From childhood through late adulthood, there are certain times when we may need help addressing problems and issues that cause us emotional distress or make us feel overwhelmed.  When you are experiencing these types of difficulties, you may benefit from the assistance of an experiences, trained professional.  Professional psychotherapist/counselors offer the caring, expert assistance that we often need during these stressful times.  A psychotherapist/counselor can help you identify your problems and assist you in finding the best ways to cope with the situations by changing behaviors that contribute to the problem or by finding constructive ways to deal with a situation that is beyond your personal control.  Therapist can help in addressing many situations that cause emotional distress, including but not limited to:

• Anxiety, depression and other mental and emotional problems and disorders
• Family and relationship issues
• Substance abuse and other addictions
• Sexual abuse and domestic violence
• Eating disorders
• Career change and job stress
• Social and emotional difficulties related to disability and illness
• Adopting to life transitions
• The death of a loved one

Good indicator of when you should seek counseling is when functioning in your daily tasks become difficult to concentrate or when your level of emotional distress becomes uncomfortable.  Some examples:

• Spend 5 out of 7 days feeling unhappy
• Regularly cannot sleep at night
• Have lost something (such as a job) or someone
• Can no longer prioritize what is most important in your life
• Feel you can no longer manage your stress