Working together
How does psychotherapy work?
Through therapy, we gently explore the symptoms and manifestations of unprocessed pain in your life, while honouring the ways that you have learned to cope and survive. We work to bring you from a place of reactivity and meaninglessness to a place of groundedness, emotional regulation, and self-acceptance.
Ultimately, the goal of therapy is to feel more connected to yourself, your loved ones, and your community. The therapeutic relationship is key to this transformation, which is why it’s important to find a therapist that feels like a good fit.
Modalities I employ
I work with each client to determine which modalities resonate most. We might use a few or all of these approaches throughout our work together.
Attachment based therapy
By looking at our earliest templates of relating, we can gain insight into present-day relational patterns.
Emotionally focused
We welcome any and all emotions into therapy, and provide space where they can be explored, processed, and expressed with compassion and curiosity.
Existential and narrative
Sharing our own stories can transform the way we feel about ourselves and our lives, and can help us make meaning of more difficult or traumatic experiences.
Person-centered
The client is the expert of their own experience, and the therapist walks alongside and supports them in their process of self-discovery.
Psychodynamic
By making the unconscious conscious, we gain insight and resolve internal conflict. We also explore relational dynamics in the therapeutic relationship as a way to understand other relationships outside the therapy.
Systems focused
We are shaped by our environment and larger systems. A systems lens allows us to compassionately evaluate what is within and beyond our control, and to find solutions that are realistic.
Somatic
We explore the connection between mind, body, and soul. How does emotional turmoil show up in our bodies? We explore physical strategies to regulate our emotions, and attune to what the body tells us.
Strength-based
We explore how our strengths have gotten us to where we are and have helped us to survive hardship. How can we lean on our strengths to become more resilient and more authentic?
Trauma focused
For those experiencing PTSD, we gently work to recover a regulated and grounded sense of self. We learn to recognize our triggers and symptoms, and what the body does when we are in disregulated states.
FAQs
-
Psychodynamic psychotherapy explores unconscious causes of our conscious behaviour, with the goal of changing our minds - hence the “dynamic” in psychodynamic.
Think of your mind as an iceberg; the part above the surface of the water is your consciousness. This is what you are aware of in your day to day life; feelings, actions, body sensations, voices in the back of your head. Everything beneath the surface of the water is your unconsciousness; these could be repressed memories from your childhood, material that shows up in recurring dreams, parts of your personality that you’ve learned to ignore or resist, things that happened in your past that you were unable to make sense of.
By making these unconscious things conscious, psychotherapy allows you to live with more self understanding, agency, and self compassion.
Read more about how therapy works in this blog post.
-
Sessions are 50 minutes long.
-
$145 for a 50 minute session. I offer sliding scale pricing for a limited number of clients. If this is of interest to you, please ask in our consultation.
-
I ask clients to send payment via e-transfer any time before our session starts. I will send you a receipt shortly after the session.
-
I offer both in-person therapy and online therapy. My in-person location is the Hamilton Therapy Collective, located at 185 Young Street in Hamilton.
-
I ask that my clients give me at least 24 hours notice when cancelling a session. I charge the full session fee for a cancellation within the 24 hour timeframe, unless it's an emergency.
-
It varies from one provider to another. My official credential is Registered Psychotherapist. You can check with your provider to see if you are covered. Many insurance plans do cover my services.
-
Therapy is like a muscle; the more you do it, the stronger you get. The ideal frequency for this type of therapy is weekly or biweekly.
-
Set up a complimentary consult so we can get to know each other and determine if I'm a good fit for you.
In-person therapy is offered in historic Corktown, Hamilton.
I practice out of the warm and welcoming Hamilton Therapy Collective building located at 185 Young Street. I also offer online therapy for clients who prefer that option.
