To make an appointment, click here OR you can contact me directly for online counselling or for more information by clicking here.

 

People come to counseling for all kinds of reasons. There is no wrong reason to talk to a counsellor, but here are a few issues that come up regularly…

MOOD DISORDERS

Anxiety

(Generalized Anxiety Disorder -GAD; Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD; Social Anxiety; Panic Disorder; and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – OCD)

Many people suffer from anxiety. Anxiety can be rooted in genetics, in trauma history in, learned behaviour and is often influenced by societal pressures.  Intense anxiety can result in panic attacks, flashbacks, avoiding situations or people, physical symptoms, such as chronic headaches,  Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and immune system sensitivities. 

Check out these blog posts I’ve written about anxiety: A Good Time to Panic; 7 Ways to Avoid Avoiding; 9 Mental Health Survival Strategies for the Current Apocalypse.

Depression

Depression has become known as ‘the common cold’ of mental health. Everyone’s experience of depression is different. While the symptoms of depression are common: low or irritable mood, sleep and appetite disruption (increased or decreased), lack of motivation, and reduced experiences of pleasure, the causes and solutions may be very different.

Here are some blog posts I’ve written about depression: Depression Vs Grief – When You’re Down; Winter Blues; Men & Trauma- Anger, Anxiety, Addiction & Depression; How to Reduce Suicides – A Guide for Everyone

Chronic Pain or Illness

Chronic pain or illness can be the result of illness or injury or the nervous system’s response to an illness or injury, particularly when there is a history of stress or trauma. Chronic pain or illness also contributes other conditions such as depression. Managing chronic pain/illness See ‘Chronic’ – 5 ways to Increase Coping Skills for Chronic pain and/or illness can increase a sense of agency and in some cases, reprocessing pain by working with the nervous system can lesson or even completely resolve pain, particularly in cases such as migraines, IBS, Fibromyalgia, Chronic fatigue and chronic back pain.

Trauma

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Complex PTSD can leave people with nightmares, flashbacks, difficulty regulating emotions, difficulty with boundaries, various somatic issues and dissociative experiences and features. This can happen as a result of a single event event where one’s own life or health is under threat– or the life of health of another,  or as a result of an ongoing experience of neglect, invalidation, control and more. Fortunately there is such a thing as Post Traumatic Growth that can happen when trauma is addressed and healed.

Personality Disorders

Bipolar Personality Disorder- BP & Borderline Personality Disorder- BPD

I use DBT, motivational interviewing, narrative therapy and attachment theory in working with individuals with personality disorders to help with developing impulse and emotional regulation skills, making meaning of your history and develop healthier positive relationship in which you can set healthy boundaries and ask for what you need in constructive ways.

Check out these posts I’ve written about personality disorders: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – The New Hysteria; The Borderline Therapist; When YOU are the Volcano – 7 Ways to Care for Yourself; and 7 Ways to Love a Volcano.

Sexuality

Sexual Identity

Sexual development happens for everyone, but our own sexual identity is unique to each of us. Some of us never question our identity. Others have many question and sometimes, even when those questions have been answered have to manage the questions and concerns of others in their life.

I believe that sexual identity is a spectrum and that a healthy sexual identity is one that is shame free. Exploring sexual identity and experimenting with expression of it is all part of growing towards health and self love. Managing the biases and phobias of others is what often causes issues in mental health and wellbeing. I’m here to support you in that process.

Here are a few blog posts I’ve written about sexual identity: My Journey with Homophobia & Parenting – Sexual & Gender Identity Development .

Addictions

Another area of mental health that people come to counselling for is addictions. There are many approaches to treating addiction, which may be relevant, depending on the person’s history, behaviors, goals and current situation. A few that I use in my practice include motivational interviewing, harm reduction, and abstinence approaches, such as 12 step programs. Often these are used in conjunction with other resources, programs, or supports.

(See Addiction, Your Best Frenemy? for more on addictions).

Grief

Loss comes in many forms. Death is the type of loss most people associate with grief, however, grief can happen when there is any type of life change, as no matter what change happens, something will be lost. Moving through grief can be a difficult process in this death denying society where strong emotions are usually avoided, not only but the person experiencing them, but often by others who are uncomfortable with them. I work with people who are grieving and to identify when grieving might be a part of their journey towards healing.

Here are some writings I’ve done about grief: When Grief gets Complicated; Grief Without Death; Good Grief Work; & The Parents You Wish You’d Had

Other

These a few other areas that people often come to talk to me about in counselling…

• Being a friend of family of someone with a mental health issues or who is dealing with tragedy or trauma (See 9 Ways to Support a Loved One with Mental Illness & 5 Ways We Respond to Other People’s Tragedies)
• Parenting issues (See Are the Kids Okay? – Children & Mental Health; The 3 Parts of Parenting Teens; Too Many Sticks & Carrots; Sex Ed for Teens, in Families of Faith & Death Education for Children – Don’t wait for Grief
• Racism, bullying & homophobia – I work from anti-oppressive, feminist and anti-racist perspectives. When supporting individuals who have faced, or are facing racism, bullying and homophobia in their workplace, school or home and family life, we work together to develop strategies for setting boundaries, self advocacy, finding more support, and managing the psychological effects of these situations.
• Eating disorders- I work from a strength focused, feminist perspective and utilize motivational interviewing, narrative perspectives and CBT skills working to help individuals struggling with eating disorders.
• Adult ADHD – I work with individuals to develop tools to manage the areas that ADHD is causing conflict in, including time management, organizational skills,  interpersonal communications skills and self care strategies.
• Anger Management (See 5 Things Your Anger Can Help you pay Attention to & When YOU are the Volcano – 7 Ways to Care for Yourself).

My Approach

I utilize a variety of approaches depending on the issues and the individual’s goals and preferences, including Somatic Therapy; Narrative Therapy (including arts and creative writing); Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR); Internal Family Systems (IFS); Pain Reprocessing Theory;  Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT); and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)

If you’re not sure if you need counselling, check out: 

Self Improvement – 7 Steps to Find out if You’ve done enough

 

RE: DIAGNOSIS & MEDICATION
I do not provide diagnosis or prescribe medication. If you have been diagnosed formally, or are just feeling generally overwhelmed by your experiences, my focus will be on what is working for you and what is not. I will utilize tools that provide the best results for you based on your own experience and goals. Where appropriate I will refer you to various resources, medical professionals, or specialists.

See also The Pros and Cons of Obtaining a Mental Health Diagnosis and Mental Health & Medication.

 

To make an appointment, click here OR you can contact me directly for online counselling or for more information by clicking here.

Check out my post Advice About Going to Therapy for more info.