Nicola Heurich, M.A., Doctoral Extern

You already have everything it takes within you!

Welcome, My name is Nicola Heurich, and I provide individual and couples therapy at TBCRP while earning my doctoral degree from the Florida School of Professional Psychology. I practice  under the supervision of Dr. Jeanne Peterson.

Seeking therapy to improve your life quality is brave and courageous! I appreciate you taking the time to learn more about me and the services I can provide for you.

As an integrative therapist, I combine interpersonal therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), emotion-focused therapy, and mindfulness-based techniques to help you achieve your goals. You are not alone! Mental health struggles can make us feel estranged, isolated, and lonely. Every 5th adult in the US struggles with their mental health. Through a collaborative approach, I support you in creating a life that is more congruent with your values and ultimately worth living. By attending to your concerns, providing unconditional empathy for your experiences, and having a non-judgmental attitude, I help to build a trusting relationship between us that allows you to explore unknown routes curiously. When you are feeling lost, I will be a consultant and gently redirect you. When you are feeling overwhelmed, sad, and exhausted, I will be a companion in processing these emotions with you. When you are feeling scared, I will be a safe ally who stands by your side. I strongly believe that there is a meaningful life filled with deep connection and purpose for every one of us.

I am German and have lived on four continents and traveled to over 50 countries. Through these experiences, I have learned that there are many different definitions of happiness. My therapeutic practice involves cultural sensitivity, respect, and evidence-based treatment, and I offer services in English and German. Your needs and longings will guide our synergistic work on your journey to thriving.

I hope this information is helpful to you. If you have any questions about how I might be able to assist you, please contact me at (813) 797-8830. I appreciate your interest in self-development and am happy to provide you with additional information. I am looking forward to accompanying you on your journey to flourishing and fulfillment.

Emotional Difficulties: When you can’t shake that gray cloud floating over you, it affects the way you see yourself and the world and can affect your behavior in adverse ways. You may not want to seek or talk to people or participate in activities you used to enjoy, and your personal and professional lives are suffering. Even though you might feel like this experience will never end, depression is treatable. Through treatment tailored your need, we will strengthen your support system, increase helpful self-talk, implement behavioral strategies to increase your self-effectiveness and confidence, work on positive conflict resolution, and learn healthy coping methods.

Struggles with Anxiety: Continuous doubt or worry can interfere with our ability to do what we most want in life, whether it’s making new friends, dating, becoming more active, or simply living a life without worry. What may present as fatigue, avoidance, trouble sleeping, headaches, stomach issues, irritability, or racing thoughts, is, in fact, your body’s way of protecting you. Collaboratively, non-judgmentally, and at a comfortable pace, we will review, explore, and process the situations or events that trigger your anxiety. Then, we will discover alternative options to better respond to your needs for safety and comfort.

Cultivating Mindfulness: Through my 200h yoga teacher certification, I learned to assist others in cultivating a more peaceful mind by connecting to their feelings and detaching from their thoughts. Being experienced in mediation and breathing techniques, I can offer you a variety of methods to balance outside demands with internal resources and harvest a deep, warm feeling of inner peace.

Self-Actualization: Humans like predictability and familiarity. Even when we have better options, we stay with what we know, as it feels less scary than trying out something new. I want to support you in daring to make the step that you have been dwelling on, risking stepping out of your comfort zone to see what else is out there, and in living your life to the fullest.  We will take steps to bring your ideal life closer to your current life by exploring your values, priorities, fears, motivators, and drives. Based on this new insight, we will optimize different aspects of your life for your deepest fulfillment.

Life transitions and adjustment difficulties: All humans face stressful life events. Sometimes these changes can feel so overwhelming that we attempt to cope by using dysfunctional coping strategies, such as substance use, excessive distraction, lashing out at others, or isolating ourselves. These stressors might be ongoing or single events that exceed our emotional resources. Together, we will process the incident or events that have caused the adjustment difficulties, build up your resilience for future stressors, increase your support system, and implement routines of self-care and mental hygiene so you can convert this experience into an enhancement of your personal growth. 

Relationships: As humans are hard-wired for connection, the quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives. Whether you want to improve your communication patterns, intimacy, feelings of acceptance, rediscover your passion for another, strengthen your bond, or seek mediation for separation, I will help you identify dysfunctional relationship patterns and replace them with respectful, appreciative communication, which provides a safe space for all individuals. In our collaborative work, you will learn to set healthy boundaries and communicate your needs, explore ways to maintain self-respect in relationships, manage unresolved grief from past relationship injuries, and strengthen deep, lasting, and meaningful relationships with beloved people around you.

Couples and families with multicultural backgrounds: Coming from two distinct backgrounds can lead to communication difficulties and adjustment challenges. We might feel confused or irritated when someone we love behaves unfamiliarly. I help multicultural couples and families identify ways of emphasizing commonalities more than differences and assist them in communicating their needs comprehensively for all members involved. I emphasize a culturally sensitive approach in which all individuals, regardless of culture, language, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, and nationality, feel heard and understood.

Immigration and Cross-Cultural Challenges: Coming to a new country holds incredible opportunities for improvement for you and your family members. You packed up your belongings, sold many items which had meaning to you, said goodbye to old friends, other family members, places, and memories. You arrived here and had to start all over. You did not only know anyone, you were also confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, a distinct sense of humor, bureaucracy burdens, and new costumes. There is a good chance that you just wanted to be home again at some point. The hug from your grandma, your favorite food, making jokes with your friends, and just knowing how things work. However, you made this decision for a reason. I will assist you in processing the emotions of loss while celebrating the new beginnings and building a foundation for you to thrive in your new home.