Most people seek help from a psychotherapist because of the way they feel – chronic emotional pain, sadness, anxiety, depression, insecurity, feelings of low self worth, difficulty making decisions, etc. Others seek therapy to deal with unsatisfying relationships or self-destructive patterns of behaviour. They are looking for the reason that they feel the way they do, despite attempts they have made on their own to change or understand the reasons for the feelings and behaviours.

Through the integration of mindfulness and psychotherapy, I help clients to cultivate a non-judgemental stance to their emotions, thoughts and feelings while exploring and resolving underlying issues. Treatment approaches integrate psychodynamic and cognitive psychotherapy with mindfulness practices, creating a powerful synergy and allowing for direct attention to symptom relief. Clients learn to master their emotional states while caning self-awareness, and understanding of how their thoughts and beliefs get in the way of living to their full potential. The treatment approaches are used in individual, group and couples therapy sessions.

The services that I offer help clients to become more fully aware of their thoughts, emotions and behaviours, so they can relate to them in new and creative ways. Mindfulness techniques also allow clients to work directly with their symptoms, reducing their intensity and negative effects. Ultimately, this helps clients move from automatic patterns of behaviour to healthier, more self-affirming ways of responding to situations in daily life.

To set up a consultation, or to learn more about mindfulness and psychotherapy, contact the office.

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a form of psychotherapy that claims that experiential avoidance is a centrally important feature of many forms of psychopathology. A branch of cognitive-behavioral therapy, ACT is an empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies together with commitment and behavior change strategies to increase psychological flexibility.   Buddhist Psychotherapy Buddhist Psychotherapy is a form of one-to-one psychotherapy that is influenced by Buddhist teachings of wisdom with Western psychological theories. Although it can be confused with religious therapy, Buddhist Psychotherapy is not religious in nature; rather, it is an approach that balances cognitive and analytical perspectives from psychological theorists such as Karl Jung, Ivan Pavlov, Donald Winnecott and Fritz Perls, with Eastern spiritual teachings and philosophies.   Mindfulness Training Mindfulness-Based Dynamic Coaching or Training is an interactive process in which client and coach work together to bring to light the unconscious factors and systems of beliefs that affect a client’s present behaviour. The goals of this type of coaching are for the client to gain self-awareness, self-mastery and understanding of the influences of the past on his or her present modes of operating. Our practical approach to client problems uses mindfulness-based approaches and techniques to build heightened practical skills and understanding of how automatic thoughts negatively affect moods and perceptions.