When you’re struggling emotionally, decisions and next steps can feel fraught with peril.

You may vacillate between worrying endlessly about the future and ruminating unproductively about the past.

You might leave every social interaction second-guessing what you said, sure that you came off poorly.

It might seem like regular life is harder for you than others.

You long for a sense of ease. You might try to manage your anxiety by overworking, self-medicating with alcohol or marijuana, or zoning out on Netflix or Instagram. Of course, none of these distractions help in the long term at all. You might have tried healthier coping mechanisms like exercise or meditation, but even that isn’t enough to feel better.

You are not alone. Many people struggle with these feelings in the best of circumstances. In these challenging times, it can feel like people who aren’t anxious are just not paying enough attention. But getting lost in your own sadness or worry doesn’t improve the world or your life. With the right support, you can take steps to change these unproductive, painful patterns.

I’ve helped many people who struggle with their mental health find relief and improve their relationships, careers, and self-esteem. My approach to treatment combines mindful self-compassion, self-inquiry, managing thoughts to manage feelings and reactions, and finding realistic solutions to long-standing problems.

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What if I’ve tried therapy before and it didn’t work for me?

If you’ve already tried therapy and it didn’t help, it may not have been the right kind of treatment. While traditional psychoanalytic therapy can provide great insight, it often encourages the kind of unproductive ruminating that may have gotten you into trouble in the first place. As Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems on the same level of consciousness that created them.” While insight is important, it’s not enough. Receiving constructive feedback is crucial if you’re looking to change your life. Working with a relational, interactive therapist will make all the difference in your therapeutic process.

Shouldn’t I be able to figure this out for myself?

The feeling that you and your problems are not worth time and energy is a symptom of both anxiety and depression. You can do many things on your own to improve your mental state, starting with simply getting enough sleep (most important!), eating healthy food, and exercising daily. Next, you could set up a simple daily meditation practice and create a system for organizing your time that leaves you feeling focused and productive. We should all be doing these things.

But most people wrestling with anxiety and depression need extra support to dig up the unconscious beliefs that keep us stuck and challenge the parts of ourselves that are afraid to move forward. The objective of therapy is not simply to get you back to baseline, where you are merely able to manage your day-to-day life.

The real goal is to soar beyond the baseline into a strengths-based, values-driven life. Most people need extra support to get to this level.

Imagine what might be possible if you were no longer driven by worries and fear.

This is your one life. What do you want it to look like?