Therapy For Social Struggles Like Shyness And Loneliness

My main specialty as a counsellor is helping clients who have social challenges.

I can treat issues such as:

• Shyness and social anxiety
• Loneliness and trouble making and keeping friends
• Difficulty making conversation and connecting with others, whether that's at the level of lighter chit chat or having more intimate discussions
• Feeling insecure and unconfident, believing you're flawed and don't have much to offer socially
• Having trouble with work relationships, like feeling out of place or intimidated by your co-workers or managers
• Having a harder time in social settings due to your neurodiversity, such as being on the autism spectrum, or having ADHD or a learning disability
• Struggling socially due to having a more unique personality, values, and interests, which don't jell with the more typical type of people around you
• Wanting closer relationships, but also feeling wary and guarded around others, because they've burned you the past
• Inner conflict and ambivalence about working on your social life - wanting a change on one level, but also feeling wary about the idea of having to give up who you are to fit in

I've dealt with these problems in my own life and know firsthand how hard they can be to go through, and what's involved in working past them. Before I started working with clients one-on-one I was writing about this topic for many years. You can read more about that here.

I can help clients improve their present-day social skills and confidence. Depending on what they need, we might focus on hands-on, practical areas such as:

• Troubleshooting ways to meet people and start friendships
• Practicing making more effective conservation
• Working out how to handle confusing social situations, like talking to a friend who's become less available
• Learning relaxation skills to better manage social anxiety
• Coming up with and carrying out a plan to gradually face your social fears

I can also guide clients in doing deeper work on the roots of their fears and insecurities. If we decide that's an appropriate direction we could spend time on things like:

• Exploring and finding the mental patterns and core beliefs that play a role in your difficulties
• Processing and working through the emotionally charged memories of upsetting past events that keep your anxiety and sense of unworthiness going
• Healing the core attachment wounds that hinder you from having comfortable, fulfilling relationships

I often also help clients with issues tied into their social challenges. For example:

• Trouble with dating and relationships
• Managing the unhelpful coping strategies that can develop to deal with feelings of anxiety, loneliness, or not being good enough
• Dealing with family members who don't accept or understand what you're going through

Many of my clients first come to me for help with a social problem. Once we start working together we may pivot to tackling other areas where they'd also like to make some changes.