindfulness- DBT- and ACT, exploring executive functioning challenges and building work arounds, effective communication skills, respecting personal boundaries (time, emotional, physical, etc.) in relationships, relaxing survival responses including hypervigilance, dissociation, and/or emotional numbness.

  • Opportunities to process and move through experiences of abuse- loss-shame- neglect- and oppression, exploring your experiences with power & control in relationships, Finding your internal resources, building community, celebrating your personal history, trusting your instincts.

Together, we’ll create a personalized treatment plan that fits your needs, which may include:

Music Therapy & Creative Exploration

Music, drawing, and other forms of creativity naturally help you tune into your body and brain in the present moment. This is a state commonly known as Wise Mind. In this way, it is much easier to move through experiences that hold fear, shame, grief & loss, self-blame, and guilt.

Evidenced-based therapy

Alison is trained in CBT and integrates in mindfulness and DBT coping strategies. We look at where you’re struggling—emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually—to support you in finding more satisfaction, fulfillment, and balance in every area of your life.

Somatic-oriented approaches

Did you know around 80% of the information you absorb comes through your nervous system first? Meaning, at any given time, the largest amount of information you have is in your body, not your mind. Somatic approaches such as polyvegal theory, breath exercises, and movement help you connect to this information and relieve out of control survival responses.

Frequently Asked Questions about Counseling for Anxiety & Trauma

What are therapy sessions like?

Alison’s approach to therapy is both easy going and direct. Her hope is this co-created space will become a time you look forward to in your week and enjoy the depths to which you’ll creatively explore and get to know yourself. As a relationship oriented practitioner, she prioritizes building rapport, security, and trust. This means session look different depending on the individual, your goals, and what you bring in week to week. Sessions could feel purely like talk therapy and working through difficult situations impacting your immediate life one week and then the next exploring in a more embodied and creative way, using music, drawing, moving together, and much more. Alison balances providing space for you to explore your internal world with offering insights and coping strategies that help you setup long lasting strategies for recovery.

What are your areas of expertise?

Alison considers her clinical areas of expertise to include experiences of abuse, neglect, abandonment, and marginalization. She is especially passionate about working with those struggling with perfectionism, people-pleasing, and self-sacrificing in their personal, professional, and familial relationships. Before opening Your Tempo Healing, Alison worked with teens in the foster care and adoption system, victims of sexual trauma, and those recovering from emotionally abusive relationships.

How long do I need to be in therapy?

This varies from client to client and is dependent on the severity of your symptoms and your goals for counseling. However, on average Alison typically meets with clients for a minimum of 6 months to a year. Many start experiencing relief within the first 3-5 sessions. That being said, the work you’re doing together is deep work and the path to healing is never straight. As impatient as you might feel, healing often has it’s own rhythm and Alison believes the truest path to healing is to honor that.

How much does counseling for anxiety & trauma cost?

Self-pay rates are $255 for your first appointment, which includes the initial assessment. Regular 50-55 minute appointments after that cost $235 per session. Alison does accept Aetna insurance through a platform called Alma. However, Your Tempo Healing is considered an Out-Of-Network provider and services do qualify for PPO/OON benefits through your insurance. What this would mean is paying out-of-pocket for services up front and then applying for reimbursement through your health insurance benefits. You can call your insurance company directly to find out more about this and/or use this free benefits checker from Mentaya to get an idea of what you could expect for reimbursement: mentaya.co/b/YNsqafrN1npqaHFkDYig. Alison is happy to provide a list of helpful questions you can ask your provider to get a better idea of what to expect when you use OON benefits to cover your healthcare costs.

Let’s get to the roots of your distress… so you can begin to see the results you are looking for!

Serving the greater College Park area, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and individuals across Maryland & Pennsylvania.

Hyattsville, Takoma Park, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Potomac, Olney, Columbia, Greenbelt, Bowie, Beltsville, Annapolis, Severna Park, Towson, Pikesville, Perry Hall, Catonsville, Ellicott City.