Ashley Johns Hinder (she/her)

Anger has primary roots tied to Anxiety. When we feel threatened, we can enter one of our survival mechanisms, "fight" mode which produces anger. I start by taking the time to explore the root cause of anger and increase your awareness of your internal response with tangible coping skills. This supports you in reducing shame and guilt surrounding anger as well as increases your ability to regulate and communicate your emotions with confidence.

Anxiety is a normal part of the human experience, if we were not anxious we would cross the street without looking both ways! However, when it gets out of control is when it becomes problematic in our daily living. It is important to explore the nature of your anxiety to identify the best intervention(s) to support you in reducing and resolving your symptoms.

Trauma comes in many forms, some large, some small, some after one experience and some after repeated experiences. I work with you to learn a foundation of coping skills prior to processing your history to help you in feeling confident in your ability to cope with returning to vulnerable memories. A gentle approach reduces the fear in verbalizing your trauma and build trust in others as well as your own voice. While your trauma will remain a part of your story, it does not have to define you.

I utilize somatic experiencing techniques to increase understanding of the mind/body connection which can support you in remaining in your body when feeling flooded with emotions and thoughts. Body work is as important as cognitive work as your body can hold onto experiences of stress long past the time of the stressful event. Being able to reclaim some control over your physical response can help reduce the fear in experiencing stress as well and reduce shame relating to feeling out of control.

Working from a mindful perspective can support increased insight and awareness of your thoughts, emotions and physical experiences. Being aware of how these experiences influence your behavior, relationship attachments and even medical health will help you make intentional choices to care for yourself while remaining in alignment with you value and beliefs.

CBT is based upon the notion that how you think determines how you feel and how you behave. Combining CBT with mindfulness and body awareness (somatic experiencing) can support you in identifying your thought patterns and how they influence your emotions and behaviors to help you shift and change them with intentional responses to reduce emotional reactivity. This intervention can increase your "library" of thoughts with positive, reassuring thoughts to increase overall confidence and wellness.

Codependency develops when we become too closely intertwined with our relationships. Codependency may look like hyper-focus on the lives of others, absorbing the emotions of others, feeling controlled by or attempting to control another person in the relationship or excessive caretaking for an individual who can reasonably care for themselves. I support you in separating yourself from others to help you know and trust your own choices. You can set boundaries and stay connected to those you love.