Core Beliefs
Our core beliefs shape how we see ourselves, relate to others, and understand the world around us. But what happens when those beliefs hold us back? Learn how recognizing and challenging negative core beliefs can help you develop a more balanced perspective and create meaningful change.
The Value of Play
Play isn’t just for kids. Making room for play as an adult can help us release tension, explore new perspectives, connect with others, and simply enjoy the moment. Discover how play and improvisation can support emotional well-being at any age.
Naming Our Values
What matters most to you? Our values shape the choices we make, the relationships we build, and the direction we want our lives to take. In this post, we explore how identifying and understanding our values can provide insight into our behaviors, guide meaningful goals, and help us move toward a life that feels more aligned with what matters most.
Ambiguous Loss
Not every loss comes with closure. Ambiguous loss can occur when we grieve a person or relationship that has changed, even when the person is still present in our lives. Learn more about this complex type of grief and why your feelings are valid.
Good Stress
Even positive life changes can bring stress. Learn about “eustress”—or good stress—and how simple self-care strategies can help you navigate seasons of excitement, change, and increased demands.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, client-centered approach that helps individuals discover their own motivation for change. Learn how this evidence-based therapy technique supports lasting growth and meaningful progress.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Have you ever wondered why certain situations trigger strong emotions or repeated behaviors? Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps identify unhelpful thinking patterns and provides practical tools to create healthier, more balanced responses.
Narrating Your Life
Narrating Your Life: How Narrative Therapy Helps You Separate Yourself From the Problem
Intimate Subjects
Intimacy is more than sex - it's about connection, boundaries, and being seen.
In our latest blog post, we explore why topics like sexulaity, consent, attachment, and intimacy belong in the therapy room. At Kildaire Counseling, no topic is off-limits, and your whole experience is welcome.
Artists & Vulnerability
Creating asks of us a vulnerability that we may not always be prepared to put forward. However, so does the therapeutic process. I find that creativity and therapy go hand in hand. Even clients who have generally felt reluctance toward formal types of self-expression tell me that they find new opportunities manifesting around them after several sessions.
Hard Times
Winter is hard when days are shorter and holiday stress builds up. Reach out for help and read on for self-care tips.
Panic Attacks and Vision Loss: A Polyvagal Perspective
For the past three years, I have worked as a therapist supporting older adults with vision loss. While my observations come from a small sample size, I’ve noticed a pattern: an abrupt change in vision puts clients at a higher risk of having a panic attack.
Artists and Boundaries
In the blog I’ve mentioned that I have been an artist throughout my life, but I will take a moment to disclose one of my experiences that made me reconsider my choices at the time.
Taking Time for You
“Self-care isn’t selfish.” You may have seen or heard this phrase. What do you think about it?
Polyvagal Theory
You may have heard terms like “fight or flight.” What do these concepts have to do with our mental health from day to day? Polyvagal theory looks at how we feel in different states of nervous system activation. This provides a framework, based on the biology of the autonomic nervous system, for helping us understand and treat stress responses.
Equip Yourself for Change
Change is inevitable. Sometimes we welcome change, but sometimes we fight it.
At Kildaire Counseling, Anna and I help you navigate times of change, whether these are times you anticipate or times that hit unexpectedly. With my work with artists in particular, I understand and can help you face situations like disappointing auditions, streaks of low sales or rejections, and lingering post-show blues. The transient nature of gig work, show business, and other artistic highs and lows can create more than a bump in the road. Sometimes you just need someone to listen and help you process what’s happening, and other times you may need more concrete steps to plan for and accommodate change. I am ready to partner with you to find your own balanced understanding of change and how you handle it best.
Expressive Moments
The image is an abstract painting with blocks of bold colors on a darker background.
Expressive arts can be combined with psychotherapy to find truths that conversation alone has difficulty uncovering.