Schema Therapy rests on the theory that people have conceptual ideas about common human experiences, such as relationships. Early childhood experiences, some of which can be maladaptive, affect these schemas. Schemas affect how people think about themselves and how they think about themselves in relationships with others.
Your therapist will ask questions about your childhood and how you form relationships, specifically if there were any attachment injuries (such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, or other types of trauma with your primary caregivers).
Schema Therapy recognizes that your emotions correspond with how you relate to others. Your maladaptive schemas can also be affected by the particular environment in which you experienced your formative years.
Your therapist will then ask about your current patterns of relating and how you form relationships as an adult. The goal is to identify and explore how these maladaptive schemas affect you in your present life and replace them with more positive ways of relating with others.
“I deserve better!” You tell yourself this daily, but somehow you continue to do things that leave you feeling stuck & inadequate. Daily you become more unmotivated & hopeless. Well, it is not by chance that you stopped at my profile. I believe that everyone deserves to live a meaningful life, but that many do not experience this life because they are either immobilized by their fears, lack...
As a counselor, I believe every person holds answers to their life’s questions. Sometimes things get murky and we can’t seem to find those answers on our own. Every person possesses resilience, but we often lose sight of our own strengths, or we struggle to remember what they ever were. Counseling builds connections to what may seem lost. I provide compassionate therapeutic interventions, to wo...
I have worked within the mental health field since 2004 and have over 12 years of experience working with a variety of clients complaints, including stress, anxiety, depression, sexual struggles, trauma, career/workplace issues, relationship difficulties and more. In my work, I have developed a passion to empower women. I believe that the world today is particularly stressful for women, as the...
Hello! Thank you for taking time to view my practice profile. It is important for you to take time to learn about your provider before making the commitment to begin therapy. If you are browsing this website you may be seeking support to manage anxiety, increase self confidence, or you are seeking to maintain your recovery from substance use. I will assist you in identifying problem areas but...
Michelle Pettit has extensive experience working with a wide range of populations to include troubled youth, substance abusers, prisoners, severe mentally illness, and active-duty military. Michelle is able to provide support for a variety of issues including mood disorders, self-harm, suicidality, social skills, personality disorders, addiction, anxiety, and intensive sexual and combat trauma....
In my years of therapy, I have learned that the fundamental problem for most people is that they don’t know how beautiful they are as people. Perhaps it is life events, the way one grew up, or the things that one has done to themselves or others that hides the potential we all possess. I tend to treat conditions that I’ve either struggled with myself or have helped loved ones to get through,...
I consider it a privilege and am passionate about helping others uncover their own hope, receive healing, and grow to their full potential. I enjoy working alongside individuals, couples, and families collaboratively to help them reach their goals. I believe the foundation of effective counseling is taking in the uniqueness of each individual or family and building a strong therapeutic environm...
Getting to know a patient in therapy is an adventure. It’s a journey that often starts at the time of the initial phone conversation. At times, the road takes us through peaks and valleys, neither side predicted. My counseling philosophy is based on the idea that connection is the most important factor in healing. I use my personality, mind, and spirit to understand the needs of my clients. The...
Our family-of-origin experiences teach us how to be with others when we are adolescents and adults. As we grow, we develop our coping and communication styles. However, later we may find that some of those early strategies no longer serve us, or that we were misguided, or we find that our choices backfired - which can make navigating the world at times scary and overwhelming. Whether you surviv...
Do you find yourself lacking motivation, satisfaction, or direction? Perhaps you feel anxious, lost, or down? So often, despite appearances or what we strive to become, we are struggling on the inside and do not know how to make sense of it on our own. In our work together, we build an understanding of issues coming up in the present, as we connect the dots to the past, and create goals for the...
Regardless of how well we try to prepare, life and mental illness can get in the way of reaching our goals and living the life we want. Regardless of our age, life can be overwhelming and it can be difficult to identify how to make changes in our current situations and face our fears. Together we can work through these challenges and identify strategies to face them. I believe in validating and...
If you are a warrior (Veteran, Active Service Member, Police, FF, EMT) or the direct dependent of a warrior, Valhalla Veterans Services provides free one-on-one counseling. At Valhalla Veterans services we use several types of counseling to tailor a plan to help you meet your goals. You won't scare us with your war stories, we have our own. Are you having trouble making sense of it all? Have yo...
I believe that every person that comes into therapy has the right to have their own individual life journey be the focus of therapy. I listen to the wants, and concerns of the client and then together we develop a strategy that the client(s) will be willing to apply to their lives. I have many tools from an eclectic range or psychological fields and a lifetime of real-life applications that I...
Are you trying to manage stress related to Covid-19? Are there other things you are trying to manage? Are you feeling overwhelmed with work, family stress, or relationships? Have you lost someone you cared about? Are you dealing with postpartum depression? Have you experienced something traumatic? Do you struggle with substance use? Do you have chronic pain? We are a team of counselors with...
As we go through life we often realize that what helped us cope and survive in the past now keeps us from the things in life we want and deserve, or perhaps even from becoming the person we know we can be. Everyone struggles at some point in their lives, may it be trauma, substance use, mental health symptoms, or simply the stress of getting by. In providing a safe environment I help clients fi...
