Life Transitions Therapy
Facing A Crossroads And Feeling Uncertain?
Are you going through a challenging life transition that feels overwhelming and scary?
Is the anxiety surrounding the uncertainty you face keeping you on edge?
Would speaking to a life transitions therapist help you gain perspective and relieve you of self-doubt and worry?
When life changes directions, it can be stressful. Even if the change is seemingly positive—such as becoming a new parent, relocating, graduating, reaching retirement, or seeing a child off to college—the disruption of your set routine can throw you off balance. Welcome transitions can also be bittersweet, as allowing something new into your life often requires letting something else go.
An Unwelcomed Change Could Be Pushing You To Your Limits
In other instances, you could be dealing with something unexpected, like losing a job or a breakup. Perhaps you’re in shock, trying to find meaning in what happened, struggling to switch gears and move forward. Even though you know you have to move on, you may feel frozen, overcome by indecision and self-doubt. You might wonder, “Without this thing in my life, who am I?”
Life transitions can take a toll on your physical health and relationships with loved ones. As you navigate a path forward, you may become emotionally exhausted and irritable. Feeling out of sorts, communicating with your partner or family may become difficult whenever you take your frustration out on them. As much as you want their support, you might worry about their opinions and feel judged.
If only you had faith in yourself to trust your own decision-making and the confidence to handle the upheaval you’re facing. Luckily, counseling can provide you with the additional support you need during life transitions. If you are coming to terms with a breakup, job loss, career change, retirement, or becoming a new parent, counseling can help you adjust to the new normal and tap into your innate resiliency.
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Processing Big Life Changes Is Similar To The Stages Of Grief
Although the intrinsic nature of life is transitory and fleeting, we often convince ourselves otherwise. Whenever we get comfortable with a predictable routine and feel settled, we may loathe the idea of rocking the boat. The more complacent we are with the status quo, the more resistant we become to uncertainty and the idea of anything ever changing.
And yet, whether we welcome them or not, we all experience life transitions. Eventually, we have to wrestle with the fears and insecurities change stirs up in us. Like the stages of grief, we might move through periods of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Reckoning with the existential question of who we will be on the other side of this life change can trigger stress reactions that impact our health and well-being.
Life Transitions Can Trigger Previous Trauma
It can be particularly challenging for us to tolerate upheaval if we have struggled with anxiety and depression as a result of trauma. We may unknowingly relate the instability we are experiencing presently with a past event and find it hard to cope. Or, if the life transition is positive—like graduating college, having a baby, or retiring—we might be ashamed to admit the mixed emotions we’re feeling.
As much as you need support in times of flux, it may be hard for your loved ones to provide you with what you need. Life transitions counseling offers beneficial support and guidance for times when you could use the fresh, objective perspective of a therapist.
Life Transitions Counseling Provides The Tools To Navigate Change
Whether it's changing careers, going away to college, moving to a new city, or dealing with the loss of a job, relationship, or loved one, big changes can feel overwhelming to navigate alone. Coming to terms with letting go allows you to shift into whatever transition you may be facing so you can accept both versions of yourself—who you were “before” and who you are “after”—without judgment.
Therapy allows you a safe space to examine the thoughts and feelings related to your life transitions by allowing time for you to work through any blocks that may get in the way of making changes. Therapy offers additional support while you adjust to a new environment, address childhood wounds that may be triggered while embarking on change, and learn practical tools to apply whenever you feel overwhelmed.
What To Expect In Sessions
I like to remind my clients experiencing life transitions that it’s normal to feel scared and doubtful. Through psychoeducation, I’ll explain how the nervous system often responds to uncertainty, making us more prone to anxiety and the stress response. Depending on your needs, we may explore physiological tools that help regulate the nervous system or develop cognitive coping skills to address challenging thoughts. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of prioritizing needs and breaking to-do lists into smaller steps to reduce overwhelm.
Life Transitions Counseling May Reveal Underlying Trauma
With a well-rounded approach to therapy, together, we can identify how your life transition is challenging you and apply the appropriate treatment to address your symptoms. For example, through a journey of self-discovery, we might determine there has been an ongoing pattern of experiencing anxiety or depression whenever you encounter a life change. Through deeper inquiry, we can identify where your underlying trauma originated and utilize Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) to process it.
Additionally, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for emotional regulation can help you recognize the distorted thought patterns associated with the life transitions you’re facing, such as, “If things change, I’ll never be happy again.” And incorporating mindfulness practices into therapy can help promote mental and emotional regulation when you need it most.
We might also integrate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to explore what values and beliefs are important to you and what you desire most. With this clear understanding of who you want to be, we can uncover blockages and avoidance behaviors that keep you from living aligned with your values and identify action steps you can take to live the life you desire.
Times of upheaval can be tough—even positive transitions can cause stress and anxiety. Seeking counseling when experiencing a life transition allows you to take stock of who you are, helping you discard old beliefs and create new ones. With healthy self-reflection and perspective, you can come out the other side feeling confident about the direction your life is going.
But Maybe You’re Not Sure If Life Transitions Counseling Is Right For You…
I doubt the life transitions I’m dealing with warrant counseling.
Many of us live under the misapprehension that our life challenges aren’t significant enough to seek professional help. This is especially true when we think the change we’re experiencing should bring us nothing but happiness, and we’re ashamed to admit our apprehension. But any kind of life transition can cause stress, overwhelm, anxiety, depression, and self-doubt. Counseling can help you tap into your inner resilience so that whatever life transition you may be going through can be navigated more smoothly.
How frequently will sessions be scheduled and how long will therapy take?
I recommend initially starting with weekly sessions with the goal of moving into more of a maintenance mode down the road. Not only can meeting with your therapist more frequently on the front end lead to more positive outcomes sooner, but it can also aid in you reaching your treatment goals more successfully.
What can I expect to get out of life transitions counseling?
Step one will be gaining awareness of how recent life changes affect your daily life. After we normalize these challenges and equip you with tangible tools you can implement outside of session, we can dig deeper into the underlying reasons you may be struggling with this particular life transition more than others. Even if you are feeling complacent and desire a new life transition rather than shying away from change, working with a therapist can help you determine what sort of change aligns most closely with your values.
Change Doesn’t Have To Be So Scary
Having a supportive person in your corner can make all the difference. To find out more about life transitions counseling, you may visit my contact page or call 720-336-8884 to schedule a free 15-minute call.
