Feel GOOD.
Be ENOUGH.
Gain tools to quiet your inner critic, shift old patterns, and recover joy, connection, and self-compassion.
Individual therapy in Colorado for those who struggle with anxiety, stress, people pleasing, and perfectionism.
People-pleasing and striving for perfection increases anxiety and stress, and diminishes well-being and self-esteem over time.
Working with a therapist to change these patterns can lead to:
A decrease in anxiety thought loops
Improved mood
Better overall health – more restful sleep, less tension in your body
Knowing and asking for what YOU want and need in work and relationships
Less resentment and irritability
Feeling more connected to yourself, others, and the world around you
Contentment and ease in your day-to-day life
Focus Areas
Stress and anxiety are extremely common in our society, but you can find relief.
Stress + Anxiety
Perfectionism
Learn more about the toll perfectionism can take and how therapy can help.
Trauma
EMDR therapy to get to the root of current issues or recover from a recent traumatic event.
Attachment
Style
The way we relate to others in close relationships follow patterns we can harness.
A personality system which can be a tool for personal and spiritual growth.
Enneagram
How I Can Help
I know you’d like to feel more joy and ease in your mind, body, and life - without compromising on doing a “good job” and showing up reliably in your relationships. Therapy can help.
The problem is that perfectionism and people pleasing, which often lead to success and harmony in relationships in the short term, have a “dark” side which leaves you feeling stressed, burnt out, irritable, resentful, and even disconnected to yourself and others over time.
I believe using research-backed tools studied by neuroscientists, including both body (bottom-up) and mind (top-down) techniques, bring relief and rewire our brains to thrive in a stressful, ever-changing world.
I understand what it’s like to feel at the mercy of my own inner critic and caught in a loop of anxious thoughts and endless cycles of doing, fixing, and problem solving. That’s why, after my own positive experience with therapy, I became passionate about training extensively in mindfulness-based psychotherapies, body-based therapies, EMDR, and attachment theory.
When we work together, we’ll co-create a holistic and integrative plan to address your particular flavor of anxiety and stress. This often includes a combination of 1.) addressing the past and current context which led to a need to please, be liked, or be perfect, 2.) creating personalized coping strategies to put to use immediately, and 3.) experimenting with new ways of being, both in the therapy room and in your life. All three steps begin and then continually reinforce the process of re-wiring your brain for more connection, compassion, and ease.
To start the process of creating a life that is dictated by you, not an inner critic or societal expectations that don’t work for you, I encourage you to set up a free, 15-minute consultation by following the link below.
Heather Christensen, LPC
I know what it feels like to be exhausted by the impossible task of striving for perfection. I experienced a nagging “not enough” voice which could be loud at times, but mostly just ran the show quietly in the background.
Once I became aware of the mental and physical toll of trying to people please, keep everyone around me happy, AND achieve outward success in school and work, I sought therapy myself to get to the root of what left me perpetually stressed and dissatisfied.
What I learned in that process led me to become a therapist myself, and to never stop learning about how we all can reclaim the innate capability to balance kindness with boundaries, and a “job well done” with rest and ease.
"Heather has been a monumental force in my life over the past three years or so that we have been working together. She has helped guide me as I processed a multitude of challenges in my life and has been one of the main reasons I am who I am today. Heather is one of the most wonderful humans I've ever encountered and I am eternally grateful for the impact they have made on my life as well as others in her community as well and I will cherish our connection for the rest of my life."
"Heather has helped me dive into my own mind in a way that is gentle but strong. I came to therapy only knowing that I needed therapy but not knowing where to start or where I was going. With Heather's guidance these last (almost) four years I have grown in ways that have impacted every aspect of my life and made me a stronger, kinder, and an overall better human."
"I loved working with Heather. She was careful to learn about and respect my boundaries, while at the same time doing an excellent job of reflecting back to me what she heard me saying, which was key in helping me pinpoint how I was feeling and what next steps to take in my journey/life. She also was generous in sharing her true self. For me to really succeed in counseling, I need a true relationship with my counselor. Not a personal, outside-the-office relationship, but a living, growing, therapy partnership involving an exchange of honesty and trust. Heather gave that to me. I would recommend her without hesitation."
Testimonials
If you think I might be a good fit for the support you need, please click on the button below to schedule a free 15-minute consultation. I’ll get back to you within 24-hours to schedule a phone call at a time that works well for you.