Below is a guide to some of the different types of therapy I am trained in and work regularly with. I primarily integrate relational, narrative, emotion-focused, and internal family systems therapy, but I also draw from approaches such as ACT, DBT, and CBT. We’ll work together to find a style that can evolve with your needs.

Relational Psychotherapy

Relational psychotherapy is an integrative, psychodynamic therapy that helps people become aware of and transform their patterns of relating, and is grounded in the idea that our emotional well-being depends on having mutually satisfying relationships. In relational psychotherapy, we explore how significant relationships in your past and present affect the way you relate to yourself and others. The goal of relational psychotherapy is to strengthen and transform your sense of self through the experience of a therapeutic relationship where deep relational wounds can be explored and healed. Relational therapists value empathy, mutual learning, and genuine presence, and seek to understand how a person experiences themselves in their unique social context. By forming a new relationship that is trusting and nurturing, we can find freedom from the destructive effects of past relationships and enhance our confidence and well-being for living in the present.

Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy is a strengths-based and collaborative approach to counselling that centers people as the experts in their own lives. It acknowledges people’s unique lived experiences, contexts, and perspectives and is interested in the lives they want for themselves and their relationships. Narrative therapy focuses on exploring and transforming the stories we tell about ourselves, our life experiences, and our relationships. Narrative therapists understand problems as being separate from people’s identities and are curious about the hidden skills, capacities, values, commitments, and beliefs people use to help them to get through their challenges. Narrative therapy is about making meaning out of the difficult experiences you’ve had and discovering new possibilities for living in a way that will support your growth.

Emotion-Focused Therapy

Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) helps you access and transform your emotions in order to experience healthier relationships. EFT sees emotions as wellsprings of information about our deepest needs: not to be controlled, but to be listened to and collaborated with. Emotions are a guide to what is going on inside of you at any given moment. When understood and worked with effectively, emotions lead to a fulfilling life and meaningful relationships. EFT helps you become aware of your emotions and express them in a healthy way. It also helps you learn to connect with, reflect upon, accept, and make sense of difficult emotional experiences. At the core of an EFT approach is the foundation of a safe and strong therapeutic relationship, combined with experiential exercises (e.g. chair work) that support emotional processing.

Internal Family Systems Therapy

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapy that views each person’s inner world as a collection of many ‘parts’ or sub-personalities as well as a core ‘Self’. In IFS, there are no bad parts— only parts that are forced into unwanted roles. Each of us has many different parts (such as an inner critic or an inner child) that hold painful and unresolved feelings. In order to heal, IFS therapists help people identify, connect with, and unburden these wounded parts and gain greater access to their Self. By focusing on healing the relationships within your inner world, IFS can help you resolve deep internal conflicts and become more Self-led in your outer-world relationships.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is based on the idea that it is only through mindful action that we can live and act in alignment with what is most important to us. ACT teaches mindfulness and acceptance skills to help you live by your personal values and find more flexible ways of responding to challenges. The goal of ACT is to discover what it means to live a meaningful life while accepting the pain that inevitably comes with it. ACT therapists help people recognize how their attempts to control their emotions can lead to greater challenges and learn to appreciate the context and functions of their thoughts, emotions, and coping behaviours. By accepting our challenges and learning to face them compassionately, we can begin to relate to our problems differently and act in ways that will strengthen our sense of purpose and well-being.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based approach that combines Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy with mindfulness-based techniques to help you manage big emotions with greater confidence. DBT is based on the idea that both acceptance and change are needed in order to face our problems effectively. DBT therapists act as a supportive coach by teaching a variety of skills to help people find new and adaptive ways of coping and relating. The four main skill groups in DBT are Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotional Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Research shows that DBT is effective in helping people cope with extreme or unpredictable emotions, suicidal thoughts, and self-harming behaviours, like self-injury and disordered eating.

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a structured, evidence-based approach that is based on the idea that changing our thoughts can help us change how we feel and behave. CBT helps bring awareness to how our thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and behaviours interact in specific situations to form unwanted patterns over time. The focus of CBT is to actively learn and practice skills that create new ways of coping. In CBT, you will learn to identify and challenge unhelpful ways of thinking and discover more adaptive ways of thinking. You will also learn to become aware of how your actions affect your thoughts and feelings. Exposure therapy, experiments, homework assignments, and action plans are regularly used in CBT. As one of the most researched forms of therapy, CBT can help with a variety of concerns, including depression, anxiety, impulse control, and problems related to substance use.