New Approaches is growing again! We warmly welcome Laura Watters, LCPC to the practice. She is a kind, compassionate therapist with a breadth of experience and skills, and we are delighted she’s joined our team of rock star therapists. Here are a few words from Laura herself – “Are you struggling with burn-out, life changes, family conflict, or just trying to make sense of things? You aren’t alone! We all experience times when we feel overwhelmed, stressed out, anxious – like our way too busy mind is spinning around and around and around. “We wish our relationships were going better or we felt better about where we are going in life and why.  Sometimes we feel like we’re not enough, that we just don’t measure up no matter how hard we try. “Sound familiar? “Well, I’m here to tell you     . . . read more

We are pleased to announce an exciting line up of workshops this fall! These all have limited seating, so don’t delay getting your tickets early. For all the details for Unwind Your Mind, Boundaries to Prevent Burnout, and Mastering “NO” Guilt-Free check out our workshops page here. First up is Unwind Your Mind: 3 Tricks for Calming the Over-Thinker on October 16th from 5:30-7:00pm. In this 1.5 hour workshop, facilitator Sam Durham, LCSW, will guide the group through a fun and informative evening with new tips and insights on exactly what to do to increase calm, let go of stress, and to be more mindful. You will leave with: Clarity about your current stress level and how it is impacting your life right now. New perspectives on how to deal with your stress in effective ways, using strengths you already possess.     . . . read more

A few years ago, a brand new client told me he thought therapy was probably useless. I’ll be honest, that’s not a great start. It got worse. A few minutes later the client described what was going on in his life and gave me a very clear job: help me figure out how to keep doing the same things but feel differently about them. The client was right: therapy is absolutely useless for making the same choices that clearly don’t work and expecting to feel different. He was unimpressed by my suggestion that pehaps it was the feelings that needed some attention. We didn’t get too far. Unfortunately, this person’s expectations of himself (and therapists) is very common. We have a culture of expecting ourselves to do things that we have feelings about, while ignoring those feelings. I saw a recent     . . . read more

We are excited to offer The Self-Assurance Series.  Get the motivation and toolkit you need for increased energy and confidence!   SAVE BIG with a Series Pass. Here are the details:  The Positive Power of “No” Wednesday, March 22 5:30-8:30pm 200 High Street, Portland, Maine Do you put yourself last, risking your success and depleting your joy? Does guilt prevent you from being honest and saying “no”? Are you ready to stop “working on it” and finally master saying “no” once and for all?  It’s time to learn exactly how to say “no” with confidence and without apology. This workshop is right for you if: You say “yes” to things that bog you down and end up feeling resentful. You’re afraid it’s not nice to say “no”. You need the language to say “no” in a clear, confident way. You would feel more     . . . read more

Though I strive to be sensible and balance reason with carefully considered emotions, I have had to put myself in time-out several times recently. My kids drive me nuts because they are children and we are inside together a lot because it’s winter in Maine, and I want to lose my mind. “Those people” on the internet drive me nuts because, in case you have not observed, things are tense out there. It seems like no matter who you are, every emotional button is being pushed in the current climate. Keeping myself under control is not always easy. Perhaps you can relate. I find it facinating how we work so hard to teach our kids to behave appropriately, meanwhile often misbehaving ourselves. My daughter’s school is amazing. They have beautifully explained expectations for how people treat each other- in the classroom,     . . . read more