Therapeutic
Approaches

Therapy is the unique blend of scientific psychological research and the creative implementation of these findings in sessions. Change can be achieved by helping clients establish goals and work toward attaining those goals through reframing their lives and past/current experiences. The relationship between the therapist and the client is what allows room for growth and change. In my practice I place special emphasis on the therapeutic relationship and use this as the foundation of our work together. This professional relationship is one in which both parties have active roles and work in collaboration to highlight issues and work toward achieving desired outcomes. 

People have different motivating factors that compel them to undertake the process of therapy. Some people may be in search of self-insight, coping skills, relief from anxious or depressive symptoms, or help with navigating relationships. Others may be in a more exploratory place and may not have a clear therapeutic goal in mind. Whenever you are in your process is okay and welcome! There are as many goals and motivating factors as there are clients.

My role is to try to get to know you, so that I can understand you better, and help you have more insight into your needs and desires. My therapeutic philosophy embraces a client-centered, trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and feminist approach, which is grounded in a psychodynamic framework. This means that special emphasis is placed on nurturing an interpersonal therapeutic relationship with clients. This orientation also explores clients’ past experiences, focusing on feelings, thoughts and patterns of behaviour, and attempts to make links to current reported issues, with the ultimate goal of helping to decrease and manage distress and affect positive change. The therapeutic relationship serves as the foundation for my work with clients.
I nurture this relationship by creating an inviting atmosphere that provides clients a safe place to navigate through their emotions, thoughts and behaviours, in a judgement-free and compassionate zone of care.
 
In addition, clients often look for practical tools to help them cope with more specific life challenges. My goal, in these situations, is to work with clients to come up with personalized, effective, and creative techniques that clients can utilize to help them through their struggles. 
 
I am an eclectic therapist who borrows from many different evidence-based m modalities of care to work in service of clients and their needs. If you choose to work with me, over time, our approach to therapy may shift to reflect your changing needs and goals. Therapy is a layered and dynamic process that reflects the depth of complexity of our humanness. I am open to, and welcome your feedback, and will always check in with you to ensure that your needs are being met and that you are moving toward your therapeutic goals. 
As a trauma-informed therapist, I also offer a particular type of trauma treatment called: EMDR (eye movement desensitization and re-processing). This is a type of trauma work that was originally designed to treat PTSD in war veterans, but has had positive therapeutic outcomes in a variety of other treatment areas. The goal of EMDR is to help clients reduce the level of distress experienced when recalling (deliberately, or involuntarily) negative past and present events and experiences. EMDR can be another effective tool to help clients process and recover from trauma.
 
I am a certified EMDR clinician. If this type of work is of interest to you, I would be happy to discuss this treatment option with you in greater detail. To learn more about this type of therapy, please visit:
 

If you have any questions, or concerns, or to book an appointment, please do not hesitate to reach out.