Therapy for Women
For many women, life has a way of tugging you in countless directions at once.
Maybe you’re carrying the weight of constant stress, trying to hold everything together and be everything for everyone. With so many roles to fill—mom, partner, caretaker, professional—it’s easy for your own dreams and identity to slip into the background.
Even when you know your needs matter, putting yourself first can feel nearly impossible.
As women, we’re often expected to stay strong, stay composed, and keep showing up—no matter how much pressure we’re under. Whether that pressure comes from the world or from our own inner critic, it can slowly build into self-doubt, worry, and exhaustion. Over time, burnout makes it harder to be present in our relationships, including the one we have with ourselves. And losing that connection can leave us feeling even farther from the happiness and fulfillment we want.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by everything you’re carrying, you’re not alone.
Many women move through life with the sense that we have to constantly prove ourselves. We push harder at work to be taken seriously, and at home we try to live up to an impossible standard of being the “perfect” partner, mother, or daughter. And when important milestones—like career growth, finding a partner, or starting a family—feel out of reach, it can feel like time is slipping away.
All of this can leave us believing we need to stay productive every second, rarely slowing down to rest or listen to what our minds and bodies are trying to tell us.At Mental Wellness Montclair, we specialize in therapy for women’s issues. Whether you’re grappling with work-life balance, experiencing low self-esteem or poor body image, or navigating fertility challenges, our therapists are here to validate and support women through the counseling process.
Many Of Us Feel Pressured To Strive Toward Impossible Goals
At some point or another, most women feel the need to achieve perfection—and why wouldn’t we? Society places unrealistic and often contrasting expectations on us, causing profound feelings of inadequacy.
In the Barbie movie, Gloria says it best: “It is literally impossible to be a woman […] You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It’s too hard! It’s too contradictory and nobody ever gives you a medal or says thank you!”
This monologue describes both societal expectations as well as the pressure we as women put on ourselves to always be striving for something greater, no matter how tired and burnt out we feel. However, despite feeling like we’re running on empty, we have a hard time asking for help, or we don’t know where to find it in the first place.
You have probably heard the expression that you need to put your own oxygen mask on first before you can assist others, and our therapists understand that this sentiment applies to your mental health. In therapy for women, you can learn to identify unhealthy patterns and let go of what no longer serves you. As you practice relaxing and tuning into your needs, you are likely to see your symptoms dissipate.
Common Concerns We Hear From Women Considering Therapy
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I feel guilty prioritizing my needs over my other responsibilities (career, relationship, children, etc.).
We believe you are important and deserve support. So many women struggle through life, placing everyone else’s needs before their own, preventing them from seeking meaningful help. The fact of the matter is, we can’t give from an empty cup. Therapy teaches us how to thrive, not just survive.
Our therapists believe that if you can find the time to nourish yourself, not only will you be able to give more to others—you will experience so much more joy and satisfaction in your life
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I don’t have enough time for therapy.
Counseling sessions are only 45 minutes weekly. Those 45 minutes can make a world of difference in your daily life. Consider how much time is spent stressing and scrolling each week. Imagine committing 45 minutes of that time to self-care and self-improvement. Imagine the transformation that could take place if you invested that time in yourself!
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I’m worried that going to therapy will just make me feel worse.
Avoidance is a defense mechanism that a lot of women use as a justification for not going to counseling. While this mechanism can be effective on the surface for simply getting through the day, the anxiety, stress, and trauma still remain within. Therapy can meaningfully relieve symptoms from the inside out, reducing daily fears and stressors. Not to mention, each client is in charge of many aspects of therapy, including the speed at which they work through difficult emotions.
In essence, therapy is designed to help, not hurt. We are confident that you will see progress and experience a newfound sense of joy and empowerment through counseling.
Mental Wellness Montclair Specializes In Therapy For Women
Therapy offers women of all backgrounds and experiences a chance to feel and heal. In being given permission and validation to explore emotions, stress, and unresolved trauma, women can achieve empowerment and new self-understanding through counseling.
What to expect
Our therapists will work with you to identify solutions for current challenges, bringing awareness to the beliefs and behaviors that no longer serve you. Using a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and a psychodynamic approach, we help women address surface-level symptoms while also facilitating a trusting therapeutic relationship that allows women to go deeper. The more we can work to uncover core issues and unresolved traumas, the more we will be able to customize treatment.
Throughout the counseling process, you may learn techniques for mindfulness, self-care, boundary-setting, and other strategies that tend to help women who struggle with overwhelm and anxiety. The goal of therapy is to help you release pent-up stress and worry so that you feel increasingly relaxed and capable of meeting life’s demands in a manageable way.
Our counseling practice is owned and operated by women who deeply believe in the power of transformation—if we didn’t believe that change was possible, we would not be therapists. Effort is required, but we have witnessed so many women release old patterns and embrace new ones in therapy. Working together, we can develop lasting ways to ease the stress, anxiety, and emotional burden on your life.
You Deserve Support
For more information about how our therapists can help or the women’s issues we treat, contact us below or call 973-210-7310.