Nerds, Geeks, Freaks, Outcasts, Punks, Goths, Emos, and Weirdos Welcome!
If you wear any (or all) of the above monikers as a point of pride rather than any kind of put down then you understand why having a therapist who can relate to and respect what is important to you is key to developing trust. Be it sci-fi, video games, role playing, cosplay, art, music, or whatever your fandom is, Level Up knows it is an important part of who you are and will welcome all of it into how we engage in counseling together. So feel free to wear your Dr. Who costume to counseling, plan on using your D&D character as a metaphor for your feelings or make a Glam Rock playlist of the songs that best capture what you're experiencing to share with your therapist. We get it.
Similarly, at Level Up we strive to be open to the amazing diversity of people. We are body and sex-positive and neurodiverse, LGBTQ+, poly, and atheist/agnostic-friendly. In general, we practice radical acceptance of those who's identity or way of being isn't mainstream compliant.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and other Neurodivergence Spoken Here
You don't 'grow out' of having ADD/ADHD and the impact goes far beyond difficulty sitting still in classes as a kid. Individuals with ADD/ADHD may have challenges in their workplaces, careers, higher education, with their relationships and with self-esteem. For many individuals with ADD/ADHD there is an accompanying issued called Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria that can make fear of rejection very difficult to manage and may limit interactions with others. At Level Up we get that ADD/ADHD, as well as Autism Spectrum Disorder, are part of who you are and not something that you can just magically turn off. We want to help you better understand your amazing, fast-moving mind and the ways that you can be friends with it once you get to know it.
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
“People are not disturbed by things but rather by their view of things.”
Sometimes ways of thinking become stuck in our brains at an early age or as the result of painful or traumatic events. These thought patterns continue to subconsciously influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviors long after the events or circumstances that created them. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy seeks to identify and reshape these thought patterns for those experiencing a wide range symptoms (anxiety, depression, low self-esteem) and free them from unnecessary psychological distress. While techniques may vary, the guiding theory of counseling at Level Up is based on the framework of REBT and focused on assisting clients to question their own thoughts, feelings, and assumptions and to explore new ways of thinking about themselves, others, and the world.
