What to expect from counselling

It is extremely important that when starting counselling you find a therapist who is a good fit for you. Counselling should allow you to feel safe, comfortable, hopeful and yet challenged (in a good way!). During the first session we will get to know each other and develop a plan to meet your unique needs. I am always welcome to feedback. I love education and am constantly engaging in training to update my skills. What that means for you is that I am able to provide many different ways toward healing and wellness. Throughout our work together we will collaboratively decide which approach(es) to use. This may include:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  • Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

  • Schema Therapy

  • Meaning Therapy

  • Prolonged Exposure (PE)

  • Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for OCD

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT has major scientific backing demonstrating its effectiveness for a wide range of concerns including anxiety, depression, and much more. It is a talk therapy approach that uses to concrete tools and strategies to help manage emotional problems by shifting the way people think and behave. Therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Schema Therapy fall under the CBT umbrella and add mindfulness-based and experiential techniques to aid in managing emotions and clinical concerns.

Exposure and Response Prevention ERP

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

ERP also falls under the umbrella of CBT and is the gold standard treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Although OCD is one of the most common mental disorders, studies show that it takes on average 13 to 17 years for clients with OCD to receive adequate diagnosis and appropriate therapy, such as ERP. ERP is an active therapy which involves working collaboratively with a therapist to gradually help clients confront anxiety-provoking items and situations in a safe environment. Clients practice exposure exercises to ultimately avoid engaging in unwanted rituals and compulsions.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy ART

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

“Keep the knowledge, lose the pain” is the motto for ART. It is a powerful, rapid, yet gentle approach for reprogramming distressing memories and images which have been stored in the brain. It combines a variety of therapy approaches and uses eye movements, visualization and somatic awareness to process and heal from traumatic events. In addition to treating trauma, it has shown effectiveness in treating phobias, self-worth concerns, anxiety, grief, depression, pain, and more. ART sessions are typically 80 minutes long.

Prolonged Exposure PE for PTSD

Prolonged Exposure (PE)

PE is a CBT-based therapy which has the most robust evidence for the treatment of PTSD. The goal of PE is to gradually help clients re-engage with life, especially with things they have been avoiding. By doing so, clients will strengthen their ability to distinguish safety from danger and decrease PTSD symptoms. Through this approach, clients also learn to view their traumatic event in more healthy, adaptive ways.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
— Viktor E. Frankl