Are you feeling overwhelmed, isolated, grief or extreme stress due to COVID-19? Are you a healthcare professional experiencing the emotional toll of your lifesaving work? 

Do you present yourself well on the outside, but struggle on the inside with anxiety, depression, and/or low self-esteem? 

Are you often on edge, feel muscle tension, can’t stop your racing thoughts, consumed by worry, have physical stress symptoms, and struggle to find inner peace?

Do you feel exhausted, sad, empty, irritable or angry nearly every day?

Are you missing the joy and interest you used to feel with family, friends, school, work, and/or hobbies?

If you answered “Yes” to any of the questions above, you might be struggling with anxiety or depression.

Struggling with mental health might be completely new and surprising for you and may be in response to a crisis, significant loss, or uncharted territory. Even extremely positive events can cause anxiety when they accompany significant changes (ex. getting married or being a new parent for the first time).

While anxiety and/or depression can stem from situational personal or professional issues or changes, it can also be widespread when we’re facing a pandemic like COVID-19. If you are struggling emotionally, hopefully you realize you are not alone and treatment for anxiety and depression has been researched and has high effectiveness rates.

As I have worked with individuals of all ages with these conditions throughout my career as a therapist, what gives me hope and encouragement is that when clients engage in personal growth work, they gain wisdom, heal and move on!

When individuals are able to fully express their pain and fear in a non-judgmental setting and truly feel heard, understood, and cared for, they can begin to experience some relief.

There’s a powerful saying in the documentary, “Anonymous People” ~

“When you keep a secret in the dark, it grows and grows until you act on it. But when you expose it to the light, it dies.”

Brene Brown, PhD validated this when she shared that her research showed that when EMPATHY (metaphorically) was put into a petri dish, it was the magical ingredient that could kill shame.

Many years ago, when I personally experienced post-partum anxiety and depression and finally had the courage to share some of my fears and pain with other “experienced” moms and all of them said, “Me too”, I was amazed at how quickly the symptoms of these conditions dissipated.

Other treatment components for anxiety and depression are:

• getting unstuck from painful thoughts by developing new perspectives on one’s areas of struggle
• learning empowering new ways to cope and overcome your symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.
• beginning and eventually regularly practicing mind-body-spirit exercises to experience a greater sense of calm, peace, and joy
• expanding your community of support
• in some cases, taking medication is an essential component for your treatment (ex. If you have done a tremendous amount of personal growth work and regularly engaged in self-care or are unable to find the motivation to implement healthy coping skill strategies, medication might be the needed catalyst to helping you feel better and energized enough to begin self-care)

THERE IS HOPE! Treatment for both conditions has a high effectiveness rate.

I provide counseling for anxiety and depression tailored your needs and informed by best practices. If you are searching for a safe, non-judgmental space to speak about your struggles and get to the root of them, you’ve found the right place. If you’re looking for more practical coping tools and personal support and guidance in implementing them, I can help you.

Research shows a higher efficacy when individuals combine individual counseling with other modalities of treatment for anxiety and depression, such as: couples therapy or family therapy (to enlist the support of your family members and to help you reconnect and improve your relationships with them), self-help coping skills (see my blogs), nutrition support, exercise, yoga, relaxation, mindfulness, meditation, neurofeedback, trauma-based treatments (EMDR, somatic experiencing, etc.- when applicable), and medication to decrease symptoms.

Anxiety and depression counseling (individual therapy) can help change the course of your life.

When you process your pain- both the struggle and discover the hidden gifts- you can more easily let the past go (or at least the intense feelings and unhealthy coping skills) and move forward in creating your ideal life. Having a non-judgmental, compassionate, and authentic space to reflect on your successes and the areas in which you desire to grow can help you develop a more accurate view of yourself and your life.

One of my favorite success stories of an individual radically overcoming the “death grip” that anxiety had on her is included in this former client’s blogs (that she generously gave permission in sharing). Her first blog post, “Letting Go” was a transformational story about her trip to France in which she describes how she turned around a “nervous breakdown” into “disowning that sucker [anxiety] and sending that little monster out into the cold, and don’t let him back in!”

A year later, this same client shared a blog entitled, “Italia! A follow up to the Letting Go post” in which she shared her powerful metamorphosis through all of her work on overcoming anxiety that allowed her to fully enjoy this latter vacation with her husband. This individual shared, “Anxiety doesn’t own me anymore. My inner turmoils don’t have a role in my life anymore. This is my life and I am finally starting to live it.”

Create the life you dream of having.

You can heal, find your voice and move forward in the direction you wish to by connecting with your intuition and hearing yourself speak your truth. It helps to have an objective person offering you new perspectives, coping skills, and empowering, strength-based, and honest feedback. I will help you articulate a plan of action for creating the life of your dreams, learn new strategies to accomplish your goals, and compassionately support you on your journey.

You will be empowered with methods that help you connect with your innate ability to heal yourself.

• Strengths Based Approach
• Client Centered Focus
• Attachment Focus
• Family Systems / Family of Origin
• Experiential / Expressive Arts (art, sandtray, role play, etc.)
• Mindfulness, Stress-Reduction Techniques, & Connect with Your Intuition
• Narrative Therapy (Change your story to change your life)

I’m considering anxiety and depression (individual) counseling, but still have questions and concerns…

Will you require that I take medication? 

Not at all. There is no single treatment for anxiety and depression that works for all individuals. Your treatment will be tailored to your unique experience of anxiety and depression, in addition to your goals and interest in different forms of treatment. As a counselor, it is my responsibility to inform my clients about all of the different forms of evidenced-based treatment, which includes medication, but I never require it as this would be outside my scope of expertise since I am not a psychiatrist.

Will you diagnose me? And if so, will this diagnosis be on my medical record? 

Since I am not an in-network insurance provider, I am not required to diagnosis any clients. If you request that I provide you with a receipt that you can send to your insurance company for possible reimbursement for out of network benefits, you would need a mental health or substance use disorder diagnosis in order to qualify for benefits. Per your written request, and given that you meet the criteria for a diagnosis, I can include one in your receipt and that would be included on your medical record.

How much do your sessions cost? Do you accept insurance? 

Please see my “Paperwork and Payment” information.

Next steps…

Are you interested in anxiety and depression counseling, and think we might be a good fit?

Simply contact me for a free 15 minute telephone consultation. You can conveniently schedule your new client consultation on my on-line calendar or call Lana Isaacson, LCSW, CAS, Certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy at 720.939.2189

What clients are saying…

“I started seeing Lana Isaacson on February 5th. By April 7th I was able to tell her “this is my last session. I lived with anxiety for the majority of my life, and in 10 sessions I was able to learn to manage it. TEN SESSIONS!” – CF

“Lana is such a caring soul. She made every part of therapy a place where you could take a deeeep breath and trust that she would handle things considerately. She partnered with me in such a supportive way to help me truly advocate for myself and step into my capabilities during challenge. She’s the kind of person who won’t hesitate to encourage new ways of thinking that can truly transform ones rigid perspectives of life. I was so grateful for my time spent with her and it has helped me in every aspect of my life.” – C

“I sought therapy for family issues, depression, and anxiety. Lana taught me relaxation techniques and different perspectives on my feelings and conflicts. I most appreciated being able to have an open, honest relationship with Lana. This experience has been the most valuable to me compared to other counseling experiences.” – E