A strong and reliable therapeutic relationship predicts a beneficial therapy experience. Developing a relative ease and sense of safety relies on a rapport between you and your therapist that nurtures growth and often gives you the feeling of both being seen in all of your nuances and complexities while simultaneously appreciated for and connected by the shared journey of human living.
At Shade Tree Counseling we strive for you to feel known as an individual with a complex history and constellation of identities — ethnic, racial, gendered, socio-economic, bodily, and sexuality — who, like all of us, labors daily for meaning, dignity, and fulfillment.
Click a specialty for more info:
Anxiety
Anxiety looks a little different in all of us and finds its foothold based on a variety of factors: genetics, early experiences, current stressors, and social discomfort, to name a few. For some people it is utterly debilitating in one or more domains of life and for others it’s an unpleasant refrigerator hum that dampens an otherwise well-lived life.
At Shade Tree Counseling, we offer you a place of respite to learn how to soothe an anxious nervous system, clarify where anxiety comes from for you, and set your life on track to live fully, even when anxiety reverberates sometimes.
There is a reason that anxiety is one of the most common reasons people seek therapy. With a fundamental basis in the emotion of fear, anxiety is actually very important to our ability to survive. Without at least a little anxiety, we would generally lack the motivation to get up, get going, and do what we want to do. Thus, getting rid of anxiety altogether is neither ideal or achievable. Therapy can help you both regulate the intensity of anxiety and make a pivot in how you respond to its presence, making way for less struggle and more opportunities for choosing how you want to live.
Trauma
Trauma affects your whole life and it impacts everyone so differently. Sometimes the impacts are obvious and debilitating, leading to failed relationships, isolation, and an underdeveloped professional life. Trauma can also affect you in less apparent ways that take the glimmer off an apparently fantastic life.
We will join you in acknowledging how the past has affected your present and charting a course to healing that works for you. You may wish to talk about particular pains from the past and you may wish to focus on the future. We will work together to find the balance that is right for you, so that you can live the life that you really want to live.
A trauma-informed approach underlies all of our work at Shade Tree Counseling. We recognize that many clients come to therapy not specifically because of trauma, but because they feel lonely or inadequate, they are depressed or anxious, or just cannot seem to have the intimacy they crave. Sometimes acknowledging trauma(s) comes later in the therapy work and that is okay. Taking the time to get grounded and connected with a trusted therapist can be key to feeling willing and ready to talk about your most painful experiences.
Relationship Difficulties
Whether you have a hard time creating them, keeping them, or enjoying them, problems with relationships are a source of pain. Understanding what is making them hard and what to do about it are common therapy goals. In fact, relational problems are such a common strand in therapy that you may find them interconnected to one or more other issues. Let’s work together to understand why relationships are hurting you and determine the way forward to more meaningful and rewarding connections with others.
Humans are social critters. We evolved in groups, sharing the labor of living, loving, and having fun. In fact, we evolved to shoulder loss and trauma together. We have the capacity to tolerate incredible pain, when we do it together. However, sometimes life has led us to the point of feeling disconnected from those around us. You may have many people in your orbit and still feel alone in the crowd. There may be truly important people in your life that you love and love you, yet you realize you have never let them see the real you and therefore, you feel estranged. Or, you may look around and find that there is truly no one there.
Neurodiversity
Traditionally, therapy was built on a “neurotypical” model—assuming there is one “right” way to think or communicate. However, contemporary counseling is shifting toward neuro-affirming care, which views differences like Autism, ADHD, or Dyslexia not as deficits to be “fixed,” but as natural variations in the human experience.
ADHD
Attention, impulsivity, and executive functioning may be your primary reason for seeking therapy, or may be an underlying challenge that contributes to other struggles you face. Many people with ADHD have received and internalized the message that they are lazy or not living up to their potential; it is common for individuals with ADHD to be hard on themselves in an attempt to increase productivity and reliability. Yet, each failure reinforces the message that they are inadequate. Moreover, the nature of ADHD often makes it difficult to organize and soothe difficult thoughts and emotions, leaving one vulnerable to anxiety and depression.
While psychotherapy cannot cure ADHD, we can help you with:
- Strategies for organization and management of responsibilities, social engagements, etc.
- Ways of slowing down the overactive mind
- Strategies for identifying, organizing, and understanding emotional experiences
- Social engagement skills to help with personal and professional relationships
- The anxiety and depression symptoms that many adults with ADHD experience.
Many adults never diagnosed with ADHD in childhood, find themselves struggling in ways discussed above. You may be wondering if ADHD might be an accurate diagnosis for you that could provide some clarity about your struggles. We are prepared to explore this possibility with you and provide an ADHD-informed approach to therapy, where appropriate.
Autism
Autism is an ever widening spectrum. Autistic folks frequently inhabit social situations in ways that the dominant, neurotypically-oriented society does not appreciate, leading many people to feel misunderstood, anxious, or overwhelmed with the demands of masking. Many autistic adults struggle to have connections with others in ways they would like. Moreover, social situations may feel downright confusing and anxiety-provoking and intimate relationships may seem impossible. In the professional sphere, you may struggle to keep steady employment, often finding that your ways of communicating with co-workers and bosses make it hard to feel you belong or that your talents are appreciated.
Thankfully, autism is gaining greater popular awareness. This has meant that many autistic adults never diagnosed in childhood, but struggling in ways discussed above, find themselves wondering if they might be on the spectrum. Seeking this type of clarity about your struggles is a sign of strength and growth orientation. We are prepared to explore this possibility with you. Additionally, many autistic adults today have the opportunity to explore their unique place on the spectrum and develop an appreciation for their strengths and relieve themselves of the pressures of masking in many domains of life.
Parenting/Parenting Neuro-diverse Children
Understanding your child’s unique experiences with autism, adhd, and/or sensory sensitivities and how that impacts your role as their parent is a journey. Advocating for them in the school and medical systems is a challenge. Whether the path to getting clarity about your child’s neuro-diverse identity was quick or long, navigating the already complex demands of contemporary parenting can be even more nuanced when your child is neurodiverse. We appreciate the unique challenges facing parents of neurodiverse children and offer you the opportunity to take a moment to reflect, soothe your nervous system, and connect to your parenting identity in new and meaningful ways.
Somatics/Chronic Pain
Due to well-meaning attention that Somatic Therapy has received in recent years, the term has taken on a bit of a buzzword status for many. However, Somatic Therapy is far more than learning new coping skills and breathing in a new way. Thanks to current neuroscience, we now know what the body carries due to generational, life, and cultural trauma. We are not always aware of what are bodies carry and need to communicate to us. Through therapy, you are given the chance, to listen, feel, and digest in a new way to be able to have new pathways in your life.
One way the body communicates is through Chronic pain. This can often take over our lives. It’s debilitating both physically, mentally, and emotionally. It may be from a specific injury that has never quite healed. It may be a deep body ache for which medical providers have been unable to find solutions. Or it may be a bodily sensation that arose after a traumatic event. Whatever the body is communicating, Somatic Therapy offers helpful ways to facilitate novel, alleviating communication channels between yourself and your body. Chronic pain does not have to be your daily headline. There are new and ever evolving therapies that can greatly reduce pain and help you live your desired life again.
Couples Counseling
In couples counseling, the focus of the work is on the relational system. Humans are deeply shaped by the patterns, histories, and communication styles of the people closest to us. Acknowledging that individuals do not exist in a vacuum and the problems in a relationship do not exist solely within one partner, we work together to clarify how unhelpful patterns have emerged and what we can do about them. Sometimes couples therapy helps during times of significant change, like when a family grows to make space for children and the intimacy and connection once there seems like a memory from long ago.
Home 