Transitions & Life Balance

Online support for adults and couples in New York, Iowa, & all PsyPact states

Leaving the past behind to step into your new future takes courage, trust, and self-compassion. Creating balance & fulfillment is possible!

Starting or finishing college, changing jobs, getting married, opening your relationship to new partnerships, having/adopting a baby, moving to a new place…there are many transitions in life that require new habits, skills, and strategies for coping with the unknown/new as well as shaping your identity to be the next version of yourself. Transitions are often both exciting and anxiety-provoking. Creating, establishing, and maintaining balance and fulfillment in this new life chapter will likely require some intentionality so you know it matches your definition of happiness and a life you love that works for you!

What is online counseling for transitions & life balance?

Online therapy for life transitions and life balance, including college students and happy couples, involves various approaches tailored to the unique needs and challenges individuals or couples may face during significant life changes. Here are some components:

1. Life Transitions Therapy:

- Life transitions such as starting college, changing careers, getting married, becoming a parent, or retiring can be stressful and overwhelming. I strive to provide a supportive environment for exploring feelings, fears, and aspirations during these transitions.

- Navigate uncertainty, develop coping strategies, and identify opportunities for personal growth and adaptation.

- Techniques involving systems/cultural, interpersonal, parts-work, EMDR, somatic and mindfulness practices, as well as narrative therapy may be utilized to help you reframe perspectives and build resilience during transitions.

2. Life Balance Therapy:

- Achieving life balance involves managing various aspects of life, including work, relationships, health, and personal interests.

- Setting priorities, establishing boundaries, and developing time management skills to create a more balanced lifestyle.

- Through exploration of values, goals, and priorities, you can align your actions with what matters most to you, leading to increased fulfillment and well-being.

3. Support for College Students:

- College students often face academic pressures, social challenges, identity exploration, and transitions to independence.

- I strive to offer a safe space for students to discuss academic stress, homesickness, relationships, career concerns, and issues such as anxiety and burnout.

- Develop coping skills, improve study habits, manage time effectively, and build resilience to navigate the demands of college life.

4. Premarital Counseling & Therapy for Happy Couples:

- Even in happy relationships, couples may encounter conflicts, communication breakdowns, and changes in intimacy over time.

- Couples therapy focuses on enhancing communication, strengthening emotional connection, and knowing how to resolve conflicts constructively.

- Through therapy, happy couples can deepen their understanding of each other, nurture mutual respect, and cultivate a supportive partnership that withstands challenges and promotes long-term satisfaction.

In summary, therapy for life transitions, life balance, college students, and happy couples emphasizes understanding, support, skill-building, and personal growth to navigate challenges, foster resilience, and promote overall well-being.

Aligned Goddess Living: Mystical Life Balance

During my own journey with burnout recovery, I felt stuck with what kind of life I wanted to build and what could it look like. I was so used to working 60 hours/per week and putting my career in the center of my life, that I could not even imagine what a slower pace, relationship-centered, honoring-my-body lifestyle could be.

The process of elimination was easier at first. I knew what I no longer wanted in my life: rushing, self-neglect, self-abandonment, constant sacrifice, masking, skipping meals, no time for hobbies or pleasure, and giving my loves ones the scraps of what was left of me/my energy.

Once I had more time and energy to explore interests and hobbies again, I found myself drawn to nature-based spirituality. I read about cyclical living in the book Do Less by Kate Northrup and was hooked. It was permission and an example that there are other ways to live. Gentler ways to define success, productivity, a well-rounded life, and “enough” (doing/being/having).

Upon further contemplation and reflection, I matched up my values and to-do lists with the four seasons of nature and created a visual wheel system/container that my neurodivergent brain loved! It made it easy for me to see if I was “on-track” with honoring my needs, goals, values, and balance of resting/healing/achievement.

The wheel is divided into four categories that are: healthy, wealthy, loved, and fulfilled. I am able to organize all of my needs, tasks, values, and goals into one of those four categories which helps reduce feelings of overwhelm as a high-achieving, sensation-seeking, INFJ, highly-sensitive woman/psychologist/wife/pagan/mom!

Learn more about the Aligned Goddess Living wheel of mystical life balance here. I’ve created a workshop game that uses the wheel and tarot cards to explore burnout recovery and life balance. Ideally a book and/or online course will exist in the near future!

Therapy for navigating transitions can help you…

  • Increase self-compassion, grace, and patience

  • Reduce anxiety and increase trust (in yourself, the process)

  • Honor your unique nervous system needs

  • Define your goals & definitions of “a good life”

  • Increase social support & relational connection

  • Recalibrate your life after a major change

  • Clarify your values so beliefs & actions align

  • Intentionally create a life that feels good, not just one that looks good

Life Balance & Transitions through a trauma-informed, neurodiverse lens

As a neurodiverse psychologist using trauma-informed approaches, there will be an overarching framework that I keep in mind while supporting you with your goals. I am always considering the nervous system, high-sensitivity/neurodiversity, and the larger systemic/cultural/historical aspects of life that impact our lived experiences.

Society's unrealistic expectations and the toxic systems that support the “status quo” often hinder efforts to create life balance. Pressure to excel in every domain can lead to burnout, stress, and neglect of personal well-being. Recognizing and challenging societal norms is crucial for those of us who strive to prioritize our mental, emotional, relational, and physical health.

The lifestyle that works for your needs, values, desires

FAQs

Frequently asked questions about transitions & life balance

  • Starting & finishing college

    Starting or leaving a job

    Moving to a new location

    Getting married

    Welcoming a new family member

    Ending a relationship

    Retirement

  • I help happy couples navigate transitions because if things are going well, let’s keep it that way!

    Bolstering your strengths before times of transition can set your relationship up for smoothly navigating the changes ahead.

  • All of my career prior to opening my private practice was at university counseling centers in Indiana, Florida, & Pennsylvania.

    Helping young adults navigate the ups and downs of college life is an honor. As a first generation college student/graduate myself, I know what obtaining a college degree can mean for changing the quality of your life and the opportunities available.

  • Not at all! I do not push my values or beliefs onto anyone. If the spiritual aspects of the Aligned Goddess Living wheel/framework does not resonate, we never have to use that. Finding what works for YOU is what matters most!

  • We’ll start with a 20-minute phone consultation to see if we are a good fit to work together.

    If we proceed, we will work together to collaboratively create a plan for reaching your goals.