Beth Perlmutter, DSW, Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Does it feel like life just keeps putting roadblocks in your way and you can't catch a break? Many of us feel sometimes like we aren't in control of our lives when difficult situations keep piling up. Whether you are dealing with work burnout, stress about Covid-19 or other medical problems, or just feeling isolated and alone, I can help you heal from your stressful experiences and get you back in the driver's seat. Let's refocus on the things that help you feel engaged and fulfilled and discover together how you can grow and thrive through whatever life is handing you. It won't always be this hard. We can make change together. I use a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, along with mindfulness and self-compassion techniques to help you learn to take control of your journey and nurture yourself through stressful situations. Let's help you reconnect with what makes you feel alive and passionate about your future.

My practice is named after a story in Buddhism often called The Arrow. The story says that difficult events in our lives can be as painful as being struck by an arrow and that all human beings will feel this pain in our lives from time to time. It can be hard to heal from these wounds, but with enough time and care we will be OK. Sometimes, however, when a person is struck by one of these arrows in their life, they fire back with an arrow of their own. With this second arrow, they often end up shooting themselves again which adds to the suffering that they are already feeling from the first injury. This second arrow symbolizes the negative thoughts they may have about their ability to cope with the original event ("I'll never get over this.") or feelings such as anger and fear which take over and keep us from tending to our wounds and delaying our healing. If we can learn not to shoot the second arrow at all and refocus on what we need to heal, then we can cope and move forward even when life gets hard. The second arrow represents all the things that we focus on in therapy: thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that may have worked in the past but aren't serving us now in a healing process. This can look like self-criticism, perfectionism, procrastination, withdrawal from others, or intense anxiety and depression. Learning to become more aware of negative thinking, providing effective self-care and soothing, and unpacking difficult emotions with a caring person in a therapy session can all help us to put away our second arrows, healing our wounds and living a more engaged life.