Therapeutic Process and What to Expect
Psychotherapy or “talk therapy” is a safe and effective treatment for various mental health challenges. It is a commonly used way to treat depression, anxiety, trauma and other mental health challenges without the need for pharmaceutical intervention. Often people seek therapy because they want to learn new ways to manage stress, anxiety or to overcome fears. Others want to improve their relationships, process grief, end obsessive thinking, gain control over addictive or destructive behaviours.
Clients will be encouraged to set goals that they want to work on in therapy. Over the course of treatment we will work towards those goals and client can expect to see a reduction in the symptoms that brought them into therapy. Clients will also learn practical tools and skills they can use every day to improve how they are functioning and to increase their emotional resiliency.
Effective therapy is evidence-based and draws on overlapping fields. Most therapists use a variety of different theories and modalities to help clients gain new insights and reach their goals. The therapist should be compassionate, supportive, and able to identify strengths that each client holds.
The therapist-client relationship is both dynamic and collaborative in nature. Together we work on what the client wants to change. New techniques for managing stress and important insights are often learned during this journey together.
In the first session I develop an overview of what concerns the client has and what they want to work on in therapy. A treatment plan is formulated by the therapist and the next steps for treatment are discussed.
I am a Social Worker/Psychotherapist with over 22 years of counselling experience who uses a wide range of training and theory to inform my practice; including: psychodynamic and attachment theory, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Emotion Focused Therapy, developmental neuroscience, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, mindfulness techniques, sound therapy and solution-focused therapy. Social workers are unique in the world of mental health professionals in that they are trained to consider the biological, psychological, social and sometimes spiritual factors that influence the development of the client. I also now work with the Toronto Wellness Collective at their office located at 489 College Street, Suite 201. Sessions are 50 minutes in duration. Social work services are often covered under most Extended Health Care benefit plans but please check with your provider.
