INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING
THE INTENTION: I provide professional counseling with individuals grounded in science to enhance people and relationships using warm and directive feedback to further your personal wellness and success! When we can achieve a sense of contentedness in our minds, action often falls into place. I often incorporate a sense of humor as I get to know you and I aim to highlight your values and strengths to address your concerns and goals in your life. The road to contentment often requires a combination of ACCEPTANCE and COMMITMENT TO CHANGE.
I aim to help you identify the things in your life over which you have no control that require ACCEPTANCE ranging from past events, losses, and sources of pain such as parents who weren’t able to meet your unique emotional needs, to receiving a new medical diagnosis, or accepting the realities of our world over which your control is limited including societal shifts, climate, and the political landscape. I also help people gain clarity on the things over which there is room for control for which COMMITMENT will be important such as and ultimately lead to you feeling less resentful, more relaxed, and happier. This can look like committing to expanding your social network, trying a new hobby, or making small diet or exercise changes. Perhaps you want to try moderating how much you drink or improve spending habits and other things you go to when struggling with emotions or feeling “blah.” Or maybe you’re sick and tired of feeling “never good enough” in your friendships and relationships and want to understand better where this comes from and how to move through this more effectively. I can help with these!
You are the expert of you; what works for you and doesn’t, what motivates you, whether you’re more of a feeling or analytical type, and what has worked for you in the past. I, on the other hand, am an expert on the change process, the brain and nervous system, mental health conditions and trauma, and how these intersect with our emotions which impact our sense of motivation or lack thereof. The combination of our different areas of expertise is the ingredient that creates connection and change!
I have learned in my career that change, growth, healing, and connecting deeper with others happens in as many ways as there are people, but what all my clients have in common who are a good fit is that they are willing to try several small habit changes and different ways of responding to their thoughts and emotions over a period of time. This process is far from perfect and does NOT mean feeling motivated every week…that’s not how life works! Like anything, mastery over one’s mind, body, and spirit or emotional world comes with practice.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN THERAPY WITH KELLEE: Facing feelings. Also laughing! Everyone has different needs and preferences. For this reason, I draw from a combination of cognitive-behavioral, talk-therapy, and mindfulness (i.e. guiding breathing and body awareness) techniques, all used to ultimately help you know yourself even better. I will invite you to do small assignments between your weekly sessions to augment and enhance your experience based on your specific longings and goals. This can look like starting to use a Mindfulness app on your phone, providing you with certain journal prompts to help you better understand your values and a gateway to move through feelings. Some weeks it might look like committing to working out with a friend or trying a new communication technique with a loved one, ultimately these assignments come from your desires or pain and I am happy to provide suggestions. You then report back and we go from there!
MY CLIENTS-EXPERIENCES I COMMONLY HELP EXPLORE AND TREAT: My clients are often hard-working professionals or students in tech, healthcare, and other demanding industries who often struggle with chronic stress, anxiety, ADHD, insecurity masked by perfectionism, or Imposter Syndrome. They are “tired of feeling sick and tired”, more irritable and angry than they want to be, and are feeling lonely and longing for deeper connections with themselves and others whether single or in a relationship. Does this sound like you and do you want things to be different? Read on.
THE PLAN: I’m all about helping high-achievers gain clarity on problematic beliefs and behaviors that were likely learned as a way to cope in childhood that continue to play out, whether conscious or not, and cause you pain as an adult leading to that exhausting lifestyle and feeling of “never enough.” My aim is to help you identify the root of how “I can never accomplish enough” and “I can never relax” operate in your life and what purpose they serve. Every behavior, as ineffective as it may seem on the surface, serves a purpose. For every painful habit there is understanding to be had. Once we know what purpose ineffective patterns serve and the hidden ways they are positively reinforced, we can have CHOICE on how to RESPOND. Part of my role is to help you extend appreciation and compassion toward that part of you that helped you achieve all that you have as well as to “give that part a break” that leads to bad habits or depression and anxiety.
IT’S OKAY TO BE SKEPTICAL : I know what you’re thinking. Sure, working less, relaxing more, and being kinder to myself sound great. But Kellee, if I “let go” (whatever the hell that means) of the part of me that pushes me to achieve and succeed professionally, spend less time working, and more time meditating and doing things I enjoy, bad things will inevitably occur. I won’t perform as well at work, it’ll impede me from continuing to ascend in my career, I won’t make as much money, and on top of that, something will have to give that will negatively impact my family financially or otherwise. Well, I’m hear to tell you that as COUNTER-INTUITIVE AS IT MAY SOUND, I can practically guarantee you that by working less and relaxing more, not only will you feel more relaxed and better connected to those who mean the most, you will be even MORE efficient having taken some time to unwind!
I’M READY TO TRY! f you feel ready enough to start your journey toward ACCEPTING THE PAST AND WHAT YOU CAN’T CHANGE, COMMITTING TO CHANGING WHAT YOU CAN, relaxing more and stressing less to feel more connected to others, I would love to connect! You may reach me at 720-263-2673 for your FREE 20 MINUTE CONSULTATION. Or you can email me through my contact page to schedule.
Diversity Welcomed and Celebrated: My clients often also explore the impacts of negative messages related to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, changes in socio-economic status throughout their life, and other aspects of identity including what it means to be a “Woke White Person” and how to leverage your privileges toward improving our connection-deprived society. My goal is to create a safe space to discuss how you are uniquely impacted by these things, and even more importantly to empower my clients to trust themselves, own their power, and lean into the strengths and uniqueness offered by each aspect of identity without apologies.
"The greatest souls are awakened out of suffering; the most impressive personalities endure many scars." Khalil Gibran
