NW Island Counseling, Oak Harbor - Meghan Theiss, LMHC

WHAT I HEAR AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WORK INCLUDES Reports of: *Sadness, grief, hopelessness. *Anxiety, worry, hypervigilance. *Negative comparisons to others (e.g. “Why do others seem to be OK, figuring this out, confident…but I am struggling, feeling lost, stuck, or completely overwhelmed?”) *Procrastination, difficulty with follow-through. *Difficulty identifying priorities or goals. *Difficulty identifying how to get from where you are now to where you want to be. WHAT THERAPY WITH ME WILL LOOK LIKE I will listen and ask questions: *With curiosity, compassion and non-judgement. *To better understand your experience. *To learn what you are wanting to learn, gain, or accomplish, both overall for your life as well as through this experience of therapy in particular. I will recommend interventions and resources where appropriate, but my intention is ultimately to help you build the skills to be able to consistently identify solutions that fit your unique lifestyle, needs, values and goals. ABOUT ME I believe: *Our past shapes and informs our present. *It is essential that we learn how to recognize when we are operating from our past (e.g. rumination, depression, regrets, protectiveness) or from our anticipated future (e.g. worry, anxiety, hypervigilance), and to be able to re-engage with our life in the present moment in a meaningful way. MY INTENTIONS IN MY WORK WITH CLIENTS INCLUDE Encouraging growth in the areas of: *Self awareness. *Self connection. *Self compassion. *Supportive resources. *Clarity of values and goals. *Clarity of current barriers to goal achievement. *Clarity about the steps you would like to take to get to where you would like to go. My focus is to help you find your way back to yourself, to help you connect with your unique values, interests and goals, and to be a supportive resource to help you identify the steps you would like to take to create a life that feels meaningful.