Therapy for Caregivers • Bay Area • California • Online
You can attend to the needs of others without completely sacrificing your own.
The people you love and care about depend on you. Without your support, it’s hard to say whether or not they’d be okay. What's more, you know all too well the devastating toll that feeling unloved and uncared for can take, given your past experiences of not receiving the love and care you needed.
From these experiences, you’ve become resolute in refusing to ever let anyone else feel unimportant, just as you once did.
So…you find yourself sacrificing your own needs and desires in order to take care of others. It’s become so second nature that you don’t even realize how much you’re actually doing.
You might not realize it until inevitably, you find yourself feeling more irritable, less patient, less motivated to do anything…for your loved ones and yourself. Every single thing feels forced lately; you have put in so much conscious effort and energy to do everything…And you tell yourself you have to keep this up. To let yourself relax would be to risk letting all your loved ones down.
Your feelings are valid and understandable.
No one—including you, is meant to do everything on their own.
As a person who has sacrificed my needs to be there for others and now, as a mental health therapist for caregivers, I really hear you. I also know there are other options where you can attend to the needs of others and your own and would be honored to support you towards that end.
How Therapy For Caregivers May Help
Through our work together, you may:
Clarify what motivates you to be a caregiver
Clarify what challenges you as a caregiver
Identify and invest in all parts of you that were present before and after becoming a caregiver
Process feelings of grief and loss associated with becoming a caregiver
Regain and sustain energy so that you can not only take care of your loved ones, but also yourself
Develop strategies for addressing burn-out
Address social isolation and build a greater network of support
Learn and re-learn ways to take good care of yourself
Build and sustain greater self-compassion
* Disclaimer: While I’ve given a glimpse into how therapy may help, I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of customizing the work I do with each client based on their unique needs/wants. Before we start any work together, we will discuss what your goals are and how we can work towards them.
Hi, I’m Gina. It’s an honor to meet you.
Gina Li, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)/ Therapist, California
I am a licensed mental health therapist based in the Bay Area, who specializes in helping young adults, Asian Americans, and caregivers throughout California, break the cycles of intergenerational and relational trauma so that they can live truly more fulfilling lives. This can look like being more gentle with ourselves and others, while also setting boundaries as needed. It can also look like gaining greater self-awareness and true confidence. In summary, this looks like learning how to stay grounded in who we genuinely are and who we genuinely want to be.
