Counseling Services

Stress Management

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Stress isn’t the problem. The problem is when stress becomes the baseline, when you can’t remember the last time your nervous system actually settled, when your body is running on cortisol and caffeine and the only way you know to unwind is alcohol, drugs, screens, or collapsing into bed at the end of the day.

If that sounds familiar, you don’t need another list of relaxation tips. You need to understand why your life is structured in a way that produces this much stress, and what’s keeping you from changing it.

What Stress Does to Your Brain and Body

Chronic stress isn’t just uncomfortable. It physically reshapes your brain and body. Elevated cortisol suppresses your immune system, disrupts sleep, impairs memory and decision-making, and keeps your nervous system locked in a state of hypervigilance. Over time, this leads to burnout, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, and physical health issues.

The good news is that these effects are reversible. Your nervous system can learn to downregulate. Your brain can build new patterns. But that won’t happen by simply trying harder to relax.

My Approach

Yes, I’ll teach you breathing exercises and relaxation techniques, and they work. But I’m not going to stop there. Those tools address the symptoms. We also need to look at the patterns and beliefs that keep generating the stress in the first place.

Solution-Focused Therapy is the foundation. We identify what a lower-stress life actually looks like for you (not some idealized version, but something realistic and achievable) and take steps toward it.

CBT helps you identify the thought patterns that amplify stress: catastrophizing, perfectionism, the belief that everything depends on you, the inability to delegate or say no. These patterns often feel like responsible behavior until you examine them.

DBT builds concrete skills in distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and mindfulness. These are practical tools you can use in the moment when stress is spiking, not abstract concepts.

I also bring a neuroscience-informed perspective. Understanding how your stress response works at a biological level, what cortisol is doing to your brain, why your body reacts the way it does, often helps analytical thinkers engage with the process more fully.

Who This Is For

Big cities like Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio all attract ambitious people. Tech, startups, creative industries, performing arts, academia. The city rewards intensity, and the culture can make it easy to normalize stress levels that aren’t actually normal. I work with a lot of Texas professionals who put everyone else first and treat their own well-being as optional.

Smaller, more rural areas are now attracting those same successful people who are looking to de-stress with a simpler lifestyle and nature. Bringing in a professional to help you make the most of your home is a solid start to decreasing the symptoms of stress.

Stress management counseling is for you if:

  • You’re exhausted but can’t slow down
  • Your sleep, health, or relationships are suffering because of stress
  • You’re relying on alcohol, substances, screens, or overwork to manage how you feel
  • You’ve tried meditation apps, self-help books, and productivity hacks and nothing sticks
  • You know something needs to change but you’re not sure where to start

Virtual Stress Management Counseling Across Texas

All sessions are available via secure, HIPAA-compliant video or telephone for anyone in Texas.

Ready to start? Schedule a consultation or call (512) 771-7621.

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Frequently Asked Questions

A: There's overlap, but they address different things. Anxiety counseling focuses on the brain's threat response and the cycle of worry and avoidance. Stress management focuses on the external demands and internal patterns that create chronic overload. Some people benefit from both.
A: Many people see meaningful improvement in 6-10 sessions. Deeper work on the beliefs and identity patterns that drive chronic stress may take longer. I'll check in regularly about your progress.
A: There's significant overlap. Stress is generally a response to external pressures (work, family, finances). Anxiety can persist even when external stressors are removed. If you're not sure which fits, we'll figure it out together in the first session. Many people deal with both.
A: Yes. A significant portion of my practice consists of professionals, executives, and entrepreneurs dealing with work-related stress, leadership pressure, and the challenge of maintaining balance at a high level of responsibility.
A: Absolutely. Virtual sessions are especially effective for stress management because they eliminate the added stress of commuting. You can attend from wherever you are and get back to your day immediately after.
A: No. I'll help you understand what's driving the stress, which parts are changeable and which aren't, and whether the tradeoffs you're making are intentional or on autopilot. Sometimes the answer is a different approach to the same job. Sometimes it's a bigger conversation about what you actually want from your career.
A: Yes. All sessions are available via secure, HIPAA-compliant video or telephone for anyone in Texas.
A: Sessions are $200. I am an out-of-network provider and provide superbills for potential insurance reimbursement.