Counselling

What’s involved.

 

In counselling, the psychologist works primarily with adults in one-on-one sessions, creating a supportive and collaborative relationship that focuses on what matters most to you—your goals, vision, and hopes for change. Through thoughtful conversations, reflection, and discovery, you’ll have the opportunity to build on your strengths, gain clarity, and develop new strategies for moving forward. The process is designed to deepen self-awareness, foster resilience, and provide the structure and encouragement needed to create meaningful change.

The psychologist welcomes clients of all genders, races, ethnicities, orientations, nationalities, religions, backgrounds, and life experiences. Using evidence-based approaches such as Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and the Gottman Method, each session is tailored to your unique needs. Above all, the work is compassionate, respectful, and centered on helping you create lasting improvements in your life and well-being.

Initial Session

A clinical interview that happens in the first session that may include the use of questionnaires and involves discussing your developmental history, recent life experiences, occupational/academic functioning, family background and goal-setting.

Follow-up Sessions

Sessions following your initial assessment that involve working on your goals, assessing progress and reviewing homework assignments.

 

There’s no ‘one size fits all’.

  • SFT is a goal-oriented evidence-based therapeutic approach which involves positive psychology principles and practices. It can lead to change by helping you to build solutions in that you can apply immediately rather than focusing primarily on the problem like more traditional talking therapies do. You will be asked to describe what you want to happen in your life and we will explore how you can use your personal resources to navigate around barriers. SFT is a hope focused, friendly, positive emotion eliciting, future-oriented vehicle for formulating, motivating, achieving, and maintaining your desired behavioral changes.

  • CBT is an action-oriented therapy that focuses on the relationship between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The goal is to identify patterns of thinking (i.e., self-judgment, catastrophic thinking, and all-or-nothing thinking) that lead you to feel unhappy and lead to less effective coping skills (i.e., withdrawal and avoidance) that may interfere with your life. By addressing these patterns, we can work together to develop more constructive ways of thinking that will lead to healthier and more flexible approaches to solving problems. You will be more likely to feel less overwhelmed and more in control of your life. Further, you will develop specific tools that you can effectively use when life is feeling stressful.

  • DBT combines cognitive behavioral techniques and mindful awareness derived from Buddhist traditions. This form of therapy focuses on developing skills to cope with stress, reducing mood swings and distress, and improving relationships with others. Through mindfulness and skills training, you are more like to develop a more stable sense of self, learn to regulate your emotions, and effectively interact with others.

  • ACT is an action-oriented empirically based intervention that uses acceptance, mindfulness, commitment and behavior change strategies, to increase your cognitive flexibility. This approach is based on the idea that avoiding, denying or struggling with difficult thoughts and feelings can lead to more suffering. You will learn how to accept that these feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that do not need to block you from moving forward. As a result, it may become easier to take more accountability for making necessary changes regardless of what is going on in your life.

  • The Gottman Method is a couples therapy approach based on a body of research that is likely to help you to de-escalate verbal communication, and increase intimacy, respect, and affection in your relationship. It encourages the removal of barrier that create a feeling stagnancy, and creates a greater sense of empathy and understanding within your relationship. Metaphors are used to illustrate concepts that help you to develop new skills to address perpetual and solvable problems. You and your partner will be better able to replace negative conflict patterns with healthier ones.

Address different types of issues.

 • Stress and burnout from work or career demands

 • Depression, including postpartum and situational depression

 • Relationship struggles, including dating challenges and family dynamics

 • Anxiety around social situations, performance, or everyday worries

 • Life transitions such as moving, changing jobs, or starting a family

 • Feeling stuck, unmotivated, or lacking direction

 • Low self-confidence or self-doubt

 • Coping with breakups, infidelity, or trust issues

 • Pre-marital or couples counselling to strengthen communication

 • Grief and loss, including the end of relationships or lifestyle changes

 • Managing conflict with partners, family, or colleagues

 • Balancing caregiving responsibilities with personal needs

 • Navigating stepfamilies or blended family dynamics

 • Cross-cultural challenges and adapting to new environments

 • Overthinking, perfectionism, and difficulty “switching off”

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Executive Coaching