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My approach

My style is one of holding complexity and honouring depth while also keeping a handle on being practical.  My approach is individualized and process-oriented, informed by Emotion-Focused Therapy, and guided by two important principles - laying the foundation for a strong therapeutic relationship and then building on it with therapeutic tasks and interventions that draw from a number of modalities below. 

Counselling

Individualized mental health support for older adolescents and adults. 

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Therapeutic Relationship

Counselling is very much a collaborative process. Research on counselling unequivocally shows that the therapeutic relationship is the biggest contributor to change, even more so than the interventions used. This means that having a sense of comfort, trust, and relational ease with me is the foundation for change and good outcomes. 

Collaborative

An important part of the therapeutic relationship is what is called the working alliance, which is the quality and strength of collaboration between you and myself. This starts with ensuring we are on the same page with your goals for therapy and how we generally may achieve those goals. I think it’s also important to take into consideration your budget, timeline and current capacity to engage in the counselling process. 

Individualized, Boutique-Style

My approach is individualized in that I do not offer pre-packaged or manualized therapy which means when you meet with me I am interested in getting to know the one and only you. Specifically, how you experience yourself and the concerns that bring you to counselling and how I can bring my knowledge and expertise to assist you towards your goals.  

Process-Oriented

I am a process-oriented therapist which means I may not know at the outset the content or direction of the counselling sessions (although I’ll have a general idea), rather, as we engage together in the dance of therapy - sometimes I lead and you follow and sometimes you lead and I follow - we will go where you need to go. Together we trust the process will unfold in the right timing and the right way for you. We will move at your pace and comfort level. You are the expert of you and I will bring my expertise of the change process to help you towards your goals and needs from therapy. As we work together opportunities for different therapeutic tasks will present, this may include in-session tasks or out of session exercises that may help you towards your goals between sessions. 

Emotion-Focused

Although I integrate different modalities of therapy and interventions based on the needs of my clients, my approach is grounded in a theoretical framework known as Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT).  This means that I view emotional experience as a central part of the therapeutic process.  I believe that tuning into and becoming more aware of your emotional experiences, which includes your bodily sensations, thoughts, feelings and stories or narratives, helps connect you with a valuable source of information that is relevant both in therapy and in life. Sometimes what was once adaptive for your life circumstances is no longer adaptive and can leave you feeling stuck or like you're replaying old patterns or stories. It often comes as a familiar feeling or experience but one that is not particularly helpful for your current circumstances. This is where certain therapeutic tasks can help get at the core or root of the problem and help you move through to a more adaptive way of responding to life. 

Experience the benefits of counselling

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More presence

Helping you to be more present to yourself, to others and the world around you. This connects you with an invaluable source of inner wisdom.

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More flexibility

Helping you to be response-able to the circumstances of your life. Psychological and emotional flexibility are hallmarks of resilience.

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More wholeness

Helping you to hold the tensions of what feels complete and not yet complete; your gifts and imperfections; your strengths and growing edges.

Short-Term or 
Depth-Oriented Counselling

Choose and customize along the way to suit your needs. 

Short-Term

In the beginning, our focus is on establishing a sense of safety, comfort and stability. This means we may focus on ensuring you have coping skills and supports in place before delving into areas that may be more distressing emotionally. For some, given timeline, budget and/or capacity, the bulk of our work remains here, focused on stabilizing, restoring day to day functioning and symptom reduction. This is typically the focus of short-term therapy (1-6 sessions).

Depth-Oriented

As therapy progresses you may wish to go deeper in terms of your understanding of yourself, your past and how it affects you in the present, and how these facilitate or hinder you from living a meaningful life. Often the symptoms or concerns that bring you to counselling are rooted in deeper patterns or past hurts that take time to uncover, bring into awareness and eventually transform and heal. This is the work of depth-oriented therapy and for many it is a longer form of therapy that takes place over time with different seasons of life involving more dedicated work.

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