The journey through life is a time of challenge, growth, personal discovery and transformation. Sometimes you’ll feel confident that you’re making terrific progress. Sometimes, you may feel a bit uncertain about it all.
If you’re a soul-searcher like me, you’re probably engaged in a true search for meaning and purpose and perhaps finding your true mission in life: Your work on the planet. A spiritual quest.
I deeply honor your pursuits. I also know that you deserve to be kind to yourself as you pursue these next steps. Introspection is a wonderful part of the process, but it can be challenging if you strictly “go it alone.”
For starters:
- Take a few moments to read and reflect about your own personal journey through life using these thoughts from Shauna Shapiro in Berkeley’s Greater Good magazine: Want to Change Your Life? Try Self-Compassion
- Consider these 19 self-acceptance quotes for relating to yourself in a better way from the Positive Psychology Program. Do you recognize your own challenges inside these quotes?
- Rewrite Your Life, by Susan Gregory Thomas, from Psychology Today
- If you consider yourself to be a sensitive person, I truly recommend these two articles from Psychology Today by Psychiatrist Judith Orloff:
- If you are struggling with feelings of isolation or emotional distress due to any particular circumstances you find yourself experiencing, I recommend Elizabeth Markle’s new article Four Things to Do Every Day for Your Mental Health.
Being true to your inner voice is so essential. Feeling support from others is equally vital.
Here is a wonderful tool for self-awareness: The Via Character Strengths Survey. I recommend it for a wealth of insight and self-acceptance it provides. It helped me to realize that my top character trait is love. I have struggled with love across my lifetime, but reading the survey results really helped me to be okay with this.
In my own educational and career journey, counseling others has consistently been a source of joy, gladness, and fulfillment. It started when I was in high school–and it’s never stopped.
Here are two reminders from my blog for graduate students about the importance of self-care:
As a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) I am attuned to emotions and deep self-reflection in others. I highly recommend a visit to HSP World for healthy insights that may indeed open your eyes to your own challenges and inner gifts.
When you add the challenges of going to graduate school to an already busy lifestyle, you may find there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
I hope this site will bring you moments of peace and a place to care for yourself.
If you need a safe place to reflect and explore yourself with loving kindness from another person, I invite you consider my offer of assistance. You can reach out, we can talk, I can offer wisdom, advice and support.
I am certified in Mental Health First Aid and QPR Suicide Awareness.
My Professional Counseling Services Address these Themes:
- Personal concerns
- Relationship, family and friendship issues
- Career development and self-assessment
- Workplace challenges, including toxic bosses and career burnout
- Evaluating your graduate educational experience costs and benefits
- Overcoming self-doubt
- Managing perfectionism
- Health and wellness
- Positive psychology
- Mental health concerns, including melancholia, anxiety and depression
- Emotional abuse and PTSD treatment
- Fear and panic attacks
- Crisis management and emotional support
- Women’s Issues and Men’s Issues
- Grief and loss support
- Meditation guidance and creative visualization
- Life transitions and life purpose
- Spiritual support
- Stress management
- Sexuality
- LGBTQI and gender-related issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Polyamory and non-monogamous relationships
I offer a full range of options for working together, including Skype, telephone, email support, and online research guidance where appropriate.
For further details about my counseling services, you may contact me.
