Do you feel overwhelmed these days? Are you constantly trying to strike a balance between the demands of work and parenting or co-parenting, while also managing your finances, your health, housework, and perhaps other demands? In your family, does the caretaking always fall to you? Are you experiencing depression and anxiety in reaction to either a past trauma and/or burnout from stress? My name is Blair Mead, and I work with women who are experiencing what I like to call "multiple-role fatigue". I have experience in treating depression, anxiety, and trauma-related stress disorders common to women who face an ever-mounting load of responsibilities in a complex society, where being a mother or a caretaker often comes with diverse challenges and responsibilities. I also like to work with clients on their recovery aspect of surviving trauma. With this focus in mind, I incorporate various treatment modalities, where healing and recovery can take place through a combination of compassionate conversation, active listening, homework assignments journaling, mindfulness, self-reflection, cognitive behavior therapy, grief counseling, boundary setting and trauma-informed care. I also offer a faith-based approach, where clients seeking support grounded in Christianity and the Bible can feel free to express themselves. I know all too well the challenges that modern parenting presents; I like to form a supportive alliance with caregivers to help them navigate the demands of parenting a child or children with higher needs. I like to focus on parental needs as much as the children's needs, and I work with clients using evidence-based techniques to empower them to achieve balance and experience lasting well-being. In my experience, effective behavior plans that are tailored to the family's specific needs often yield good results, and as the therapist, I'm here to help parents to make sure they are being consistent by tracking their progress in measurable ways. For parents, I'm a big advocate of self-care, and I help my clients learn to nurture themselves in a sustainable way to avoid burnout. I also believe that parents need to feel seen and heard, and the stress of parenting cannot be overemphasized. Forming a partnership with parents, and giving them a forum in which they feel consistently supported in a compassionate and non-judgmental way, therefore, is one of my top priorities as a therapist.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session together, we’ll start with brief introductions, then dive through not the specific challenges you’re facing. This will help me create a tailored plan for us to work through in follow up sessions.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I've always been good at forming connections with young people. It seems to be my gift as a clinician. I also love counseling from a faith-based perspective, as my Christianity has become a large part of my identity. I find that I am most in my element when I can speak freely about Jesus and what the Good News from the gospel means for the healing of humanity.