How I Work
I describe myself as an active therapist, using openness and curiosity to help you discover your inner strengths. I honour the strength and resilience within each client and work to create healing and growth within the space of the therapeutic relationship. I believe that people have the tools and abilities to transform their difficult feelings and emotions and move towards the life they envision for themselves.
What to expect:
In our first session, I would like to understand what brings you to counselling and hear about your current concerns. This is a chance to get to know each other and see how we will face your struggle as a team. We will go over what to expect from our counselling sessions and will assess where you are currently at in your life. We will review what therapeutic approach may be a fit for you and begin to develop your individual therapeutic plan.
In future sessions, we work together to develop the healthy skills you need to handle and move away painful feelings and experiences so they have less of an impact on your life. We will explore the various values and beliefs that inform who you are as a person and begin to understand how these inform the actions you take in your life. As you develop trust with yourself, we explore different ways to work through the tough “stuff” that arises in day-to-day living, explore your inner and outer experiences and use your innate strengths to help you move towards the life you want for yourself.
During this process we may explore difficult past and present experiences. Some of the topics may be difficult and bring up feelings. Together we will learn about how you responded to theses situations and begin to separate problematic adaptive coping strategies, from who you are as a person.
It is important to me that you feel therapy is valuable and useful for where you are in life. In counselling we work together towards making the changes you want in your life. I believe my job is to work myself out of a job. Together we will develop realistic strategies to help you manage the things that are keeping you stuck.
Over time, as we work together, you will gain valuable skills, awareness and insight into yourself. This leads to sessions being spaced further and apart because you feel more comfortable and confident doing this work on your own. We may put counselling on hold or do a wrap up session to honour the hard work you have done and discuss how you will move forward.
As time goes on some of the old behaviours and coping strategies may show up again and being to interfere with your life. If needed, you can contact me again and reconnect with the work that we did together. I believe therapy is an ongoing process of recognising when we need support and reaching out to get the help we need.
