Counseling for Trauma and Anxiety
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.
Cognitive-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.
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.