Are you feeling overwhelmed by negative feelings? Are these feelings compounded by the negative feelings you have about your initial emotion, as in meta-emotions. Meta-emotions are way that they feel about the feelings you experience. The wave exercise, used in teen therapy, and individual therapy, and couples therapy is designed to help you use imagery to manage your meta-emotions in a new, less overwhelming way.
Picture yourself at the beach, standing waist deep in the ocean. What do you think to do first when a wave starts heading your way? What other options are there for dealing with it?
- Do you stand strong, firmly planting your feet as deep into the wet sand as possible so you will not be moved by the wave?
- Would you dive into the ocean going under the wave, immersing yourself into the salt water?
- Do you allow your feet to lift up as the wave moves you backwards, floating along?
- Have you run towards the sand to avoid getting any more wet?
- Are you able to jump up and over it?
The responses that people can have to a wave are similar to the different ways to deal with emotions. Apply this idea to your emotional experience and think about how you feel differently physically when thinking about them as a wave.
- Has this always been your approach to dealing with emotions?
- What do you perceive in other people's responses to your way on managing the wave?
- How do other people respond to their emotions?
- Have you ever asked for a trusted person's support to manage the wave differently?
- Who would you bring with you to the ocean?
- What would their initial response to the wave be?
When people struggle feel negative about their feelings, as in meta-emotions, their emotional experience can seem like the big, wide ocean. Try to isolate each feeling out and deal with one at a time. Own the feeling and honor it for the simplicity. Picture yourself back in the ocean with that feeling as a single wave at a time. Try taking the exercise beyond helping yourself and observe other people's reactions to emotions for a growing awareness of the many options in managing your emotions. Emotions can be very complex. They can contradict each other. Or compound each one making them even more distressing causing you to drown in emotions. If you still seem to struggle overwhelmed by negative feelings, therapy could be helpful for you to navigate the waves differently in your future.
You can self schedule an in-person or virtual therapy session at the Center for Growth by calling (215) 922- LOVE (5683) x 100.
Our Guarantee: If after your first session you are not sold that you are working with the right therapist, do not hesitate to call our intake line at 215 922 5683 x 100 or Alex at (267) 324-9564 and ask to be rescheduled with another therapist. The choice of how you want to proceed is yours. Our only goal is to support you in becoming the best you possible.
For your convenience, we have brick and mortar offices and work with clients virtually in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Physical Therapy Office Locations:
Ocean City Therapy Office 360 West Ave, Floor 1, Ocean City, NJ 08226
Mechanicsville Therapy Office 9044 Mann Drive, Mechanicsville Virginia, 23116
Society Hill Therapy Office 233 S. 6th Street, C-33, Philadelphia PA 19106
Art Museum / Fairmount Therapy Office 2401 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 1a2, Philadelphia PA 19130
Providence Therapy Office 173 Waterman St. Providence, RI 02906
Fayetteville Therapy Office 101 Devant Street #606, Fayetteville GA 30214
Santa Fe Therapy Office, 2204 B Brothers Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87505
Telemedicine Therapy Locations: We have therapists who are licensed to work in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Virginia and Pennsylvania
Therapy Services Offered in Fayetteville, Ocean City, Mechanicsville, Philadelphia, Providence, Santa Fe:
Individual Counseling and therapy
Couples Counseling and marriage counseling
Teen Therapy and Adolescent Therapy and tweens and child counseling
Family Therapy and multi-generational counseling
Art Therapy and Counseling no art skills needed
ADHD Therapy and ADD, Dyslexia, Autism, Tourettes counseling
Anxiety, Panic, OCD Therapy and worry and fear support
Breaking the cycle of Codependency and being your own person
Overcoming Chronic Illness and Chronic Pain .
Depression Therapy and sadness, gloom, and upset support
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) Therapy is a particular style of therapy designed for people with problems affecting their nervous system, how the brain and body send and receive signals.
Grief Therapy and loss, End of A Relationship, rejections, pregnancy and loss and therapy
Mindfulness Based Therapy and spirituality based therapy
Narcissistic Abuse Recovery child of, parent of, spouse of, sibling of a narcissist.
Sex Therapy and sexual function & dysfunction, sex addiction, sexual orientation and gender identity support
Trauma Therapy both emotional and sexual abuse, complex trauma, PTSD counseling
Divorce support
Affairs, Infidelity, Unfaithful, Cheating counseling
Parenting therapy
Personality disorder treatments Narcissist, Borderline, Histrionic
Setting Boundaries and identifying ones own Core Beliefs
Just name some of the Mental Health issues that we work with. Our goal is to help you Change and Achieve Your Dreams
