Find a Therapist in Oakville, Ontario.

I am a Registered Psychotherapist. I work primarily with individuals and couples. For individuals, psychotherapy can take many forms from many schools. I've found what works best is holistic solution focused empathetic counselling, integrating Mindfulness Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (MCBT) with client focused goals and action plans. Our primary relationships with our 'father/mother' and family of origin can influence us positively or negatively. Psychotherapy can help identify the person growth areas for more effective functioning.

The associates at New Leaf Psychology Centre represent a broad range of experiences and expertise. Psychotherapy is offered for clients across the lifespan. Treatment approaches taken are evidence based yet personalized to you. Psychotherapy can be helpful for self-exploration (e.g. identity, anger, procrastination, career options), coping with life stressors (e.g. work, family, children, school, separation, grief), reducing worries, and improving mood.

Most people consider psychotherapy because they are in crisis and seek an intervention that will improve their lives. The issue may involve work or the recognition of recurring, destructive themes that prevent them from living out their dreams. I use a framework called Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy, originating from Diana Fosha. It uses a model of attachment to establish a clear, supportive relationship that helps people feel safe enough to explore deeper issues and to know that they are not alone. I aim to help them reach inside themselves to deal with painful feelings, make way for the resilience and wisdom that reside in each of us and find the transformation we seek.

Talk therapy can be helpful, but sometimes isn't enough. Awareness, growth, healing and empowerment can happen on many levels: emotionally, physically, psychologically, energetically, spiritually and relationally. The Refuge's approach is holistic and integrative, a combination of mind-body, somatic, mindfulness, emotion-focused, solution-focused, cognitive-behavioural, expressive arts, and nature-based traditions, etc. Our team of psychotherapists is unique in the region, and emphasizes trauma healing and resolution, emotion regulation, relationship repair, and touch/table work, grounded in neuroscience, somatics and attachment theory: www.healingrefuge.com

Many people feel nervous about going to a psychotherapist. Not knowing what to expect or worrying you'll be told what to do by some know-it-all therapist is enough to keep many people from even making the first phone call. My approach puts you in charge of our sessions. With concrete goals in mind, I ask for specific feedback from you about how you think our sessions are going and the improvements you're seeing, to guide where we go next. We're partners in our work. Whether you want to make changes in a particular aspect of your life or just get more out of life in general, we'll plot a course to get you there, then make it happen together.

Consciously or not, every one of us wonders, "Who am I and what is the world about?" Our response to this question shapes the quality of our lives. An individual seeks Psychotherapy when life isn't working and emotional, spiritual or physical pain becomes too much to bear. The relationship with me as your therapist can help you live a more fulfilling and joyful life, as you discover your own power and autonomy.

Psychotherapy is counselling process that delves into deeper and often hidden (subconscious) issues that influence our perceptions and beliefs. In turn this influences our behaviours. Often our patterns originate in our family of origin where we internalize beliefs about self and others. The collaborative process will help you understand your current reality and how to deal with it effectively. Negative beliefs translate into maladapted behaviours that cause distress and anxiety. I will guide you through this process to gain new insights and understanding and learn more effective coping with your current distress.

Psychotherapy is a precious space between therapist and client. It is a moment of self-exploration and self-discovery with the gentle guidance and direction of a psychotherapist who has your well-being at heart. I strongly believe in the art of psychotherapy and have personally seen results in hundreds of clients. I can help you achieve your goals in a proactive, warm and productive manner. If you are ready to start to explore and make positive changes in your life, I can help get you there.

People often come to therapy to get rid of painful and difficult feelings. Rather than getting rid of our feelings, therapy is a skilled process of helping us understand ourselves so we can use our feelings to navigate our lives. Even the very painful feelings hold vital information for us to become sure-footed in our life. Just like in martial arts, we use the momentum of the attacker and redirect it to ensure our safety ; in therapy we use the information from the painful feelings to clarify what we need to create more safety in our lives so we can thrive. It is a valuable process of allowing our feelings to work for us to create satisfying joyful lives.

There are several approaches to psychotherapy — including cognitive-behavioural, interpersonal and other kinds of talk therapy — that help individuals work through their problems. At Meristem, we utilize an eclectic approach to psychotherapy that incorporates a variety of therapeutic principles and theories in order to create the ideal treatment program to meet the specific needs of our clients. We encourage a collaborative approach that enhances the client/therapist relationship. We strive to model positive behaviours and an empathic atmosphere that builds trust and safety within the counselling relationship.

My approach to psychotherapy involves working with you to assess what challenges you are facing, and establishing a therapeutic plan to help address these challenges in the way that makes most sense for you. I am certified in Solution Focused Therapy, which is the foundation of my therapeutic approach. I have also completed some specialized training in other therapeutic modalities such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Mindfulness Based Practice, Motivational Interviewing, and Life/leadership coaching.

My psychotherapy / counselling style is intended to help you better respond to your current life situation and challenges by assisting you as you explore your own thoughts, feelings and behaviours with regards to those issues and challenges. It is also intended to help you develop skills you can use in the future when you run into new difficulties.

The key is to find the right therapist and psychotherapy ... "what works" for you. Research confirms that a positive alliance between the client and the counsellor is one of the best predictors of outcomes in therapy. I am trained and experienced with numerous models of change. Clients report, however, that they feel the most heard and understood when I help them open up their emotions. John Gottman states that Susan Johnson is "the best couple therapist in the world." I have been trained by Susan Johnson and I highly recommend her book to you, Hold Me Tight, and also my Couples' 12 Emotional Needs Survey.