What Brings You to Therapy?

There are many reasons people attend therapy. Therapy is one way to make life a little easier and a little better. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you. It doesn’t mean you are broken. It simply means some things have happened to you and you are not satisfied with where you are at now. We can all use a little help sometimes, whether we need a helping hand to lift us when we’ve fallen, guide us when we’re lost, or boost us when we want to climb higher. Both adults and youth struggle with concerns related to home, school, work, relationships, sleep, driving, and life transitions. Our team at Therapy Alberta focuses on helping people heal emotionally, mentally, physically, and relationally. We work with individuals, partners, and families struggling with a variety of concerns, including:

Anxiety

When the body and mind have learned a calm internal state is not safe, it remains in a state of alert, alarm, fear, or terror to meet it's needs. Anxiety is a coping style that has helped you survive and get you to where you are today, but might no longer be helpful or necessary. We can help you better understand your experience, regulate, calm, and adopt new ways of coping with stress.

Depression

When a person can exist mostly within their window of tolerance, they are safe to connect and feel a full range and depth of emotions. When the body learns from past experience it's not safe to feel or engage or connect, there is protection in withdrawal, disinterest, depressing the emotions, and dipping into low and slow arousal. Sometimes the best defense is to collapse into a chronic depression when it seems there is no escape. We can help you learn to regulate and respond appropriately in the present moment. You can expand your window of tolerance, connect to all feelings, protect yourself, and engage with who and what you love. For more information on depression, read the blog Why Depression is so Gripping.

Dissociation

Everyone dissociates on some level. Maybe you daydream, zone out, feel numb or disconnected, don't remember the drive to work, or act out of character. Dissociation is the split between body and mind that can affect time, perception, and identity. Sometimes it happens to such a degree that it interferes with home, school, work, or relationships. If this sounds familiar, we can explain what your brain is doing and why, help you regulate, reconnect your body and mind, then integrate your inner experience.

Grief

Change, loss, death, and dying bring up a lot of difficult emotions, thoughts, and sensations that sometimes need to be shared in a safe, compassionate space where there is no judgment or pressure to let go or move on. We can help you better understand your experience of grief and find ways of mourning that help you heal. We are here to listen and honor your story; we will act as companions on your grief journey as you create a new normal.

Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVA)

Car accidents can be traumatic in a variety of ways. Sometimes the physical pain from injuries interferes with life or delays healing. Maybe the memory of the accident replays in your mind or takes over your sleep. You might find yourself always on alert, afraid, or unable to get back to life as you remember it before the accident. Maybe it changed everything. We can help you understand your brain and body's response to the accident. You can release fear, regulate, manage the pain, protect yourself, reprocess the experience, and take back control over your mind, body, and emotions.

Pain

Everyone experiences pain in the body, but for some it's debilitating or doesn't make sense. Maybe you struggle with unexplainable pain or injuries that won't heal. Sometimes pain has an emotional or mental component that needs healing. Sometimes old wounds link to the new and reactivate. We can help you tolerate and regulate the pain, trust your body, understand what it is doing and why, and relieve the pain so you can move and live freely. For more insight on pain, read the blog poem Pain Unseen.

Stress

Everyone experiences stressors in life that press on different parts of the self. The severity varies, but you usually just keep pushing through. It's important to realize the impact of stress on your body, mind, and emotions. Sometimes the feeling of stress pushes you to the breaking point, begging for change. We can help you pause, understand your stress symptoms, regulate, meet your unmet needs, and act from a place of preference and choice rather than fear. Read more about the impact of stress in the blog, Drowning in Stress.

Substance Use

Understanding the relationship between attachment and maladaptive coping mechanisms is imperative to helping those struggling with substance use or addictive behaviors. When the needs of the body and mind are not met through relational safety and attachment, the brain seeks similar rewards, often found in substances or other pleasurable behaviors. This way of coping helps numb the underlying pain. We can help you understand your patterns, find ways to regulate and meet your needs in healthy ways, build supportive relationships, and begin to heal the wounds beneath.

Trauma

Trauma occurs when one's inner capacity to cope is overwhelmed. The human brain is wired for connection, safety, and love. When early or late experiences of abuse, neglect, injury, or assault impair or interfere with these functions, the brain must defend itself in order to survive and move on. Though amazingly adaptive at the time, the body can continue to hold on to and live based on these defenses. We can help you make sense of your reactions, regulate, release trauma, and create new healthy experiences. For more insight on trauma, read the blog, Releasing Trauma.

Everyone needs help sometimes. We are advocates for all people receiving help. No one has to do life or struggle alone. It’s okay to need help, it’s okay to ask for help, and it’s okay to get help. It’s okay to talk to someone. We want you to find peace, happiness, and a healthy relationship with yourself and others. Reach out today if you want to see if you can find a good fit with a therapist at Therapy Alberta.