Jesse Cardin (He/Him)

I have been in continuous recovery from drug and alcohol dependency since 2006 and have been helping others with addiction issues in professional and para-professional roles since 2011. I don't think it's my job to judge you or tell you what to do, but to help you increase your self-awareness so that you can make decisions that get you the life you really want.

Depression is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but when you look beneath that heavy blanket, it can take many shapes: anger and irritability, exhaustion and fatigue, agitation, sadness and hopelessness, burn-out, sleeping too much (or too little), eating too much (or too little), a feeling of disconnection from the world or always feeling overstimulated. The first task is to ask the question: What is it really? Then what is needed starts to emerge.

Anxiety is a terrible ghost to have haunting you. It seems like it's just around every corner, waiting to surprise you at the most inopportune times. And even when there's nothing to be afraid of, the fear of the fear saps the joy out of life. Fortunately, there are a lot of tools available to help. We can work on calming down your nervous system, challenging that worried thinking, and shifting the way you experience the world around you.

Just paying attention is such a simple but powerful act. When we're able to be present and listen--I mean *really* listen--the world opens like a flower. And what about you? Yes, what if you were to direct that same attention to your own thoughts and feelings, your behaviors and relationships and decisions and everything else? Things start to become clearer, confusion slowly recedes, and suddenly you know who you are and what you want. But it does take practice!

Sometimes just talking about a problem doesn't quite get the job done. By engaging in "safe experiments" in session, Gestalt therapy helps us to release ourselves from the bondage of old emotional wounds.

Ever been of two minds? (Or more?) "One part of me wants to take a risk while the another wants to play it safe." "One part of me thinks I should go to spin class while another part wants to curl up with Ben & Jerry." What if we considered those parts to be real? And what if we took each of those parts seriously and listened to what they had to say? It's amazing what compassion and good communication can do for a family...what about the family that lives inside you?

Life is full of transitions, but that doesn't mean they're easy. Sometimes it seems like life moves forward before we're ready, leaving us feeling left behind, stuck, afraid or depressed, not knowing how to move forward. Let's find out where you're stuck and get you back in the flow of life.

We like to think we know everything, but doing this work it's become apparent there's a lot more going on than we can see. Beneath our everyday lives, there's a vibrant world of hidden thoughts, feelings, images and sensations, all acting on us in ways we don't realize. So when we look at personal transformation, it's not just about solving problems and becoming a better person, but learning about and respecting the great forces that are always working below our awareness.

We all carry around the scars of bumps and bruises from the past. It's part of what shapes who we are. But there are some wounds that never seem to heal. Their roots reach deep into the heart and cripple our ability to engage with life. Whether it's a single, terrifying event that's thrown you off balance or a long history of mistreatment that reaches into childhood, we can start loosening the knots now.