Appointments are available Monday to Friday.
PLEASE NOTE: Ruth offers phone and video sessions only.​
Appointments are available Monday to Friday.
PLEASE NOTE: Ruth offers phone and video sessions only.​
Stress Management Therapy - At A Glance
What we treat: Chronic stress, burnout, work stress, caregiving stress, financial pressure
Treatment types: CBT, ACT, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Somatic Therapy
Session format: 50-minute individual sessions, weekly, bi-weekly or as needed
Timeline: Most people notice improvement within 6-8 sessions
Insurance: Covered by most extended health plans
Availability: Monday to Friday, 9am-9pm, Saturday, 9am-12pm
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Phone: 905-321-0550 (call or text)
Location: 4056 Dorchester Rd, Niagara Falls, ON
What Is Stress?
Stress is your body's response to pressure or demands. In small doses, it helps you meet deadlines, handle emergencies, or push through challenges. But when stress becomes constant—when you're always behind, always tired, always managing other people's needs—it stops being helpful and starts weighing you down.
Chronic stress is more common than most people realize: 75% of people report experiencing stress that affects their physical and mental health, 50% report lying awake at night due to stress, and 33% of people feel they're living with extreme stress. Research shows that stress management therapy can reduce symptoms by 40-60% within 8-12 weeks for most people.
The good news is that stress doesn't have to run your life. Learning to recognize your limits, set boundaries, and manage what's actually in your control can change get you back to feeling more energized, relaxed and help you to enjoy life again.
Common Sources Of Stress
Stress often builds so gradually you don't notice it happening. You keep pushing through busy weeks, adjusting to new demands, telling yourself it's temporary. But the pressure doesn't ease up, and eventually you realize you're exhausted, tense, or having trouble sleeping. By the time you recognize something's wrong, your body is already showing the signs. Here are some of the most common sources of stress:
Work Demands and Burnout
Long hours, unrealistic deadlines, lack of control over your workload, workplace dynamics, or job insecurity. Burnout develops when work demands exceed your ability to meet them.
Relationship Conflict
Ongoing tension with a partner, family dysfunction, caring for difficult relationships, or feeling responsible for managing everyone's emotions. The stress compounds when there's no end in sight.
Financial Pressure
Debt, job loss, unexpected expenses, inability to meet basic needs, or uncertainty about financial stability. Financial stress affects every decision and makes it difficult to plan ahead.
Caregiving Responsibilities
Caring for aging parents, a chronically ill spouse, or children with complex needs. The demands are constant, there's often no backup support, and your own needs get pushed aside indefinitely.
Chronic Health Problems
Managing ongoing illness or pain, frequent medical appointments, uncertainty about prognosis, or dealing with symptoms that interfere with daily life.
Major Life Changes
Divorce, moving, job change, serious illness, death of someone close, or becoming a parent. Even positive changes create stress as you adjust to new demands and challenges.
How Do I Know If My Stress Is Serious?
Stress affects both your body and mind. When stress levels stay high for weeks or months, specific symptoms start showing up. Therapy can help if you're experiencing one or more of these regularly:
Trouble sleeping or waking up exhausted despite getting enough hours
Physical symptoms like headaches, digestive problems, or chest tightness
Snapping at people you care about or withdrawing from relationships
Difficulty concentrating or making decisions at work
Using alcohol, food, or other substances to cope
Feeling like you're always behind no matter how hard you work
If stress is affecting your health, relationships, or ability to function at work,
it's not something you need to push through alone.
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The good news is that all of these symptoms are very treatable with therapy.
Often just a few small changes can make a noticeable difference in how you feel.
How Therapy Helps Reduce Stress
Stress management in therapy focuses on two things: reducing your immediate symptoms and identifying the sources of stress, so you understand what's in your control and can take action to change it.
Therapy helps you see your stress clearly instead of just reacting to it. When you're overwhelmed, it's hard to think straight or know where to start. A therapist helps you identify what's actually driving your stress, what's in your control and what isn't, and what options you have that you might not see right now.
You'll learn to recognize the patterns that increase your stress—whether that's how you think about situations, how you respond when pressure builds, or habits that aren't serving you.
Most importantly, therapy gives you practical skills to calm your nervous system, to think more clearly under pressure, and handle difficult situations without becoming overwhelmed.
You leave with tools you can use on your own so that you can get back to living a balanced life,
with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun—
plus the ability to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on.
What You Can Expect From Therapy
​Therapy won't eliminate stress from your life, but it will change how you experience and respond to it.
Most people start noticing small shifts within the first few weeks—sleeping a bit better, feeling less on edge,
or managing a difficult moment more effectively.
Bigger changes take more time, especially if stress has been building for months or years. The goal isn't to make your life stress-free (that's not realistic for anyone), but to help you function well even when things are difficult. You'll learn to recognize the signs of stress, and bounce back quicker when stress hits.
Here's what our clients typically achieve through therapy:
Sleeping better and waking up with more energy
Reduced chronic pain, tension, and headaches
Feeling more content, relaxed and less irritable
Improved digestion and stomach problems
Being more present, engaged, focused and productive
What Sessions Look Like
Your first session focuses on understanding what's creating stress and how it's affecting you. Your therapist will ask about your symptoms, daily demands, support system, and what you've already tried. Together, you'll set clear goals for therapy and choose an approach that fits your situation. This might include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to address thought patterns, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to change your relationship with stress, or somatic approaches to calm your nervous system.
Early sessions work on immediate symptom relief: improving sleep quality, reducing physical tension, and developing quick stress-reduction techniques you can use throughout the day.
As therapy continues, you'll work on bigger patterns. This might include learning to delegate responsibilities, setting boundaries at work or home, addressing relationship dynamics that fuel stress, or challenging beliefs that keep you overcommitted.
Most people notice some improvement within a few weeks. Deeper changes take longer. The goal isn't to eliminate stress completely but to build your capacity to handle demands without breaking down physically or mentally.
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Taking The Next Step
​​It's normal to feel unsure about reaching out for help with stress.
Many people hesitate because they think they should be able to handle it themselves, or they worry that asking for help means they're weak or failing. Others feel guilty taking time for themselves when there's so much to do.
When you contact us, you'll speak with someone from our client care team who will take the time to listen and understand what's been causing you stress. They'll help match you with a therapist who understands stress and can help you get to the root of the issue and get you feeling better again.
Stress doesn't have to take over your life.
Let's work together so you can feel more like yourself again.
How To Prepare For Your First Therapy Session
You don't need to prepare extensively, but here are a few things that help make the most of your first appointment with your therapist:
**Before your first session:**
Make a quick list of your main stressors (work, relationships, health, finances, etc.)
Describe the specific situations that trigger stress for you
Note any physical symptoms you've been experiencing (headaches, sleep problems, digestive issues)
List the coping strategies you've tried to reduce your stress
Think about what you want to be different—what would your life look like - what you be able to do more of, or less of, if stress were more manageable?
**During your first session:**
Your therapist will ask about your stress sources, symptoms, and what you've tried
You'll discuss your goals for therapy and what approach might work best
Often you'll leave with at least one practical strategy you can use immediately
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. When should I see a therapist for stress?
See a therapist if stress is affecting your health, work, or relationships, or if self-help strategies haven't worked after several weeks. You don't need to wait for a crisis.
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Q. What is the difference between stress and anxiety or depression?
Stress usually has a clear cause (work pressure, relationship problems, financial worry). Anxiety can persist even when there's no obvious stressor. Depression involves persistent low mood, loss of interest in activities, and feelings of hopelessness and like anxiety, the source can sometimes be hard to pinpoint. Many people experience all three at once—chronic stress can trigger both anxiety and depression. Therapy addresses all three effectively, often using overlapping approaches.
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Q. What is the difference between stress and burnout?
While stress is feeling overwhelmed by too many demands, Burnout is what happens when chronic stress goes unaddressed. You feel emotionally exhausted, detached from work or relationships, and ineffective even when you're trying. With burnout, you've moved from "too much to do" to "I don't care anymore." Stress responds well to boundary-setting and time management. Burnout requires deeper work around why you've been running on empty and how to rebuild your capacity.
Q. CBT vs ACT for Stress: What's The Difference?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and changing the thought patterns that fuel stress. If you tend to catastrophize, assume the worst, or have unrealistic expectations of yourself, CBT helps you challenge those thoughts and respond more realistically. It's structured, practical, and gives you tools to manage stress in real-time. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses less on changing your thoughts and more on changing your relationship with stress. Instead of trying to eliminate stressful feelings, you learn to accept them while taking action based on your values. ACT is especially helpful if you've been trying to control or avoid stress and it's not working. You and your therapist can decide the approach that fits your situation, or use elements of both.
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Q. Can stress cause physical symptoms?
Yes. Stress commonly causes headaches, digestive problems, muscle tension, chest pain, and sleep problems. If medical tests show nothing wrong but symptoms persist, stress may be the cause.
Q. What type of therapy works best for stress?
Many types of therapy are effective for stressL cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, acceptance and commitment therapy and somatic approaches all have strong research support. Your therapist will recommend what fits your specific situation.
Q. How long does it take to reduce stress with therapy?
Some people notice improvement within 6-8 sessions. Deeper changes take longer, especially if stress has been building for months or years.
Q. Can therapy help if I can't change my stressful situation?
Yes. Even when circumstances can't change, therapy helps you respond differently, set better boundaries, and protect your health despite ongoing demands.
