One aspiration of mine has been to provide high performing people with emotional and psychological support and resources. We live in an era of innovation, adaption, and rapid progress. Most workers, especially across California, are in demanding fields, and even more demanding positions. And, the intersection of wages, expenses, and ever-increasing costs of housing and health care take a major toll on people I work with ( myself included ).
I’m talking about chronic stress. I understand it. I’ve had to manage it myself. In this regard, a bit of my employment history may lend some texture to how I arrived to this work.
During the past 10 years, I have transitioned into integrative psychotherapy from the high-visibility, high-pressure, high-performance culture of fine dining and wine sales in Manhattan, NY ( 1997 – 2010 ). In that pressure cooker, my colleagues and myself hosted many celebrity clients, endured scrutiny from patrons, proprietors, and the press, sometimes having to answer equally for Page Six, The New York Times, and Michelin Star coverage while opening and pouring $300+ bottles of imported sparkling and still wines of exceptional provenance. We all had to know our stuff, and be able to deliver such haughty stuff efficiently, without spilling a drop, in the midst of bustling dining rooms crowded into shoe-horn-sized New York City spaces. This was emotionally, physically, and financially stressful employment. And, just to goose the degree of difficulty up a few notches, we worked when others were playing— nights, weekends, and holidays were our regular shifts.
This type of service is suited to bouts of anxiety, panic, and forced extroversion. One’s privacy or personal autonomy was not the top priority to employers or patrons. Customer satisfaction usually was penultimate, second only to the branding of the establishments and chefs that we represented with our knowledge, our delivery, and our demeanor.
While any industry has it particular challenges— what makes it distinctive, as well as what makes its workers so specialized— there is a specific tone that a high-pressure context asserts on a person’s central nervous system. We’re all affected by these persistent tonal impacts on our core processing. And, we are also impacted by the intersection of this workplace stress with our individual core beliefs: what’s important to us ( values, ethics, aspirations ), what’s expected by us and our employers ( ideals, effort ), what’s not acceptable ( what some deem “failure” ). Then, place those stressors into the slow boil of everyday financial demands and many experience chronic stress, general or specific anxiety, feelings of panic, a sense of doubt or dread, and serious existential questions.
Since 2015, I’ve supported individuals in technology, banking and finance, film and television, medicine, journalism, teaching/higher education, emergency services, and first-response ( EMS, ER, OR, and fire/rescue ).
There are ways to treat and lessen the suffering of any workplace. During the Covid-19 pandemic, psychotherapy had to adapt to rapidly evolving mental health demands. One way we did so was to offer more tele-medicine than ever before. This continues to be an offering of my practice— to meet you where you are, when you’re able to talk.
My approach combines trauma-sensitive care with central nervous system resources, awareness practices, and emotional regulation skills. While this suite of offerings doesn’t work for everyone, I have had a number of folks start with weekly or twice-weekly therapy, to every-other-week sessions during a few years’ time. Each individual’s duration of treatment is unique. I have seen people realize change in how they relate to stress, and to actualize new ways of meeting this ever-present moment we humans call REALITY.
If you’re curious about how to find support in a challenging work environment, I offer free consultations. And I’d be happy to meet you wherever you find yourself via tele-health ( and free HIPPA-compliant video ) anywhere in California.
May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you feel at ease.
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