Individual Therapy
Maxcy provides therapy to help individuals resolve issues including:
Life TRANSITIONS
Life can have many different challenges and changes, such as moving, ending a relationship, starting a family or losing a job, to name a few. Sometimes we can feel stuck at any one of these transitions and unable to move forward. These changes or transitions can be confusing, overwhelming or cause us to feel conflicted and unable to take action. Working through these issues with a therapist can help you understand what’s gong on, become more clear on what you need and work towards a satisfying resolution.
Relationship/dating difficulties
Many of us find ourselves feeling like we can’t seem to find the connection we our looking for. Maybe we spend all our time on dating apps, can’t seem to meet the right person or feel stagnant in our current relationship. By looking at different relationship patterns, communication processes and having more clarity in our relationship with others and our selves, we can be more intentional, direct and effective in moving towards our goals.
Addictions
Addictions can involve alcohol, drugs, internet, gambling, food and sex. These behaviors often start out as normal behaviors but addiction can develop when a person begins engaging in the behavior to avoid dealing with unpleasant emotions or pain and turn to the behavior as their sole way of dealing with stress and seeking pleasure. This can then develop into a compulsive and out of control habit that leaves the addicted person feeling extremely overwhelmed by their addiction. Often by addressing what is the underlying cause of the addiction and by creating new methods for dealing with stress, the addiction can be alleviated.
YOUNG ADULT
Maxcy specializes in helping young adults transition to full adult life. The transition into adulthood can be an incredibly overwhelming experience. This is a time when many young adults are figuring out what direction to take in life. While at the same time learning how to do all the “adulting” work that comes with being a responsible adult. Many find themselves stuck at an in-between phase, possibly not financially independent and unable to live fully autonomous lives (i.e. failure to launch). This often develops depression or anxiety, which in turn, make change even harder. Or on the flip side, others may become overwhelmed by the responsibilities of adult life and neglect important mental development experiences such as having close/romantic relationships, traveling or spending time with friends. This way of living may lead to an accomplished work life but little connection to all that makes us alive. These are challenges, but therapy can help one to work through them, discover inner wants and desires, live a fulfilling, meaningful life.
Depression
Depression can look different for everyone depending on how severe it is. Not only does it affect the mind but it can also affect the body. Some people might experience trouble concentrating, feeling fatigued, difficulty with sleeping, appetite issues, lack of interest in things they use to enjoy, apathy, sexual dysfunction, difficulty engaging in daily living, low self esteem, feelings of deep sadness or loneliness, anger at themselves, self loathing and self harm/suicidal thoughts. Often there are many different causes contributing to depression and by working with someone trained in helping people with depression that person can greatly improve and live a more enjoyable and happy life.
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders can develop for a variety of reasons but at the root, it often stems from a difficulty getting emotional needs met, avoiding or not knowing how to deal with painful feelings and turning towards food or behavioral addictions in regards to weight as the way to deal with or numb these problems. This way of coping might work for a while but eventually it can have destructive effects on the individual’s psychological, physical and emotional health, and keep them from living the lives they want. There are many approaches to healing from eating disorders that are useful, including CBT, DBT, Intuitive Eating, Health at Every Size and Family-Based therapy.
Adult children of EMOTIONALLY IMMATURE PARENTS
Having parents who were emotionally unavailable, immature or abusing substances has a very destructive impact on the lives of their children, often creating a sense of neglect and deep pain that can continue into adulthood. Many of these children grow up to be adults who are still controlled by their parents’ immaturity and are unable to be their authentic selves. They are often in unhealthy relationships and have poor emotional regulation, especially in regard to their parents. By learning interpersonal skills, emotional regulation, distress tolerance and creating the capacity for a healthy self, one is able to work through those issues and live a more happy and balanced life.
GRIEF
Grief is a very challenging experience to go through. There are many reasons why someone might go through grief; whether its due to the loss of a loved one, a breakup or ending of a significant relationship, the loss of a future dream or goal or the loss of a beloved pet, we all experience grief at some point in are lives. Yet sometimes we can get stuck in grief, sadness and loss in a way that feels unmanageable and make us unrecognizable to ourselves. Sometimes we can’t function or enjoy the life we have due to the overwhelming experience of our feelings or sometimes we just don’t feel like ourselves even when we are managing everything and continuing to go through the motions. Many people try to ignore or suppress their grief and yet often this has the paradoxical effect of making it last longer and make us feel even more lost and distressed. Often opening up and talking about your grief can actually alleviate the intensity of the feelings over time. Working with a therapist trained in grief counseling can help you process the loss and be fully engaged in your life again.
Anxiety
Everyone experiences anxiety. It can be a useful emotion when it motivates us to act in ways that are aligned with how we see ourselves and help us achieve our goals in life. But anxiety can be harmful when it is constant or affects our life in a negative way. Sometimes anxiety can be about specific things or it can be generalized. If anxiety continues without being addressed it can even lead to panic attacks and phobias or using unhealthy coping or addictions to alleviate the anxiety. There are many different teqniques to address anxiety including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness Based Therapy.
Mother/Daughter Relationships
A healthy mother daughter relationship can have a significant impact on both the mother and the daughter across all dimensions including physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual health. Because mothers are often the first and primary attachment it’s important this relationship be nurturing while also encouraging the daughter’s individuation, autonomy and sense of self. If not, it can lead to the daughter constantly seeking approval and affirmation about her worth in the world from others, while also developing low self esteem and poor self confidence. It can even lead to metal health disorders including depression, anxiety, addictions and eating disorders. It is important to work through these issues if there is conflict so that the individual can live a healthy and fulfilling life without having to recreate past issues in future relationships.
Trauma & PTSD
PTSD often occurs when an individual experiences or witnesses something life threatening. Anyone can develop PTSD. Common experiences that might cause PTSD to develop include: being involved in combat, survivors of physical/sexual/emotional abuse, accidents, disasters, shootings, adverse childhood experiences or any other event seen as seriously harmful. Often someone is more likely to develop PTSD if they have had more traumatic events throughout their life time. Therapy is an excellent way to work through these issues so that they don’t negatively impact your current quality of life.