Individual.
Individual Counselling allows clients to explore their feelings, behaviours, emotions, and beliefs in a safe, caring, and confidential setting. When a bond is formed between the client and counsellor, the trust and rapport developed creates an environment that promotes self-exploration and personal growth. By talking through challenging issues, client and counsellor can explore significant past events, and identify areas of the client's life that might be improved. Seeking help is a positive step towards finding solutions and strategies to cope with a variety of challenges, including:
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Worry and Anxiety
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Trauma
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Depression
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Anger Management
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Grief and Loss
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Work or School Stress
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Self-Esteem Issues
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Challenging family dynamics or relationships
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Leaving or healing from narcissistic abuse/antagonistic relationships
In my work with adults, I use an eclectic combination of treatments, such as IFS-informed, EMDR, Solution-Focused, Narrative, Peaceful Parenting, and attachment-based and trauma informed support.
Parenting.
Peaceful Parenting is an approach to parenting that focuses on fostering a positive and respectful relationship between parents and children while prioritizing open communication, empathy, and nonviolent conflict resolution. his ultimately develops an emotional connection with your child that will create real and lasting change.
Peaceful Parenting is an essential component if your child is engaging in their own therapy. However, Peaceful Parenting also aligns beautifully in individual counselling when clients are working to heal their childhood trauma while simultaneously raising humans.
Children.
Play Therapy is for children what individual counselling is to adults. When adults seek out counselling to make positive emotional and behavioural changes, they often seek traditional "talk therapy". Similarly, children experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties can benefit from counselling; however, even the most talkative child often has difficulties expressing their innermost thoughts and feelings through words. Instead, they feel most comfortable expressing them though their native language, play. In fact, a lot of behavioural concerns are a result of a child’s inability to express their feelings. In working with a counsellor, children can learn coping strategies, gain an awareness and understanding of their feelings, find solutions to specific problems, increase their self-awareness and self-esteem, and reduce feelings of distress.
In my work with children, I provide a calm space to work through social, emotional and behavioural challenges using play, art and sand tray. Through the support of play, kids can also participate in EMDR and IFS.
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Please note, depending on the age of your child and the reason for referral, counselling may begin with parent-only sessions before meeting with your child.
EMDR.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) works on the belief that past emotionally-charged experiences are overly influencing your present emotions, sensations, and thoughts about yourself. As an example: “Do you ever feel worthless although you know you are a worthwhile person?” EMDR processing helps you break through the emotional blocks that are keeping you from living an adaptive, emotionally healthy life. EMDR uses rapid sets of eye movements (or tapping) to help you update disturbing experiences, much like what occurs when we sleep. During sleep, we alternate between regular sleep and REM (rapid eye movement). This sleep pattern helps you process things that are troubling you. EMDR replicates this sleep pattern by alternating between sets of eye movements and brief reports about what you are noticing. This alternating process helps you update your memories to a healthier present perspective.
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EMDR is a modality that can be used with both adults and children.
IFS.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) believes the human mind is subdivided into an unknown number of "Parts" that engage in various behaviour (e.g., fight, flight, freeze, submit).​ Through counselling you can identify and understand the specific "Parts" that make up your internal family system, which will help you acknowledge your feelings about these suppressed emotions, learn how to release these feelings so you are freer to address the actual problem, and ultimately find more positive ways to manage conflicts.
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IFS is a modality that can be used with both adults and children.