I help anxious clients discover a sense of control, serenity, and relief from what they perceive as chaos. Anxiety has been my "friend" (in some ways) throughout my life. It helped me reach my goals because I learned to notice its presence, how it teams with other emotions, how to speak to it, and how to tell it to lower its voice when it is not needed. Aside from my lived experience, I have been a therapist for the past, 6 years with adults of all ages and know that you can control it with tailored strategies I can provide.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session, you can expect me to spend time building a connection with you. My main priority is to help you feel at ease. I recognize everyone is different in how they want to connect. Whether it is your first time or you have had experience in therapy, you can ask me questions. I will ask you questions about your life and what is bringing you to therapy. I tell all my clients that if you are uncomfortable answering a question, you can let me know and I will not push. Towards the end of our session, I will give you an exercise to try before the following appointment.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
No matter how many times a client has told me reaching a goal has been “impossible”, I have believed in their potential and capabilities to improve their quality of life. For the past 6 years, I have had the honor of guiding clients through their experiences with relationship issues, anger-related anxiety, relational anxiety depression, and low self-worth. Witnessing and reflecting on their transformations has been the most rewarding experience.
About Kavita Shanbhag
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Fully bookedMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through a lens of working with the client as a team to address negative thinking patterns that impact emotions and behaviors. By addressing such patterns, clients can resolve challenges that serve as barriers in their daily and future lives. Most of my experience has been in working with clients who experience anxiety due to low self-esteem, a challenging break-up, social anxiety, and difficulty asserting oneself.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
I use tools from this approach to help me measure progress and also identify goals. The questions I use will be more related to how to guide you to a solution that you find meaningful. This includes asking how you have coped in the past and recognizing the strengths you possess that could be instrumental in guiding you to finding relief from your concerns.
Person-centered (Rogerian)
Person-centered is exactly how it sounds in the way I approach my role in therapy. I consider my clients the driver and myself the "guide". It celebrates a collaborative approach rather than a hierarchical approach to therapy so you can feel "at home" in our sessions as a pathway to building a trusted therapeutic relationship. This also means I will guide you to an alternate perspective to build insight into the concern you are experiencing.