Mood and Anxiety:
Therapy for Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, and Schizoaffective Disorder
You shouldn’t have to downplay what you’re going through to find a therapist who will work with you. Whether you’re living with bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, or schizoaffective disorder, you deserve someone who takes you seriously and gets to know you beyond your diagnosis.
Maybe you’re keeping up at work but have nothing left when you get home. Maybe your thoughts won’t slow down, your mood feels unpredictable, or everyday tasks have become exhausting. You might also be feeling well and want help staying that way. All of those are good reasons to come to therapy.
A Place to Be Honest About How You’re Doing
It can be hard to talk about your symptoms when you’re worried someone will overreact, dismiss you, or assume they know what you need. I welcome conversations about the experiences people often feel pressure to hide, including mood episodes, intrusive thoughts, paranoia, and hearing or seeing things other people don’t.
We’ll talk about how those experiences affect you and what support would actually help. You can expect compassion, direct conversation, and room to tell me when I’ve missed something.
Support That Fits What You’re Living With
Bipolar disorder: We can work on recognizing early signs of depression, hypomania, or mania; understanding your mood patterns; and building routines that support sleep and stability. There’s also room to process the impact of past episodes, repair relationships, and figure out how to explain your needs to the people close to you.
Depression: When getting through the day takes most of your energy, advice to “just exercise” or “think positively” can feel exhausting. We’ll start with what feels hardest and find manageable ways to support daily routines, reconnect with people, and make space for things you care about.
Anxiety: Anxiety can show up as constant worry, irritability, overthinking, physical tension, or avoiding things you want to do. Together, we’ll look at what keeps those patterns going and practice ways to respond so anxiety has less say in your decisions.
Schizoaffective disorder: Living with mood symptoms alongside experiences such as hallucinations or delusions can affect relationships, work, and your sense of trust in yourself. Therapy offers a place to talk about those experiences, build coping skills, recognize changes in symptoms, and work toward a daily life that feels more manageable and connected.
Practical Tools, With Room for Your Feelings
I draw from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help you understand your emotions and have more choices about how you respond.
Depending on your needs, our work may include:
Tracking mood, sleep, energy, and stress to notice patterns and warning signs
Finding ways to get through intense emotions without making things harder for yourself
Practicing how to ask for support, communicate clearly, and set boundaries
Working with painful thoughts without letting them direct every decision
Building routines and taking steps toward what matters to you
Your feelings deserve attention. We can make room for them while also working on responses that protect your health, relationships, and goals.
For bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder, therapy often works alongside medication management. With your permission, I can coordinate with your prescriber or other providers to help keep your care connected.
You don’t need to arrive with a clear plan or the right words. We can start with how things have been lately—and what you’d like help with.