You’re intelligent, hard-working, and creative. Life is good – on the outside. But on the inside, you feel like there’s something wrong with you, like you’re fundamentally flawed.  You can’t quite reach the potential you know you have. Your inner critic is relentless.

Sound familiar?  It’s a common scenario for those of us who have experienced trauma – particularly the kind that happened in childhood that you think you’ve gotten over. It’s also a common scenario for adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD).  There’s a lot of overlap between the two. I specialize in both.

If you want to overcome the challenges that come with living with ADHD or post-traumatic stress, it might be time for a different kind of therapy. I offer a variety of innovative approaches that get to the root of the problem.  Because sometimes, talking about it isn’t enough.  Sometimes, there are just no words.

My name is Beth Main. I’m licensed as a professional clinical counselor in Maine and Pennsylvania. I offer online therapy (a.k.a. virtual counseling or telehealth) to clients anywhere in those states.  You’ll get individualized, effective care without having to leave the comfort of home. Or if you’re in western Maine,  I offer in-person sessions in Phillips. 

Some of the approaches I use include:

• Eye Movement Desensitization and  Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) / Tapping
• Matrix Reimprinting
• Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (using the Natural Lifemanship model)
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Mindfulness and somatic exercises
• For ADHD: Coaching and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

If you have Adult ADHD, you’ll learn - and actually implement - proven skills and strategies for problems like time management, focus, and organization. Check out my other website, adhdsolutions.net to find out more.

If disturbing events from your past are still interfering with your life, we will harness the mind’s ability to heal itself and put those memories to rest. Some people aren’t sure what they experienced qualifies as trauma. They associate PTSD with combat veterans. Yes, war is certainly traumatic. But so is childhood abandonment, neglect, and abuse (physical, emotional, or sexual).  Even medical issues and procedures that occurred in infancy can be traumatic. Trauma can be defined as anything that exceeded your ability to cope. 

Some of the signs of post-traumatic stress include:

• Overreacting to things that would seem minor to anyone else
• Inability to trust
• Avoiding anything that reminds you of the pain
• Difficulty feeling your emotions because you buried them for so long
• Difficulty establishing true connection with people
• Self-medicating with substances or behaviors
• Anxiety and fear
• Depression and hopelessness
• Insomnia or nightmares

The way to address these symptoms is to heal the underlying trauma. The painful event lives on in our thoughts, feelings, and body sensations. Memories that you may have buried need to be processed, not just talked about. Anything else is treating the symptom instead of the cause.

If you're ready to work on your stuff at a deeper level, contact me to schedule your free consultation to see if I'm the right therapist for you.