Life Transitions Therapy
Are You Struggling To Adjust To All The Changes In Your Life?
Has a major life transition made you feel anxious and uncertain? Do you find yourself missing the life you once had? Have the changes you’ve gone through caused you to question your values and reevaluate your outlook on life?
Maybe you’re grieving the loss of a loved one, dealing with a breakup, or trying to adjust to an unexpected medical diagnosis. You may have little hope that things will work out and struggle with a lack of control over your circumstances.
On the other hand, perhaps your life transition was something that you wanted or chose—a marriage, a newborn child, or a career change. As thrilled as you may have felt initially, the excitement may have worn off sooner than you expected. You might miss the predictability of your old life and feel like you’re not sure who you are anymore.
If you wish you had someone supportive to help you navigate this time of uncertainty, I encourage you to connect with me. As a life transitions therapist, my goal is to help you enter the unknown with a sense of peace and embrace your new identity with confidence and assurance.
Change Is Painful, But It’s Necessary
From the cradle to the grave, life is full of transitions that we are unable to avoid. Change is a necessary part of the human experience. It is often painful and anxiety-provoking, but in the end, it helps us grow, evolve, and become who we are.
In his book Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at any Age, author Bruce Feiler writes that the average person goes through a disruptive event every 12 to 18 months.¹ Some of these events are “lifequakes”—experiences that change the course of our lives forever. Lifequakes happen about 3 to 5 times in a person’s life.²
Even The Best Of Changes Can Be Stressful
Many lifequakes are outside of your control. They can include job loss, life-threatening illness, or the death of a loved one. Other lifequakes, such as marriage, retirement, or changing careers, are intentional. Yet this doesn’t make them easy. Even a positive change can be challenging. For instance, getting married or having a newborn can limit your sense of freedom and independence. And switching your career can cause you to question who you are and what you want out of life.
All of these changes create periods of vulnerability. They can make you more susceptible to depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. Therapy gives you a chance to release your emotional pain and manage your life transitions more effectively.
Life Transitions Therapy Can Help You Find Peace In The Midst Of Uncertainty
Familiarity breeds comfort. This is why it’s so easy to become nostalgic and live in the past. As humans, we are creatures of habit. We are drawn to what’s predictable. The problem is that life is inherently unpredictable—all of us must confront change at some point or other. We cannot wish our way back into the past or return to the way life was.
Life transitions counseling can teach you that there is great wisdom in acceptance. When you accept the things you can’t control, it becomes much easier to change the things you can. Therapy can help you learn to cope, adapt, and face your life transitions with a newfound sense of confidence and serenity.
What To Expect In Sessions
Working together, you and I can explore the situation that’s causing your turmoil and look into why it’s so difficult for you. Is it an inevitable stage of life, like menopause, midlife, or living on your own for the first time? Or is it something that you chose and now you’re having second thoughts about it? Answering these questions can help us understand what kind of interventions you might need going forward.
Although part of life transitions therapy involves mapping out the future, this doesn’t mean ignoring the past. It’s okay to grieve for the life you once had. You can move forward in life and forge a new identity while still holding onto the memories you cherish. Whether you’re mourning a breakup, a job loss, or the passing of a loved one, counseling is a time for processing all of your grief and feeling all of your feelings.
Tailoring Your Therapy Plan
I work with a variety of verbal and non-verbal techniques in counseling. You might benefit from journaling, mindfulness exercises, or connecting with nature. We can also practice art therapy, using painting, photography, or building with clay to release painful emotions and create new meaning in your life. All of these activities can help you ground yourself in the present and make peace with where you are on your journey.
Ultimately, I am confident that this difficult phase of life will one day pass. It’s easy to feel hopeless, but I encourage you to remember all the times when you felt this way and you still persevered. Life transitions therapy can help you tap into that persevering spirit and develop new strategies for weathering whatever changes come your way.
You May Have Some Concerns About Life Transitions Therapy…
I don’t think anything will help me get through this.
If you feel hopeless, then you and I can process that hopelessness together in therapy. In doing so, I am confident that we will come upon solutions that make this time of transition easier for you. Besides, as hopeless as you feel, wouldn’t you rather give yourself a chance to get through your hopelessness? Therapy provides an opportunity to do just that.
My life transition is something I wanted, but now I have mixed feelings about it.
Some life transitions are indeed joyful, but that doesn’t make them a cakewalk. For instance, becoming a new parent means not having as much time to focus on your own needs. Similarly, graduating from college or beginning a new career can feel scary and force you to start from the ground up. As a counselor, my aim is to hold a space for you to share your feelings openly and understand that nothing you feel is “wrong.” It’s okay to feel bittersweet about the changes in your life, even if they’re for the better.
I think my stress will eventually pass. I just need time to adjust.
Your stress may pass as time goes on, but on your own, it’s hard to get to the deeper sources of your stress. Therapy is a chance to explore those deeper sources and understand the unconscious factors impacting your struggles. You do not need to go through this alone. Working with a therapist gives you a chance to share your pain and find ways to successfully release it.
Let Me Help You Walk Into The Unknown With Confidence
Whether you’re going through a divorce, dealing with a chronic illness, living on your own for the first time, or adjusting to any other major transition, counseling can help you adapt to the changes in your life. To get started, you can call 917-819-5014 or use the contact form to book a free, 15-minute phone consultation.
¹ Feiler, Bruce. Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at any Age. Penguin Press, New York. 2020.
² Feiler, Bruce. Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at any Age. Penguin Press, New York. 2020.
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