Therapy for Highly Sensitive People (HSP) and Empaths In St. Petersburg, FL

Therapy in St. Petersburg, FL

Wishing you could feel less overwhelmed?

Do you get easily upset by loud noises or overstimulation? Is it hard for you to separate your emotions from those of others? Do you avoid people or situations that might cause you to experience intense emotions?

You have noticed that you deeply feel pain and suffering around you and it may even be hard for you to sit through a violent movie with your partner. Or, on the flip side, a beautiful piece of classical music can bring you to tears quite easily.

Maybe the sensitivity you feel is starting to stress you out. For example, the sound of an ambulance going by may throw you off or bright lights seem so intense that they can cause you to feel overwhelmed and even lead to headaches.

You’ve likely had many days where you isolate yourself from others in order to recover from all of the energy you absorbed over the week. And because you are a highly sensitive person (HSP) or empath, your ability to read others, while helpful for you, can also attract energy vampires easily. Social situations may also lead you to experience high levels of stress and anxiety, as you may fear upsetting or being upset by others.

You might feel misunderstood and have difficulty fitting into any one social group because others just don’t seem to understand your dilemma. You probably wish you could be around others without feeling so overwhelmed and anxious all the time.

Since empaths and HSPs are naturally more attuned to the feelings and experiences of others, they need to learn how to manage this skill so they can live a life free of overwhelm and anxiety. We want you to know that with the help of a trained therapist, you definitely can learn specific tools you need to effectively navigate your life as an HSP or empath.

More People are HSPs and Empaths than you realize

woman lying down covering face with hands, therapy in st petersburg fl, st. petersburg counselor

Did you know that about 20% of people identify as an HSP? Having high levels of empathy is also more common than folks realize too. We are all unique individuals, and there is a natural spectrum of energy absorption. So while some navigate the world experiencing lower levels of emotional and sensory awareness, others experience heightened emotional and sensory awareness.

Many of us were raised in environments in which emotional sensitivity was discouraged. This may have led you to feel as though your emotional experience is unnatural or even wrong. You may have attempted to keep your emotions inside, or try to ignore them altogether, out of fear of judgment. Many people struggle to see emotional sensitivity and high levels of empathy as gifts because of the lack of understanding and stigma surrounding them.

While you may not be able to change how empathic or sensitive you are, you can learn to channel these gifts in a way that serves you. Because this can be very challenging to accomplish on your own, Be Your Best Self & Thrive Counseling is here to guide you through this process.

Learn tools to navigate life as an HSP or empath through holistic therapy

Trying to live in the world as an empath or HSP can be difficult. While plenty of information on empaths and HSPs exists on the internet, it can be difficult to interpret and implement without on your own. The team of clinicians at Be Your Best Self & Thrive Counseling can provide individualized therapy to help you understand your unique gifts and develop a plan of action to improve your ability to navigate through the world in a healthy way.

Our caring and nonjudgmental approach will help you feel more at ease with your emotional sensitivities. We use a holistic lens to help you improve all aspects of your wellbeing. Taking a holistic approach to therapy for an empath means that we see you as a whole person, rather than as a diagnosis or collection of symptoms. We strongly believe that this is the most effective pathway to helping you achieve mind-body-spirit wellness

Our therapists use a variety of techniques to assist you on the quest for wellbeing. We draw from tenets of somatic therapy in order to help you understand the interaction between your emotions and your body’s reaction to them. Because our bodies hold our emotions, recognizing the signs that your body is holding tension or pain can alert you to identifying and preventing emotional reactions. Learning mindfulness techniques, such as deep breathing, can help you to regulate your bodily sensations.

Other people in your life may not understand you as an empath or HSP. You may have a hard time maintaining close relationships because others just don’t seem to understand why you feel things so intensely. If being an empath or HSP is putting strain on your relationships, we may use techniques from interpersonal therapy to help you improve your social connections. This will help you gain insight into how your current relationships contribute to your distress and learn to better manage and resolve conflict with others so that you can feel a sense of peace.

Because empaths and HSPs are very sensitive to the emotions of themselves and others, we also utilize components of emotion-focused therapy in our work together. By better understanding your emotional experience, learning how to differentiate between your emotions and the emotions of someone else, and learning how your emotions shape your identity, decision-making, and relationships, we believe that you will feel empowered to change unhelpful behaviors that you may currently be using to cope with your emotions.

Emotional sensitivity and feeling deeply are gifts that can be used to help others and yourself. We know that you have the power within you to use these gifts and hope to help you find the courage and strength already within you to use them.

You deserve happiness, peace, and wellness. Let the team at Be Your Best Self & Thrive Counseling guide and support you towards achieving mind-body-spirit wholeness and living a life that feels good.

Perhaps you’re considering counseling for empaths, but you have some concerns…

I know what it’s like to feel others’ emotions- I don’t want to put my highly sensitive person therapist through that

Part of our work together will involve helping you understand the differences between yourself and others when it comes to emotional experiences. Our therapists are trained to be able to separate their emotional experience from yours, so rest assured that throughout our work together you will have a safe space to process your emotions that will not impact us negatively.

I’m afraid people will think that I’m crazy if they find out I’m in therapy for empaths.

Lots of people, including celebrities like Halle Berry and Gwyneth Paltrow, go to therapy. Going to therapy most certainly does not mean that you are “crazy”. Plenty of high-functioning, successful people experience struggles with anxiety, depression, life changes, and other issues that they need support navigating. And as an empath/HSP, it is really important to get the support and tools you need to maintain optimal wellness. Which is why we recommend therapy for empaths and HSPs to regain balance in their lives.

I tried therapy once before and it didn’t help. Why bother trying again?

Although it might seem counterintuitive to try something that didn’t work in the past, there are many factors that may have prevented you from growing in therapy in the past that may no longer hold you back. Perhaps your last therapist wasn’t the best fit for you, or perhaps your life circumstances at that point in time prevented you from making the progress you desired. For this reason the team at Be Your Best Self & Thrive Counseling takes a collaborative approach to care, regularly checking in with you to ensure that our work together is helping you to reach your goals. If what we’re doing isn’t working, we will work together as a team to find the best solution that allows you to grow.

Frequently Asked Questions About Therapy for HSP

Learn to Regulate Your Emotions and Find a Sense of Peace

If being an empath or HSP has led you to feel overwhelmed, distraught, or helpless, holistic treatment at Be Your Best Self & Thrive Counseling can reharmonize your mind, body, and spirit. To find out more about how we can help, contact us today to schedule your free, 15-minute consultation and learn more about how we can help.

Please note that during COVID-19, we are offering both in-person and online therapy sessions.