Emotional Wellness in Women’s Health
focusing on perimenopause through postmenopause and chronic conditions or pain
Providing compassionate counseling in Texas with a focus on supporting emotional well-being for a variety of women’s health concerns.
Are you …
-at the beginning of perimenopause or somewhere along the journey?
-currently in menopause or recently postmenopausal?
-struggling with a chronic condition such as endometriosis, adenomyosis or other illness or pain?
If you identify with any of the above categories and are experiencing significant stress, increased anxiety, or simply feeling overwhelmed with distressing symptoms or life circumstances, I’m so glad you found me.
Welcome! I am Heather Velasquez, MA, LPC-S, Licensed Professional Counselor in the Austin, Texas area with over 15 years of experience. I have a passion for helping women find balance, relief, and a sense of well-being in their lives - especially when experiencing painful symptoms or difficult changes.
I specialize in working with
Anxiety
Depression
Grief and loss
Chronic illness or pain
Difficult life changes or transitions
Perfectionism and fear of failure
Building self-confidence, strengthening boundaries and living with self-compassion
Why women’s health?
In my work I have noticed common challenges in women experiencing gynecological issues such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, or PCOS and women in the perimenopause-postmenopause journey.
Our medical providers assess and treat the physical symptoms, but sometimes it feels like we have little support for the significant mental health challenges that these conditions and transitions can present.
What are some common issues?
Whether you are in your 20s, 50s or somewhere in between, a hugely important part of women’s health is tending to our psychological well-being. Those needs and challenges may look a little different as we age and go through various stages of life, but there are often commonalities in the pain.
Coping with pain or discomfort
-Perimenopausal physical symptoms such as joint pain, fatigue, irregular/painful periods, hot flashes, night sweats, etc.
-Pain, bloating, irregular periods, etc from chronic conditions such as endometriosis and adenoymosis
-Frustration with inattentive providers or with those who doubted your symptoms or pain
-Struggling with waning stamina or decreased physical abilities
Managing anxiety & stress
-Dealing with the stress of juggling multiple roles and responsibilities, perhaps with decreased energy levels
-Caring for children and aging parents simultaneously
-Noticing a reduced ability to handle stress, volatile moods or experiencing increased anxiety or depression
-Career changes or employment challenges
Navigating changing relationships
-Managing relationships with aging parents and/or juggling caretaking duties
-Children leaving for college or adjusting to relationships with adult age children
-Divorce or partner loss
-Struggles with intimacy for physical or psychological reasons
Experiencing grief or loss
-Grieving with aging and/or death of parents, other loved ones
-Losses of perimenopause & menopause - fertility, youth, losing parts of your identity,
-Loss of previous level of functioning if dealing with debilitating fatigue, pain or limitations
-Loss of dreams of how you pictured your life would be
I can help.
Most of us today are juggling so many roles and responsibilities that prioritizing our own care sometimes falls to the bottom of the list. And yet, when dealing with illness, pain or challenging symptoms, it’s precisely this care of our bodies, minds & moods that is most needed to help manage pain and increase wellness. The catch-22 can be so frustrating.
Please know that I understand and would love to help. Counseling is a place where you can bring every bit of stress and frustration and pain and start detangling, understanding, prioritizing and planning a better way forward. You don't have to do it alone.
Online counseling
My practice is 100% online which makes it a convenient option for those who prefer the flexibility of meeting from their preferred location and eliminating travel to an office. I work with adult clients anywhere in the state of Texas.
