Abby Hartman

The world is constantly shifting and changing around us and it can be challenging to adjust and adapt. In life we experience stress, sadness, anger, grief, or dissatisfaction. Sometimes we have a hard time coping with these issues in a healthy or healing manner. I see my role as a counselor as helping my clients to cope with these life stressors and emotions while learning new ways to self-regulate and maneuver through life. We are human and far from perfect, but as we get to know ourselves better and become more aligned with our values and what makes us unique we can better navigate through the tougher seasons of life.

From a young age I became easily overwhelmed by my environment. Stimuli such as loud noise, people around me, and even my own thoughts seemed to debilitate me. When I was little I didn’t like school, going grocery shopping with my mom, or being in crowds of people where I had to be “polite” and say hi. I didn’t learn until later on in life that these were not signs of being weird, rude, or socially awkward. These are the signs of a highly sensitive person. We HSPs tend to absorb the energy around us; whether it be sounds and sights or other peoples’ emotions, we take it all in. This is such a gift as it makes us empathetic, caring, and open-minded. On the other hand this can also paralyze us, causing us to question our own thoughts and sense of identity. Because of my own life experiences I love working with clients who have similar issues, ranging from anxiety, depression, and trauma, to learning how to live with your highly sensitive self (because it’s not a bad thing, I promise!)