People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their emotions and behavior. They are able to handle life’s challenges , build strong relationships, and recover from losses and setbacks. Mental health refers to our psychological well-being, and includes the way we feel about our self, other people in our life, and our future.

It is important to recognize that our mental health issues can become overwhelming and too much for us to resolve by ourselves. Mental health disorders such as clinical depression, anxiety, and substance abuse can progress to the point where professional counseling and psychiatric support are needed to regain emotional balance and a return to a full functioning lifestyle. The types of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may indicate a serious problem include; inability to sleep, feeling hopeless or helpless most of the time, mental concentration problems that are interfering with daily responsibilities, using drugs or alcohol to cope with difficult emotions, negative or self destructive thoughts or fears.

If these are occurring frequently in your life, and are becoming unmanageable, it would be worth considering a professional assessment with us to identify both the source of the problem as well as possible solutions to resolve it. If we agreed that outpatient counseling was appropriate for you, we would develop a treatment plan together with specific objectives that would lead to full mental health.

At the other end of the mental health spectrum are the issues that may be causing you chronic stress, employment or academic problems, relationship conflicts, social isolation, low self esteem, or the inability to enjoy life and have fun. All of these are mental health characteristics that can lead to more serious emotional and behavioral problems if they persist and worsen over time. These are the types of issues that you can successfully resolve by using the positive strengths that you already possess, and that you have used effectively in the past. This is the counseling approach used in Solution Focused Brief Therapy, and draws on your existing character strengths and virtues to resolve current issues, and also build emotional resilience to cope with future challenges. We can provide you with this combination of proven therapy skills and compassionate coaching to develop your own set of emotional skills to manage your life.

“ The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it”.(Michelangelo)