Clearwater Counseling
and Wellness

Clearwater Counseling and Wellness was formed from a passion to help people access their natural healing potential.  At Clearwater Counseling and Wellness, I offer a variety of treatment specialties to adults 18 and older for trauma, grief, codependency, depression, anxiety and caregiver/burnout stress by incorporating a variety of therapeutic approaches based on individual need.  I begin from the perspective of a Person-Centered approach, where you are the expert of your own life and I am here to provide a safe space to explore your experiences.  Under the umbrella of the Person-Centered approach, I also incorporate approaches such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Parts Work, Solution Focused Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) each offering their own value based on your specific needs. 

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More information about Symptoms and Treatment

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Symptoms

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Trauma ​

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Trauma is the emotional and psychological response to an experience (or series of experiences) that feels overwhelming, threatening, or deeply distressing—especially when it exceeds our ability to cope at the time. It’s not defined only by what happened, but by how the experience affected you.  Trauma can come from a single event (like an accident or sudden loss) or from ongoing situations (such as chronic stress, childhood neglect and abuse, betrayal, or physical, sexual or emotional abuse). Trauma affects our emotions, thoughts, body and behavior.  Importantly, trauma isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s the brain and body trying to protect us when we’ve been pushed beyond what feels manageable. With understanding, support, and time, you can heal and regain a sense of safety and control. Healing from trauma isn’t about “forgetting” what happened or pretending it didn’t matter. It’s about helping the mind and body feel safe again and learning how to live without the past constantly taking over the present.

 

Grief

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Grief is the natural emotional response to loss. It’s what we experience when something or someone meaningful is gone or has changed in a way we didn’t choose. Most people think of grief as only about death, but it can also come from many other losses—relationships, friendships, safety, health, routines, or hopes for the future. Grief isn’t just sadness. It can include a wide mix of feelings, such as longing, anger, confusion, guilt, relief, numbness, or deep love that no longer has a place to go. These feelings can come and go, overlap, or show up unexpectedly. There is no “right” way or timeline to grieve. Some people cry often; others don’t cry much at all. Some want to talk; others need quiet. Grief doesn’t move in neat stages—it tends to come in waves, sometimes easing and sometimes returning without warning. At its core, grief is a reflection of connection. It exists because something mattered. Over time, grief doesn’t disappear completely, but it often changes shape—becoming less overwhelming and making room for both remembering and continuing to live.

 

Depression​

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Depression is a condition that affects how one feels, thinks, and experiences the world over time. It’s more than feeling sad for a few days—it’s a persistent state where emotional pain, emptiness, or heaviness lingers and makes everyday life harder to engage with. Depression can show up in different ways for different people, but it often involves a sense of disconnection—from joy, motivation, energy, or even from oneself. Things that once mattered may feel distant or pointless, and tasks that used to be manageable can feel exhausting or overwhelming. Depression affects emotions, thoughts, body and behavior.  Importantly, depression is not laziness, weakness, or a bad attitude. It’s a real condition. People with depression often want to feel better but feel blocked from accessing motivation or relief. Depression can make the future feel closed off, but it is treatable. With understanding, support, and the right tools, many people experience improvement and regain a sense of meaning and connection.

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Anxiety 

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Anxiety is the body and mind’s response to perceived danger or uncertainty. It’s a built-in survival system meant to keep us alert and protected—but when it becomes too intense, too frequent, or sticks around even when there’s no real threat, it can turn into a mental health condition. At its core, anxiety is about anticipation. Instead of reacting to something happening now, the brain focuses on what might happen and prepares for it as if it’s already real. This can make everyday situations feel overwhelming or unsafe.  Like depression, anxiety isn’t a weakness or a choice. It’s often shaped by biology, personality, stress, trauma, or past experiences. For some people, anxiety develops after experiences that taught their brain the world isn’t safe; for others, it grows from ongoing pressure or uncertainty. A key thing to know is that anxiety is trying to protect you, even when it misfires. Healing focuses on teaching the nervous system what is actually safe, building tolerance for uncertainty, and developing tools to calm the body and challenge anxious thought patterns.

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Caregiver stress

 

Caregiver stress is the physical, emotional, and mental strain that comes from consistently caring for someone who depends on you—especially when their needs are intense, ongoing, or unpredictable. It happens when responsibility outweighs rest, support, or personal space. Caregiver stress often develops slowly. At first, helping may feel manageable or even meaningful, but over time the constant focus on another person’s needs can leave little room for your own. This can lead to exhaustion, overwhelm, and a feeling of being “on” all the time.  A defining part of caregiver stress is the imbalance between giving and replenishing. Caregivers often feel they must be strong, patient, or selfless, which can make it hard to ask for help or acknowledge their own limits. Caregiver stress doesn’t mean someone is uncaring or failing. It means they are human and carrying more than one person should carry alone. Recognizing caregiver stress is an important step toward protecting both the caregiver’s well-being and their ability to continue caring in a healthy way.

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Burnout

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Burnout is a state of deep physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress—especially when demands are high and relief, control, or recognition are low. It happens when someone has been giving effort, care, or responsibility for a long time without enough rest or recovery. Burnout isn’t just being tired. It’s feeling drained at the core, where rest doesn’t seem to fully help and motivation feels hard to access. People experiencing burnout often still care, but they no longer have the energy or capacity to keep meeting expectations the way they once did. A key feature of burnout is chronic imbalance—giving more than you’re able to restore. It often develops in situations where someone feels pressure to be responsible, reliable, or constantly productive, with little room for rest or personal needs. Burnout is not a personal failure or lack of resilience. It’s a signal that the system someone is in—school, work, caregiving, or life circumstances—has been asking too much for too long. Recovery from burnout usually involves more than taking a short break. It often means reducing ongoing stressors, restoring boundaries, rebuilding energy slowly, and reconnecting with a sense of meaning and control.

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Codependency/People Pleasing

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Codependency is a pattern of behavior where someone’s sense of self-worth, identity, or emotional well-being becomes overly tied to the needs, feelings, or approval of another person. In codependent relationships, one person often prioritizes others’ needs above their own, sometimes to the point of neglecting their own health, boundaries, or happiness. Key features of codependency include: Excessive people-pleasing: constantly trying to meet others’ expectations to feel valued; Difficulty setting boundaries: feeling guilty or anxious when saying “no”; Over-responsibility: feeling responsible for other people’s emotions, problems, or actions; Fear of abandonment or rejection: often leading to clinging or controlling behaviors; Loss of self: neglecting personal needs, interests, or goals in favor of others. Codependency often develops from childhood experiences (like growing up in a family with addiction, neglect, or high conflict) or from past trauma, but it can appear in romantic, family, or workplace relationships as well. In short, codependency is about losing balance between caring for yourself and caring for others, which can lead to emotional exhaustion, frustration, and unhealthy relationships.

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Treatments

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Person-Centered

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Person-Centered Therapy is a type of therapy that focuses on you as the expert on your own life. The therapist provides a supportive, non-judgmental space where you can explore your feelings, thoughts, and experiences at your own pace.

How it works for clients:

• The therapist listens with empathy, acceptance, and genuine care.

• You are encouraged to express yourself freely without fear of being judged.

• The goal is to help you discover your own answers, strengths, and solutions.

• Over time, this approach helps clients feel more confident, understood, and connected to themselves.

Person-Centered Therapy is about creating a safe space where you can grow, heal, and find your own path.

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EMDR

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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a type of therapy designed to help people process and heal from traumatic memories or distressing experiences. It’s based on the idea that trauma can get “stuck” in the brain, causing intense emotions, anxiety, or flashbacks even long after the event has passed. EMDR is primarily a trauma-focused therapy, but it can also help with depression, anxiety, stress, and grief because these often stem from or are worsened by unresolved traumatic or distressing memories.

How it works for clients:

• The therapist guides the client to focus on a traumatic memory while simultaneously using bilateral stimulation (often side-to-side eye movements, taps, or sounds).

• This dual focus helps the brain reprocess the memory, reducing its emotional intensity and helping the person see it in a less overwhelming way.

• Over time, the memory can feel more like a story from the past rather than a present threat.

• Clients often report feeling lighter, calmer, and more in control of thoughts and emotions related to the trauma.

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A helpful metaphor to understand how EMDR works is to imagine your brain is like a filing cabinet. Normally, memories get filed away so you can think about them without feeling overwhelmed. But trauma can cause a memory to get stuck on your desk, messy and unprocessed, making it feel like it’s happening right now every time you think about it.  EMDR is like shaking the filing cabinet while sorting the papers. The bilateral stimulation helps your brain “refile” the memory properly. After EMDR, the memory is still there, but it’s now stored safely in the cabinet. You can look at it without feeling panicked, frozen, or flooded with emotions.

In short: EMDR helps your brain put traumatic memories in the right place, so they no longer control your emotions or reactions.

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For more information about EMDR - Introduction to EMDR Therapy

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CAMS

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CAMS (Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality) is a therapy approach designed to help clients who are experiencing thoughts of suicide or intense emotional pain. Unlike some therapies that focus only on symptoms, CAMS is collaborative—meaning the client and clinician work together as a team.

How it works for clients:

• The client and therapist use a structured tool called the Suicide Status Form (SSF) to identify what’s causing distress, what thoughts or feelings make suicide seem like an option, and what gives life meaning.

• Together, they create a stabilization plan and action plan, focusing on reducing immediate risk and addressing underlying pain.

• The process is ongoing, with regular check-ins, making the client an active partner in their own care.

• CAMS helps clients feel heard, understood, and supported, while giving them practical steps to manage suicidal thoughts.

In short, CAMS is about understanding the person behind the suicidal thoughts, not just the behavior, and creating a plan that restores hope and safety.

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​Grief Support

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Grief support in therapy is a type of counseling that helps people cope with the emotional, mental, and physical impact of loss. It provides a safe, supportive space to express feelings related to grief—such as sadness, anger, guilt, confusion, or longing—without pressure to “move on” or grieve in a certain way.

Grief support in therapy helps clients:

• Understand their unique grieving process

• Process complicated or overwhelming emotions

• Adjust to life after loss while honoring what was lost

• Rebuild meaning, routines, and connection over time

In short, grief therapy supports people in carrying their loss in a healthier, more integrated way, so grief becomes something they live with rather than something that overwhelms them.

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Parts Work

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Parts Work is a type of therapy that helps clients understand the different “parts” or aspects of themselves. Everyone has multiple parts—different feelings, thoughts, or roles—that sometimes conflict, protect, or influence behavior. Trauma, stress, or strong emotions can make some parts feel dominant, stuck, or misunderstood.  Parts Work is about understanding and integrating all the pieces of yourself, so you feel more whole, calm, and in control.  Parts Work is about understanding and integrating all the pieces of yourself, so you feel more whole, calm, and in control.

How it works for clients:

• The therapist helps the client identify and get to know their parts (for example: the anxious part, the angry part, the protective part, or the inner child).

• Each part is treated as having its own needs, fears, and intentions, rather than being “wrong” or “bad.”

• Clients learn to listen to, negotiate with, and support their parts, which reduces internal conflict and emotional overwhelm.

• Over time, the client develops a stronger sense of self-leadership—the ability to care for all parts while making choices aligned with their goals and values.

A helpful metaphor to understand Parts Work is to imagine your mind is like a team of players, each with its own role. Some are protective, some are worried, some are playful, and some are hurt. Sometimes they argue, get in each other’s way, or try to take over the game.  Parts Work is like being the coach who sits with the team, listens to each player, understands why they act the way they do, and helps them work together. Once each part feels heard and understood, the team can cooperate instead of fighting, and the game of life feels smoother and less chaotic.  Parts Work is about listening to all the “players” inside you and helping them work as a team instead of against each other.

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CBT

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CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) is a type of therapy that helps clients understand how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected. Often, unhelpful or distorted thoughts can create stress, anxiety, or sadness, and influence the way someone acts.

How it works for clients:

• The therapist helps the client identify negative or unhelpful thoughts.

• Together, they challenge and reframe these thoughts into more balanced, realistic ways of thinking.

• Clients also learn practical skills and coping strategies to change behaviors that reinforce stress, anxiety, or depression.

• Over time, these changes help clients feel more in control of their emotions and actions.

CBT is about training your brain to notice unhelpful thoughts, change them, and act in ways that support your well-being.

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DBT

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Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a structured, skills-based therapy designed to help people better manage intense emotions, reduce patterns that feel stuck or unhelpful, and build a life that feels more stable and meaningful. DBT balances two important ideas: accepting yourself as you are and working toward meaningful change.  With DBT, you’ll learn practical tools you can use in everyday life, not just talk about problems. Therapy focuses on understanding emotional patterns, increasing self-awareness, and practicing new ways of responding to stress, conflict, and strong feelings.

DBT teaches four core skill areas:

• Mindfulness – learning to stay present and aware without judgment

• Emotion Regulation – understanding emotions and responding to them more effectively

• Distress Tolerance – coping with difficult moments without making things worse

• Interpersonal Effectiveness – communicating needs, setting boundaries, and maintaining healthier relationships

DBT works best for clients who are willing to practice skills, reflect honestly, and take active steps toward change. It is especially helpful for people who feel emotionally overwhelmed, struggle with relationships, or want concrete strategies to handle life more effectively.

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ACT

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ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) is a type of therapy that helps clients accept difficult thoughts and feelings instead of fighting them, while focusing on taking actions that align with their values and goals.

How it works for clients:

• The therapist helps you notice and accept uncomfortable thoughts and emotions without letting them control your actions.

• You identify your core values—what really matters to you in life.

• Together, you work on small, committed actions that move you toward those values, even when it feels hard.

• Over time, ACT helps clients feel more flexible, present, and able to live a meaningful life despite challenges.

ACT is about accepting what you can’t control and taking meaningful steps toward the life you want.

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​Solution-Focused

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Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT) is a type of therapy that focuses on finding practical solutions and building on your strengths, rather than spending a lot of time analyzing problems or past issues.

How it works for clients:

• The therapist helps you identify what’s working in your life and the times when things feel even a little better.

• Together, you set clear, achievable goals for change.

• You explore small, realistic steps you can take to move toward those goals.

• Over time, this approach helps clients feel more capable, hopeful, and in control of their own life.

Solution-Focused Therapy is about looking forward, using your strengths, and creating practical steps to reach the life you want.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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