Therapist
Qualities
& Skills
Susan
Monkman is
a Winnipeg-based counselling therapist
with a Master
of Arts degree in Counselling Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Social Science. Susan is a member of the Professional Association of
Canadian Christian Counsellors and the American Counseling Association.
She
is
a genuine,
caring person who desires to provide
you with a supportive and accepting place
to
safely explore aspects of your life that hinder personal growth and sense of
well-being. Susan uses a collaborative and holistic approach to treatment. Through careful and accurate listening, sensitivity and
encouragement, Susan will work with you to
identify
and challenge
factors that are contributing to problem issues, and identify strengths
that will help you
move towards self-acceptance and solutions.
Areas
of Specialty
Susan
has specialized training and experience in adolescent therapy, family
therapy, couples therapy, suicide intervention, gender
issues, anxiety/depression,
and
trauma and abuse.
She
has
special interest
in helping
youth, individual men, women, and couples
work through
painful relational issues
that stem from
trauma and
abuse, unresolved attachment issues, or social oppression related to
ethnicity or race, age, gender and/or sexuality. Other areas of
specialty relate to stress and life transitions, self-esteem,
depression, anxiety and panic attacks, grief and loss,
self-harm, and
spiritual crisis.
When
appropriate
and requested
, she enjoys helping people incorporate
their spiritual beliefs and practices in therapy to support their
growth.
Cross-Cultural
Experience
Shaped
by a diverse cultural context, Susan has gained an understanding and
appreciation of European, Western, and Aboriginal worldviews,
contributing to an
openness and sensitivity in working with
culturally diverse clients and interracial couples. Through personal and
professional involvement with the Aboriginal community, Susan is
also sensitive to and aware of social and political issues
affecting
Aboriginal
people as well as other minority groups.
In
addition to
perspectives gained from life experiences
, training in
cross-cultural counselling has
added to Susan’s awareness of the
importance of integrating
culture, faith, and worldview
into therapy,
as
all
aspects
strongly
connect with
identity.
As David Benner
(2004), author, psychologist, and spiritual director, profoundly stated
in The Gift of Being Yourself;
“You can never be other than who you are until you are willing
to embrace the reality of who you are. Only then can you truly become
who you are most deeply called to be.” (p. 57).