Psychotherapy
What is Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy is a process in which, through open and honest communication with a professional in regularly scheduled sessions, you can come to:
- gain a deeper understanding of yourself
- reduce emotional distress such as depression or anxiety
- alleviate psychological symptoms that interfere with your life or that cause you distress
- feel more in control of your life
- build healthy ways of coping with difficulties and stressors
- develop improved communication skills and more satisfying and meaningful relationships
- ultimately live in a more effective and fulfilling manner
Psychotherapy can give you greater perspective into the circumstances you've found yourself in, and the choices you've made throughout your life. This increased insight and awareness can allow you to make more productive and healthier choices in the future.
I believe that the foundation of psychotherapy lies in a warm and supportive relationship between my clients and myself that enables people to feel safe to explore what is troubling them. I incorporate components from a wide variety of models of psychotherapy, including psychodynamic, process-focused, experiential, cognitive-behavioural, and family systems models. Different people are receptive to different approaches, and I collaborate with my clients in order to tailor a therapy that best suits them.
How long does psychotherapy take?
Quite simply, it depends what you are looking for. Some clients come for help in coping with very specific psychological or behavioural problems. Depending on the problem, your goals could be reached in 8-12 sessions. Such short-term therapies usually involve learning and practicing new skills (such as relaxation training and learning how to challenge negative thinking).
Some clients set therapeutic goals that require a longer course of psychotherapy. Such clients might have more significant difficulties that have been bothering them for a long time. Or alternatively, they might have personal goals that are not "problem specific" but are more reflective of their wish to gain a better understanding and awareness of their relationship patterns and of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and as such improve the quality of their life.
Regardless of the type of therapy that is right for you, I make it a point of discussing and setting therapeutic goals with clients from the outset.
Thoughts about Medication
As a Registered Psychologist, I do not and cannot prescribe medication. I am respectful of one's choice to use or not to use medication, and I am happy to work collaboratively with your family physician or a psychiatrist in this regard.
