ELIZABETH GUINEA, LMHCIndividual Therapy
Before We Change the Behavior, We Find Your Rule
Before we change anything you’re doing, we find the rule that’s been deciding it for you. Everything else follows what we find there.
People bring you their problems because you’re the one who handles things. What nobody sees is the volume in your head, which has no off switch and hasn’t come down in years.
Did I make the right call? Am I doing enough?
Something that used to be manageable stopped being manageable. Or you got the thing you were working toward and still don’t feel settled.
You Never Agreed to the Rules You’re Following
Underneath all of it are values I respect: your relationships, your work, your integrity, your independence.
Those values harden into rules nobody ever ran past you.
I have to be perfect. I can’t disappoint others. My needs don’t matter.
You can trace yours. Most of my clients can tell me where theirs started and then ask me the same question: I understand it, so why am I still doing it?
What Your Mind Thinks Will Happen If You Say No
My work is active and specific. If you can’t say no, we go straight to what your mind believes will happen when you do.
The answers come fast: they’ll be angry, they’ll think I’m selfish, I’ll disappoint them, they won’t need me anymore.
Now we have something to work with, and the evidence-based methods I use each do a specific job here. We examine the thinking, change the behavior, and get clear on what genuinely matters to you.
When something from your past still drives the reaction, I use brief trauma-focused work to bring the intensity down. I also explain what we’re doing and why, so you can catch your own rules without me in the room.
Choices Where Your Reactions Used to Be
What you’re after is to feel different inside the life you’ve already built. The volume comes down far enough that you can hear yourself decide.
Someone is disappointed in you and your boundary holds anyway. You have the difficult conversation while it’s still small.
You make a decision and let it stand. An old fear turns up without choosing your next move.
Eventually you know what got you into trouble, and you know how to get out of trouble. Therapy should make you more independent, and that includes independent of me.
Make One Decision That’s Actually Yours
Fifteen minutes with me, at no cost, covers what’s happening, what you want changed, and whether the way I work fits what you need.
Booking those fifteen minutes is the first instance of the thing this page describes: a decision you make on your own terms and let stand.
Email me at contact@elizabethguineaLMHC.com and we’ll set it up.
You’re Closer to Change Than It Feels
You’ve been intelligent about this for a long time. Understanding was never the missing piece. A plan is.
Let’s build yours. In a free consultation, we’ll talk through what keeps circling back on you and map out a way forward.