Introverts, Ambiverts, and HSPs
Introverts
If you’re an introvert…
… you get drained by small talk (painful!) and need regular breaks from the social world to recharge.
You might like reading, deep conversations with a close friend or small group, or just being in the quiet of your own company.
Because you process and take in so much, you probably relate to Lin-Manuel Miranda when he said: “I have a lot of apps open in my brain right now.”
Sometimes you just need a break, but how do you do that in a largely extroverted world?
You may be needlessly suffering…
… from anxiety, depression, and low self-worth, because you’ve been trying to make this happen without honoring your introverted sensibility.
You might even be struggling with the introvert ‘hanger’ that often results from overextending yourself.
Learn how to thrive and find balance again…
As the founder of one of the first college therapy groups dedicated to introverts (Introverts Unite!) and TEDx presenter on the topic, I’ll help you build on your strengths as an introvert as a deliberate, perceptive, and creative person.
At the same time, I’ll also help you to learn graceful tips for negotiating the challenges of a largely extroverted culture.
We’ll talk about how to find introvert recharge times in even the most unlikely places; how to map out the optimal energy balance for work, school, and personal relationships; and ways you can also learn how to share of yourself in interviews or dates in an introvert-friendly way.
Introverts Unite!
There’s so much out there today about how awesome introverts are. I’m excited to help you incorporate that into the work you do in counseling to help your live more creatively.
Email me, and I’ll look forward to beginning the process together.
Ambiverts
You probably don’t even know…
… if you’re an “ambivert” – also known as an “introverted extrovert.” Almost one-half to two-thirds of the population are ambiverts.
Are you a Steve Jobs power-player who loves to schmooze and hobnob with people but then needs desperately to hide away like an Emily Dickinson hermit?
Do you ever get strange looks from your family, friends, or significant other when you retreat?
If you do, you’re not alone!
Finding your place in the world…
Ambiverts have been neglected by psychology and sidelined in the culture for years. Even therapists and career counselors probably failed to make the ambivert connection for you.
Why? Because ambiverts don’t fit neatly into the categories we’ve come to know so well.
You’re probably only now finding a world ready for your creative contributions – a world where you can truly thrive in your work and relationships.
Digital culture is bringing out the best of both worlds of the hybrid that is the ambivert, showcasing the need for deep technical and artistic know-how with honed social skills.
Recent research even shows that ambiverts are the best salespeople – because they not only know how to market, but also how to deeply listen to what the customer really needs and wants.
You can have the best of both worlds. I’ll show you how.
Together, we’ll explore why it’s often been confusing as you’ve shifted between the introverted and extroverted worlds. We’ll map out why it’s been so challenging to manage and map out what appears like shifting moods.
What’s more, friends, family, and significant others often want to typecast ambiverts into being either an extrovert or introvert. This only adds to the stress, anxiety, and depression that ambiverts often feel.
Ambiverts aren’t really thriving until both sides – their social extroverted side and reflective introverted side – are both fueled up. I’ll show you how to make sure these sides are well-aligned and how to map out the ways you can keep both sides going strong.
Get back to being you again
You probably didn’t even realize how much being an ambivert has impacted you and how much it explains your unique combination of needs and talents.
I’m excited to work with you to incorporate that into your work in counseling and get you back to being you again, living at the boundary of the introverted and extroverted worlds.
Highly Sensitive People (HSPs)
“What’s the big deal?”
… or “Why are you making such a mountain out of a molehill?”
These are common complaints for non-HSPs. But if you’ve always felt a sense of being intensely sensitive, then you know how untrue this really is. You’re not making a big deal – you just feel richly and intensely.
Why should you apologize for that?
For the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), the world feels like water.
When a stone is skipped on the surface, they pick up even the faintest ripples and enjoy their subtle beauty.
But these reverberations can also feel quite disruptive, especially when others around them toss too many stones at once or, worse yet, minimize the fact that stones are even being thrown in the first place.
I’m here to help you protect this true gift.
Together, we’ll reclaim your strengths as an HSP.
We’ll learn how your sensitivity helps you perceive patterns and new forms, fuels your profound empathy for others, and enables you to live an enriched life of connection.
At the same time, we’ll make sure that you don’t overextend and forget about the needed empathy and protection for yourself. We’ll work on developing healthy and compassionate boundaries that help you choose how and when to use your gifts as an HSP.
And finally, if you’ve grown up or lived around non-HSPs, we’ll work through the inevitable stress, shame, and anxiety that you’ve often felt in trying to live as if you weren’t a highly sensitive person yourself.
The truth must dazzle gradually or every man be blind…
…said poet Emily Dickinson. We’ll reconnect to the gifts of the poetic sensibility that you possess as an HSP and incorporate it into our work in counseling together.
Call or email me, so we can begin our work together helping you reclaim this gift.