Valerie Barrett at Crescent Consulting and Counseling, LLC

Are you feeling stressed, anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed by life’s challenges? Whether you’re navigating personal stress, anxiety, a life transition, parenting demands, or feeling unfulfilled at work, you’re not alone. Therapy can offer a safe space to explore what’s working, what’s not, and identify the next steps toward living with greater clarity, purpose, and intention. Together, we’ll explore what matters to you, build on your strengths, and create a path toward greater balance and purpose. Working with Anxiety Living with anxiety can be overwhelming and all-consuming, but it doesn't have to control your life. Anxiety often shows up in predictable patterns, including spirals of rumination and catastrophic thinking. Once you begin to recognize them, they start to lose their grip. In our work together, we’ll explore how anxiety functions in your life, the ways it tries to protect you and when it becomes unhelpful. You will learn how to shift from automatic reactions to more intentional and curious responses. As you gain psychological flexibility, you'll discover how to move toward what matters most to you, even when anxiety is present. My approach helps you change your relationship with anxiety, not eliminate it, but engage with it in a way that allows you to live a meaningful, values-driven life. Special Focus on Parenting Parenting can be deeply rewarding, and it can also be emotionally exhausting. Many people come to therapy feeling overwhelmed by the emotional toll of parenting and the constant demands of family life. You might be a new parent adjusting to the shifting roles and routines, or grieving the loss of what life was like before children. You might be parenting tweens or teens, navigating emotional ups and downs, and feeling reactive, or unsure of how to support them and feel like your reactions don’t align with the kind of parent you want to be. If you are struggling to balance your own needs with those of your family, or feeling lost in the chaos of change, you’re not alone and things can get better. When working with parents, I also bring in a developmental perspective to help you better understand your child’s needs and expand your options for how to respond. This can lead to more intentional, grounded parenting, and greater harmony at home. In our work together, we will untangle the overwhelm and help you reconnect with the kind of parent, and person, you want to be. Navigating Depression Ever feel like you’re moving through life under a heavy fog, where even small tasks feel like you are climbing a mountain? A heavy fog distorting your thoughts, interfering with relationships, and making it hard to see a way forward. Maybe you feel drained, bored, irritable, unhappy, numb and unfulfilled? Have you experienced a loss or significant change in your life? Are you wondering whether things will ever feel lighter or if you’ll ever reconnect with the parts of life that used to bring you joy? Depression can make everything feel overwhelming, but it’s not who you are, it doesn’t define you. It is often a signal that something deeper needs attention, and you don’t have to face it alone. Depression is a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors best addressed through therapy that builds on individual strengths, fosters curiosity, and encourages experimentation with new behaviors and perspectives. My approach is collaborative and compassionate, drawing on evidence-based therapies like CBT and ACT. In our sessions, we will start by understanding your unique story and we’ll explore what’s getting in the way of the life you want back. We will shine a light on your strengths, the relationships that ground you, and the coping strategies you may not even realize you already have and that are helping you hold on. Together, we’ll gently experiment with new ways of thinking, acting, and reconnecting with what truly matters to you, providing you with a sense of agency and control. We will work with your problem solving and decision making skills and emphasize what you can do moving forward. Getting to a place where you can imagine what life would be like without depression. We will rediscover the clarity, energy, and joy that depression has dimmed. You deserve to feel lighter, and I’m here to help you find your way out of the fog, one step at a time. How I work My approach is warm, collaborative, and focused on your strengths. I am a licensed therapist with post-graduate training in evidence-based therapies, including: - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) - Mindfulness-based strategies - Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) When working with parents, I also bring in a developmental perspective to help you better understand your child’s needs and expand your options for how to respond. This can lead to more intentional, grounded parenting, and greater harmony at home. In our work together, you’ll gain insight into your patterns, develop new practical tools, and learn how to respond to life’s challenges with greater confidence and self-compassion. Let's Connect Together, we’ll clarify your goals and develop a personalized path forward. Therapy doesn’t have to be a long-term commitment, sometimes several focused sessions can make a big difference. If you're interested in learning more or would like to set up a free 15 minutes consultation, Email crescentccllc@gmail.com or Call 617-855-9574. You can also click on the Request Appointment button to directly schedule a free consultation within the next couple of weeks. Don’t see a time that works for you? Please email or call, I’m happy to find something that fits your schedule.