Whole Person Counseling and Therapy

 

A Comprehensive Portland Stress Management Program

 

An Epidemic of Stress

Stress sometimes is defined as change to which we must adjust. With each passing decade it seems that the rate of change accelerates. No wonder then that health, emotional, and social problems related to stress management are growing in the population at an alarming rate.

Studies suggest that as juch as 75 percent of doctor visits are primarily stress-related. In fact, stress poses a more serious mortality risk factor than tobacco. Did you know that 8 out of 10 of the most frequently prescribed medications in the United States treat stress-related problems like depression, anxiety, insomnia, hearburn, ulcers, and high-blood pressure? In short, there's an epidemic of stress-related problems.

Some of us are stressed by our environment. We are stressed by the weather, pollen, noise, traffic, and pollution.

Others of us are stressed by social concerns like deadlines, financial problems, job interviews, presentations, disagreements, loss of loved ones, and demands for time and attention from colleagues and loved ones.

Still others of us are stressed by physiological problems such as illness, aging, injuries, lack of exercise, inadequate sleep, and poor nutrition.

And others are stressed by their emotions, their thoughts which keep them hyperalert, never-resting.

What is a Comprehensive Stress Management / Stress Relief Program?

I am a counselor in private practice in Portland, Oregon. When I work with clients to reduce stress, I follow a stress management protocol described in The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook by Davis, Eshelman, & Mckay (2000). A successful stress reduction and relaxation training program must be comprehensive, and so I apply counseling and hypnotherapy to teach my clients to develop these stess managment skills:

Body Awareness - Learn how to recognize your body's signals that you are tense and stressed. If you don't know you're stressed, you can't reduce stress.

Breathing - Learn how to breathe to control your body's stress response and induce relaxation. Other than medication, deep breathing is the only known way to voluntarily induce the parasympathetic nervous system to relax and calm you.

Progressive Relaxation - Learn also how to deepen your ability to relax, because relaxation is an essential skill for stress management. . (Enhanced with hypnosis)

Meditation - Learn how to relax through meditation. Meditation is a well-researched method to reduce stress.

Visualization - Learn how to relax using pleasant visualizations - such as resting on a beautiful Hawaiian beach. Visualizations can foster calm, ease, and reduce stress. (Enhanced with hypnosis)

Self-Hypnosis - Learn how to use self-hypnosis not only to promote relaxation, but also to control habits of thought and feeling that result in stress. Self-hypnosis is an important stress management tool that can be used anywhere.

Control Thought / Worry - Our thoughts and worries often plague us, and keep us awake at night. Effective stress management teaches you how to manage your thinking and feeling so that you don't get stressed . (Enhanced with hypnosis)

Coping Skills - Learn how reduce stress by your coping and responding to stressful events in a relaxed and constructive manner.

Goal Setting & Time Management - Our lifestyles are packed with to dos and overwhelmed with busy-ness. Learn how to reduce stress by better managing your life, your goals, and your time so that you achieve what you must in an unhurried manner.

Assertiveness Training - Stress management is helped by your learning how to say no to unreasonable demands and how to say yes on behalf of your own needs.

Job Stress Management - Learn on the job skills that help you negotiate the daily stresses of the workplace.

Nutrition - Learn the essentials of nutritional well-being; a healthy body begets a better ability to cope with stress. Nutritional changes can sometimes be the easiest and quickest ways to reduce stress.

Exercise - Stress management benefits from your exercising regularly so that your body may be its best, supporting you when you are stressed.

How My Portland, Oregon Counseling and Hypnosis Can Help Stress Relief

Of the above 13 stress anagement skills that can help you lead a healthy, de-stressed, relaxed lifestyle, hypnosis can explicitly teach you eight of those skills. With hypnosis, you can learn these important stress management skills: body awareness, breathing, progressive relaxation, meditation, visualization, self-hypnosis, learning to control thinking and worry, and coping skills.

In fact, hypnosis is such a relaxing experience that many times, new clients, who have experienced hypnosis for the very first time, emerge from trance with comments like, "This is the most relaxed I have ever been in my entire life." That's not hype. I've heard that and similar comments quite a number of times. And so, to reduce stress some clients will schedule a once-a-month "relaxer" hypnosis session just to restore and refresh themselves. This isn't necessary though, for I give my clients recordings of our relaxation work on CD, so that they can take home the work to relax deeply whenever they wish.

I might also add that in my other work as a counselor (which you can review by selecting the Home Page link below), I do teach assertiveness training. I also teach meditation classes. My experience as a counselor brings a depth to my hypnotherapy work that few other hypnotherapists possess. My educational background includes a batchelor and masters degree in psychology, and I have been trained additionally in a variety of counseling modalities. These skills bring an added depth to my work with stress management clients.

Why choose my program? Feel Welcome to Compare...

I have made every effort to create for the most effective stress reduction / stress relilef program. I provide you here a link (little blue button above) to the Oregon Hypnotherapy Association for you to compare programs. I believe you will agree there isn't a superior program offered in the Oregon/Southwest Washington area.

When comparing, consider also that my hypnotherapy practice is distinguished from the majority of my fellow hypnotists in several important respects: 1) my expertise in hypnosis has been recogized by NGH as qualifying me to teach and train hypnotists for certification; 2) unlike most other hypnotists, I have an extensive educational background which includes not only a bachelor degree and a masters degree in psychology, but also trainings in additional counseling modalities including training in Neuro-Linguistic Programming by the founder of NLP.

Consider a complimentary consultation

Counseling is a transformative relationship shared by two persons. So, it is important that you take the time to check out counselor with whom you might work. Is the chemistry right for you? Does the therapist's background and abilities meet your needs? Would a referral be appropriate? Because I believe that it is important that you explore such questions at no cost to you before beginning work, I offer prospective clients the opportunity to meet with me for a free 50-minute consultation.

How do you arrange a complimentary consultation or a hypnotherapy session?

The easiest way to arrange a consultation or an appointment is to use the "Online Appointment Booking" link at the top of the page. There you can book a consultation (or any appointment) at a day and time of your convenience. Of course this can be done by phone (503.226.2771) or email, but my busy practice may result in my not replying to you in a timely manner.

My counseling and hypnotherapy office is located in Portland, Oregon. Directions to my Portland office and maps may be found using the "Directions to My Office" link in the "About Michael" menu selection above.

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