Counseling for Men in California and Virginia | Secure, Online Counseling

increase Communication. Discover proactive ways to manage Depression and anxiety.

If you’ve landed here, welcome!

You might have wondered if therapy for anxiety and relationship issues would be helpful. You might have even thought about trying counseling for a long time, but talked yourself out of it due to fear, shame, or feeling like you don’t “qualify” for therapy.

Maybe a well-meaning friend or significant other has suggested you try counseling.. but you just haven’t yet. Men are not immune from experiencing mental health struggles (despite messaging you may have received).

Rachel Ann Dine, LPC, LPCC offers a down to earth, solution focused therapeutic approach for men ages 25-40 who have struggled with anxiety or depression, want to increase communication, and create healthy romantic relationships.

Finding balance & letting go of who you think you're supposed to be can be hard. Knowing when to ask for help can be harder. You're worthy of both.

Take a minute and assess. If any of these apply, you’re in the right place.

You feel anxious or uncertain of yourself but feel like you don’t have anyone to problem solve or talk to about this.
You’d like to have a romantic relationship but it’s an area that’s been disappointing, so you throw yourself into work & hobbies to avoid it.
Communicating your feelings with significant others has been a struggle and something you want to improve.
You struggle in dating and building relationships despite your best efforts and desire to have a romantic relationship.
You’ve struggled with feeling like you “don’t measure up” at work or in your personal life even though there’s no evidence to support this
You’re in a demanding career. You do well in your career. But there’s a constant feeling that you aren’t doing enough.
Maybe you tried talking to someone in your personal life but were told to “deal with it” or worse, to “man up”
You’ve had a string of [unhealthy] romantic relationships but haven’t really talked about it. But now you’re wondering if those experiences are affecting you.
You’ve experienced depression, maybe fleeting thoughts of suicide, or feeling immense pressure to achieve and this creates hopelessness.
You’re open to learning about yourself and finding ways to feel better!

The Reality of men's mental health

Counseling for Men in Agoura Hills, California | telehealth Statewide in California and Virginia

While in some respects, societal norms have started to shift. Going to therapy for self-improvement and growth is being normalized. Men’s mental health is being talked about.

But on the flip side, certain unhelpful messaging continues to persist. The old adages of what masculinity is “supposed” to look like. Discouragement from being emotional or messaging that expressing emotion (i.e. sadness, hopelessness, anxiety) equates to weakness.

Other common barriers that keep men from seeking therapy often include:

Downplaying symptoms
Practicing escapism to avoid facing difficult emotions
Messages from family to keep quiet and carry on
Using work to avoid dealing with anxiety or depression
Fear of being vulnerable.
Toxic masculinity and prescriptive gender role messaging (can be a result of family messaging, job roles, religious upbringing, previous partners).

No one is meant to fit into some “perfect box.” You can be both strong and be expressive with how you are feeling. It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

We all bring to the table different genetics, life experiences, family upbringing, likes, and dislikes. If you are a man who is noticing that you’ve been trying to fit into a mold that isn’t working, or you struggle with allowing yourself to be vulnerable in your relationships, reach out! Focusing on your mental health and learning to navigate communication and emotions are skills that CAN be learned and increased.

Just because you may be ignoring an emotion doesn’t mean that the emotion doesn’t exist. The danger in avoidance is that eventually, the emotion bubbles to the surface. Why? Because you’re human! And as uncomfortable as vulnerability and acknowledgement of emotions can be, it is paramount to creating a healthy relationship not only with others, but with yourself.