individual therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma | therapy for moms, new moms

SERVICES

Individual Therapy

Holistic therapy to treat the whole person.

Helping you feel happier and more at peace in your life and your relationships.

The way we each grow up and the experiences we have influences our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors throughout our life. Some of these influences are positive and others can cause us difficulties and get in the way of the person we want to be and the relationships we want to have.

I can help with:

  • Anxiety

    Anxiety and stress are a part of life, however it can easily take over. It can become all-encompassing.

    Many times the ways we try to control our anxiety actually end up making it worse. This can look like engaging in pleasing behaviors, perfectionism, avoidance, trying to control everything.

    This may work in the short-term, but doesn’t actually address the core anxiety. In the long-run, we end up feeling worse.

    Anxiety doesn’t have to run your life. You can get help and feel better.

  • Depression

    Life can be a lot. It can feel like you’re going through the “motions” just trying to survive through the day. Even doing the more “simple, normal” stuff of your day can feel like it takes so much effort.

    It can be hard to see a way out of this space.

    When we are stuck in it, it is hard to know what to do. Therapy for depression will help you identify the steps to take to start to feel better. In time, you will start to feel like yourself again.

  • Parenting

    Parenting is hard. We want to raise emotionally healthy, well-rounded, happy children and life is very demanding. We are often pulled in many different directions, faced with daily life stressors, not to mention we have our own childhood experiences to “reckon” with as a parent.

    Therapy is a safe and supportive place to process through all the “stuff” that come up in parenting. Gaining a better understanding of yourself and how you want to show up as a parent is imperative to raising happy children.

    Also, you matter. A happy parent is the best gift we can give our children.

  • Trauma

    Life can bring with it experiences of pain and trauma. Sometimes these show up in our childhood by how we are raised, or it might be around particular events, other times it can be in our relationships.

    Even when those experiences are no longer happening, they stay with us and get “stored” in our body. The trauma then comes out in many other forms- physical illness and pains, in our mental health, our relationships, our work experiences, in our parenting.

    Your trauma does not need to define you. You can heal from your past trauma and create a life for yourself that feels safe and affirming.

MY APPROACH

I believe we all have an innate ability to heal and grow.

I take an holistic, whole-person approach to therapy. I use a combination of therapeutic models, including CBT (looking at our thoughts and how these influence our feelings and behaviors), mindfulness-based therapy (slowing down that inner process and becoming more aware of what is happening in the moment), somatic experiencing (a body-based approach to treating trauma) and family systems (looking at how we grew up and how this has influenced how we think, feel, and behave).

I also have specialized training in anxiety, trauma, and parenting/working with moms.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ME HERE

individual therapy in Carlsbad, Encinitas, San Marcos, CA

What Clients Say

  • "In the time that I’ve worked with Melissa I’ve already seen a difference in my ability to cope with difficult situations. She seems to read my mind sometimes and can therefore give me practical and useable advice. Very happy with my experience!"

  • “It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Melissa! She has helped guide me to opening up and feeling again. It’s been a wonderful experience and I highly recommend her and her expertise."

  • "I couldn't have been more lucky to have been matched with Melissa. Right away, she's engaged in finding the focus of what you want to work on and committed to laying a plan of action. She's cordial, timely and pleasant. You won't be disappointed with her!"