FAQ
Starting therapy can feel like a big step, and it’s natural to have questions about what to expect. Here, Dr. Mack offers insight into her therapeutic process, approaches, and areas of focus — helping you understand how sessions are structured and what your journey toward healing might look like. Each answer is meant to provide clarity and reassurance as you consider the next steps in your care.
Understanding Your Experience
Anxiety and depression can feel overwhelming — sometimes like a sense of imminent danger or a threat to your emotional, physical, or spiritual well-being. It might show up as severe sadness, sudden panic, distressing memories or dreams, or even feeling emotionally vulnerable. Sometimes your symptoms are quieter but more persistent — a constant undercurrent of worry, a fear of change, or difficulty making decisions. Anxiety and depression often connects to life events — emotional or physical trauma, changes in family, work, or relationships — and can leave you feeling paralyzed or emotionally exhausted.
Dr. Mack understands that anxiety and depression don’t exist in isolation. They can be part of a larger story that includes your family’s history and trauma that earlier generations may have experienced. This is sometimes called transgenerational trauma — patterns of pain, fear, or shame that are unconsciously passed down through families. Recognizing these deeper patterns helps you not only understand your anxiety, but also begin to release what doesn’t belong to you, creating space for healing and self-compassion.
BEGINNING YOUR THERAPY JOURNEY
The first step in therapy is understanding your story — your current stressors, life events, and the experiences that shaped you. During your intake session, Dr. Mack will explore what brings you to therapy, what symptoms you’re struggling with, and what goals you hope to achieve. You’ll also discuss your family background, relationships, and overall health. Sometimes Dr. Mack recommends Integrative Assessment, which is a more comprehensive look at personality characteristics and recommendations for treatment.
After the first few sessions, Dr. Mack recommends what may be most helpful — whether that’s short-term counseling, psychotherapy, or integrative assessment to clarify diagnoses and guide treatment. Most importantly, the intake sessions are a collaborative process. You’ll have space to ask questions, discuss what feels most important, and begin shaping a plan that reflects your values, goals, and sense of self. Together, you and Dr. Mack will work toward restoring balance, or “swinging the pendulum”, between feeling stuck in your symptoms toward living a fuller and more content life.
TREATMENT APPROACHES AND MODALITIES
Dr. Mack uses several evidence-based and integrative approaches.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – Helps shift unhelpful thought patterns that maintain anxiety or sadness, and replace them with more balanced, compassionate ways of thinking.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – Encourages connecting with personal values and committing to new life choices that bolster better mental health and self-respect.
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) – A powerful mind-body therapy that helps people process traumatic experiences and release the distress that gets stored in the body.
- Family Systems Therapy – Focuses on how family patterns and dynamics affect each individual’s well-being, fostering healthier communication and understanding.
More Details
- EMDR – EMDR is especially effective for treating trauma, post-traumatic stress (PTSD), and anxiety that feels rooted in the body. Many clients find EMDR helps them release long-held emotional pain, improve self-concept, and restore agency in their lives. Dr. Mack helps clients explore how trauma can become “stored” in the body, like a second skin that shapes how we respond to stress. Through EMDR, clients learn to let go of those internalized experiences and develop new, adaptive responses to life’s challenges. Over time, many people experience a renewed sense of calm, hope, and resilience. Visit EMDR International Association
- FAMILY THERAPY – Dr. Mack approaches family therapy through a family systems lens, understanding that families are living systems that grow and change together. When one member of the family grows, heals, or goes through change, the whole family adjusts. Family therapy helps members understand how they influence and are influenced by one another, while learning to respect each person’s individual path. Dr. Mack helps families move beyond rigid “roles” that can feel confining and instead encourages openness, flexibility, and authentic connection. The ultimate goal is to help each family member be their genuine self, while nurturing healthy, supportive relationships where everyone can grow.
- SPIRITUAL ISSUES – Dr. Mack believes that spirituality may be a vital part of healing for some clients. While acceptance based practices like mindfulness are often recommended, she advocates for a more personalized approach. This begins with understanding your unique spiritual background — your early experiences, values, and what gives your life meaning now. Together, you’ll explore ways to integrate spiritual tools that feel authentic to your own beliefs and culture. When applied with care and personal relevance, these practices can become anchors of stability and peace, helping you stay connected to your deeper sense of purpose.
BeginNING Your Journey
If you’re considering therapy or have questions about Dr. Mack’s approach, reach out to schedule an initial consultation. Every conversation begins with care, understanding, and a shared commitment to your well-being.