Barbara Sims-King LPC

Respecting the person who is seeking help is the foundation of building an effective therapeutic relationship. It is important to value what we bring in our life experience, education, and our goals for living the best life possible. Each of us has a unique perspective that has been shaped by our existence. If this perspective is effective, we will feel successful in life but sometimes it is out of touch with the reality of our lives. Being open to changing perspectives and understanding the diversity of other perspectives can help us cope better.

Depression and anxiety hold a common symptom for many people I have worked with. It is a loss of confidence in the ability to trust your own self. Confidence is born of a sense of being able to solve problems that come at us. Often, depression and anxiety rob us of this sense and have us doubt that we are able to address the problems we face in our daily lives. Isolated and no support network are also seen as the states in which depressed and anxious people find themselves. We work together to increase self confidence and problem solving strategies while replacing isolation with a network of positive relationships.

Human beings are endowed with strengths and weaknesses. Identifying and encouraging your strengths is the best way to bring lasting relief to negative symptoms and to assure positive outcomes for you. As your thoughts and behaviors relate to feelings, so does what we bring to the counseling room, relate to the success of therapy.

• Georgia, Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC008402

There are few of us that don't experience depression and/or anxiety in our lives. Over the past 6 years of counseling with clients, we have found that self doubt and negative self images have been frequently the underlying causes of loss of hope, confidence, and disturbing physical symptoms. Working with clients to build their support network, increase their physical activities, and to affirm their own resourcefulness has been successful. Anger issues also frequently accompany depression. Providing Anger Management training over 7 years, has helped individuals and families better relate to one another. Grief and loss are also common experiences in our lives. With more than 10 years of experience in grief/loss counseling, helping clients finding ways to memorialize their grief and process their feelings about loss has proven to be very effective.