Hey there, I'm Saila Akhtar. Do you find yourself overthinking and analyzing every little details of events that has happened to you? Do you feel like you are always on autopilot and unable to feel relax? Are you struggling to connect with people in your life? Do you have a hard time showing grace and self-compassion? I help my client manage their day to day stress, anxiety and depression. Together, we can identify what's not working and come up with a plan that can improve your quality of life. We'll use a overall wellness approach addressing the needs of your mind, body and spirit. My counseling style is interactive. I believe in building good rapport with my clients and providing a safe space to have open dialogues about their concerns. I believe in treating everyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion. My approach combines cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness, attachment theory, psychodynamic, and person-centered. Whether you're dealing with feelings of being overwhelms, relationship concerns, cycles of anxiety and depression, I'm here to support your growth. It takes courage to be aware of your needs and to seek out support to change. If you are ready to take that step I am here to partner with you and work towards the change you want. You deserve a safe space to heal and grow. In our sessions together, I'll meet you with compassion and evidence-based techniques so you can overcome the challenges that are holding you back. I look forward to work with you!
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
After our introductory session, I work collaboratively with my clients to create therapy goals. In each session, I like to check in with my clients and facilitate discussion based on what my client believe their needs are. I believe clients are the expert in their life and only they know best what they can improve the quality of their life. I believe client already has the tool they need within themselves and during each session, I will support them in exploring their intact tools and utilizing them.
What treatment methods and tools do you utilize?
My counseling style is interactive. I like to orient each session based on what my clients current needs are so each session will look very different. I utilize a lot of mindfulness and cognitive behavior tools. I like to work on helping clients change their thought process using worksheet and role modeling in session. I am a huge advocate for journaling, so I tend to utilize a lot of journaling prompts.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I am huge advocate for using mindfulness practice in therapy. I like to guide clients through different mindfulness activity in session. I provide homework to build their practice of each mindfulness coping skills they learn. Some coping skills can be grounding techniques, breathing techniques, journaling, cognitive reframing, and many more. I also like to use a lot of attachment style discussion to help move conversation around interpersonal concerns.