Women's Health Concerns
(throughout lifespan)
Counselling for women's health and transitions in South Surrey and BC
Helping you to navigate changes on the inside and outside
FIND COMFORT IN YOUR SKIN
SELF-LOVE & ACCEPTANCE
"Communities and countries and ultimately the world are only as the strong as the health of their women."
- Michelle Obama -
Women walk through a number of incredible and significant transformations throughout the lifespan - both on the inside and outside! When it comes to women's health, there is no "one size fits all" journey. While our experiences may overlap in so many ways, the path that each of our bodies, hearts and minds take is incredibly unique to each one of us (despite what societal messages may tell us about how things "should" go/look/feel).
You can offer yourself the freedom to navigate your own path -
free of comparison, and full of compassion and possibility.
POTENTIAL CHALLENGES WITHIN A
WOMAN'S HEALTH JOURNEY
Chances are you were exposed to many blatant and subtle external messages throughout your life about women's bodies (young, midlife and older) and ideas about what it means to be a woman. Chances are these messages have also impacted your thoughts about what it means to be YOU.
In therapy, you have the opportunity to talk openly about your concerns and what it is like to be a woman in YOUR body. Below are some common areas of impact:
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Hormone changes: Stress related to hormone fluctuations that may impact mood, fertility, cognition, sleep, energy, sexual desire or exacerbate other health or relationship concerns.
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Physical body changes: Concerns related to body changes or fluctuations throughout the life span that may impact one's body image and beliefs about self.
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Aging: Difficulty adjusting to life changes that may accompany aging, including peri-menopause, menopause, physical limitations, shifts in sense of identity, societal messages around aging.
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Health diagnosis: challenges "coming to terms with" medical conditions, impact of required surgeries (eg. hysterectomy or other), or life with an acute or ongoing health concern.
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Pressure and comparison: The intersection of our physical, social, mental and spiritual selves as it relates to messages we take in from the outside world and those around us - sometimes reinforcing a sense of "not meeting up."
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Relational: A women's health conversation is not complete without a conversation about relational health - how we are experiencing friendships, romantic relationships, social groups and how these may be impacting our sense of inclusion or belonging, as well as overall health.
"Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself"
- Coco Chanel -
"A woman is like a tea bag - you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water"
- Eleanor Roosevelt -
How Therapy Can Help
Here are just a few of the ways therapy might help you navigate women's health concerns:
01
Support through the ups and downs
With our minds and bodies being so interconnected, sometimes navigating body or health concerns can set us on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. It can feel uncomfortable for many to talk about health concerns they would prefer to keep private. However, privacy and isolation do not have to go hand-in-hand. Therapy can provide a place to speak openly about your health or body concerns so you can get the emotional support your need.
02
Unpack and transform shame
Societal, cultural and familial narratives around body, health and womanhood can be quite pervasive and strong. We may have grown up to internalize certain beliefs or stories without even being aware of them and their impact. Often when people's experiences don't follow the dominant narrative, it is experienced as different or "bad" in some way, bringing a sense of shame. Therapy can help you to identify narratives that may not be serving you and develop ones that are shame-busting rather than shame-perpetuating.
03
Help identify your needs and ways to meet them
Sometimes we just don't know where to start dealing with an issue and end up feeling overwhelmed. When coping with health or medical issues, there can be a lot of needs that pop at once. We may need support to understand or get more information, practical help to ease daily challenges, second opinions, someone to call on a hard day, help to navigate complex systems, or skills to self-advocate in overwhelmed medical care practices.
Therapy can help you identify your needs and break down the situation into doable, actional steps.
05
Find supportive others
Sometimes we just want to be around people who "get it" and to know we are not the only one. Therapy can help to provide ideas about how to connect with supportive others in similar situations, where to look for resources, or the confidence reach out to find community.
04
Develop healthy coping and boundaries
Learning about what helps us feel good and effectively cope with difficult situations, along with setting up healthy boundaries (within ourselves and with others), are some of the most important and valuable life-long skills. Therapy can help you honor and trade in "survival skills" you've picked up along the way to cope (i.e. people-pleasing, self-blame) and transform them into healthy mechanisms that are respectful to both you AND others. Similarly, therapy can help you set internal and interpersonal boundaries that allow you to do the same.
06
Deepen self-compassion and self-love
Many people shy away from the idea of self-love and self-compassion, having come to see these as "buzz words." Unfortunately, many of the methods they have seen offered by popular culture to achieve this (i.e. reciting positive affirmations in a mirror) simply don't fit for them or come off as "hoaky." This does not mean self-love is unattainable for you. Therapy can help you discover a much more personal and deep sense of understanding or appreciation of yourself, allowing for these pieces to grow organically, on their own.
