Therapy for Life Transitions

Is this how life was supposed to be?

Transitions can be overwhelming or scary. They can shake your foundation.

It can be difficult to know what to do next…

When roles get reversed and you’re taking care of your parents…

Christine isn’t sure when she transitioned from living to (barely) surviving. For a while, the years have been a blur. Days upon days of endless activities.

She’s taking care of two recent college graduate daughters and also has to help out her aging parents, who rely on her as well.

It’s been hard to watch her parents slow down. They need her more and more these days. She usually goes to their house a couple times a week. She does their shopping, because they can’t drive anymore. She visits her parents’ house once a week to help with the more rigorous cleaning, like vacuuming and mopping. Christine worries about the years to come.

Between her daughters, parents, and work, Christine is locked in a never-ending “to-do” list.

She feels like a hamster on a wheel…

When the kids have all grown up and have lives of their own…

Looking around her home, Emily realizes a palpable emptiness. The last of her kids moved out. They have lives and families of their own. She and her husband did a good job – they’re proud of all of their kids.

She should feel good about this.

So, why does she feel so bad? She used to feel needed – productive. Now she feels… purposeless.

Emily wonders, “What am I here for? The kids don’t need me anymore. When I try to offer advice, it seems to just annoy them.”

She and her husband are retired, so shouldn’t they be enjoying the “golden years”?

To Emily, they feel more like the “lost years”…

When you suddenly find yourself out of a job…

Lori’s boss explains to her that she is being laid off as part of a corporate restructuring initiative. Lori feels numb. She barely hears what he is saying. When she leaves his office, she does not meet the eyes of her coworkers. She imagines them filled with pity, and she can’t handle that.

Lori is 50. Who’s going to hire her? The severance will help a little, but what if it’s not enough? The rug’s been pulled out from under her.

She gave the company 20 years of her life, and all she has to show for it is a cardboard box and 6 weeks’ severance.

Now what…?

When you graduate college and the world awaits…

Justine can barely contain her frustration. They said, “Go to college. You need a degree to get a job these days,” and “Pick a major that’s something you like and want to do in your life.”

But, no one talks about AFTER college.

Jobs are harder to get then you thought. You lost contact with friends as you all went your separate ways. You’ve never written a check or paid a bill on your own before. You’re told, “It’s time to be an adult.”

What happens then…?