My Approach

THE GOALS

Above all else, my goal upon meeting and working with each client is for them to feel safe, at ease, and comfortable in their relationship with me.

I often see the relief on clients’ faces when they realize that therapy is first and foremost a human connection and in that connection we laugh and talk in a way that is surprisingly natural and even enjoyable.

The research in psychotherapy is abundantly clear that a meaningful bond with one’s therapist is essential in therapeutic change. As human beings we heal in connection with others and we all yearn to feel seen, witnessed, and heard in our suffering.

We want to know that we aren’t alone, that we aren’t uniquely flawed or “less than,” and that we can move through and out of our own pain with the right kind of support. We want to know that healing is possible. At the onset of therapy I work hard to immerse myself in each client’s world to get a thorough history and strong sense of the factors leading up to their present day concerns.

I help each client identify clear goals for our time together and check in regularly regarding whether we feel we are meeting them.

THE PROCESS

As I get to know each client I’m consistently in awe of the uniqueness of every person, their strengths, their interests, the people in their lives they hold dear, the inspiring way their mind is trying heal from suffering but somehow got stuck in that process.

We all try our best to cope with painful thoughts and feelings but sometimes our strategies are ineffective or we somehow get in our own way and find ourselves repeating unhelpful patterns. Therapy offers a new lens from which to see ourselves and our unique plight with understanding and self-compassion.

It offers a vast range of strategies and tools to “try on” in order to see what fits. Perhaps, most importantly, therapy provides a space where clients are able to hear their own wisdom and find answers that resonate for themselves personally.

THE TOOLS

Clients will often come into therapy having heard of various models of counselling and they feel uncertain as to which approach will best suit their needs.

One of the reasons psychotherapy is effective is because of the exploratory nature of counselling in which the therapist notes the unique perspectives and ideas that tend to resonate with a client’s way of thinking and their worldview.

I have training in a range of empirically validated treatments that are shown to be effective with particular issues or symptoms.

When I present a particular model of therapy or specific interventions to clients, I do so collaboratively where I present options I think will be helpful and see if they fit for a client in regards the issues they are facing.

It is the therapeutic relationship that ultimately makes this process possible as we explore and try these options together and identify the ones that make a meaningful impact on their well-being.

THE OUTCOME

At the end of every session my aim is for clients to walk away from our time together with insights that leave them in a kind of stillness and reflective state.

I want them to reunite with a place inside of themselves that can connect with hope because they feel armed with new insights and strategies to move through their days differently. These insights tend to accumulate over time and contribute to a new understanding and sense of themselves in the world.

Based on my existential interest in how people make meaning out of their experience – I work to help clients make sense of their struggle, gain insights from their own suffering, and connect with their values.

I strive to help each client walk away from therapy having achieved their goals and feeling empowered to move forward in their lives with more self-compassion, motivation and purpose.