Elizabeth Saviteer, MS, LMHC, CN
Issues I Treat
In your 20s, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by emotions and expectations you never really learned how to manage. If you’ve been thinking, “Why is this so hard for me?” or “Everyone else seems to be doing fine,” you’re not alone. Many young adults feel lost, anxious, or ashamed of the struggles they’re facing behind the scenes. Therapy helps you understand what’s really going on and gives you practical tools to feel better and move forward.
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If you relate to any of the struggles below, you’re in the right place — and things can get better.
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A constant sense of dread or overwhelm that leads to procrastination or paralysis
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Swinging between impulsive choices and complete avoidance (with drinking, dating & sex, food & exercise, school, or work)
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Low self-esteem, feeling like an imposter, or worrying there’s something “wrong” with you
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Feeling like you have to earn your worth or lovability
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Loneliness, social anxiety, or pulling away from people even when you don’t want to
My Approach: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life
Psychology and spirituality agree: Your thoughts create your emotions, actions and relationships.
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Epictetus the philosopher wrote, “It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.
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The Bible says in Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (NLT)
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The Buddha is believed to have said, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world”
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) arose out of this simple truth and now has helped millions of people recover from depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorders and relationship problems. The modern CBT approach was pioneered by Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck among others and David Burns is furthering the approach with T.E.A.M. CBT. It’s one of the best researched and effective forms of psychotherapy that exists, and it all hinges on the powerful truth that we feel the way we think.
Let’s do an experiment. What are you feeling when you read the above?
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If you are feeling hopeful, it’s likely because you are thinking something along the lines of, “that makes sense, I think this could help me.”
If you are feeling skeptical, it may be because you are thinking, “that sounds too simplistic. It’s too good to be true.”
If you are feeling annoyed or angry, it may be because you are thinking, “that can’t be true, my life sucks, that’s why I feel bad.”
What were you thinking when you read the first 2 paragraphs?​
Is there a connection between that thought and what you were feeling?
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Negative, or distorted, thinking is what causes all our emotional suffering (which is distinct from grief). When we learn to identify negative thoughts, and find the right techniques to crush them, we can feel better very quickly.
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CBT also addresses taking action and changing habits. Through experimental and exposure techniques we acquire even more powerful evidence that our negative thoughts are false and replace them with positive thoughts based on experience. This results in even deeper belief change over time.
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If you are starting to get the picture and this making sense to you, CBT will be a powerful and effective approach for you. I can’t wait to assist you with the tools and techniques to help you change your thinking!
If this really turns you off from CBT, or you just don’t think this can help you, that’s okay. I’ll be sad to miss the opportunity to work with you, but a different approach may be best for you.
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