Psychotherapy, what’s that? What to expect as a client?

Many therapists use different approaches when it comes to therapy, this is why I felt it was important to let people know my therapeutic approach and what it would be like to be my client.  My approach is catering to the client personally and is a client-centred, eclectic basis – what does that mean? Not every client may be ideal for one type of therapy, such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT). I use a variety of techniques that suit my clients’ needs. Part of my client assessments is to work alongside my clients to see what their goals and needs are, then I look at the different type of techniques to see which one would be a right fit! It’s not uncommon for me to use different therapeutic techniques for issues, not just sticking to one therapeutic approach. For instance, let’s say we are working on anxiety; I may use Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Mindfulness to assist my client. I feel it is a strength to pull from different techniques as it assists my clients to meet their goals.

What to expect when you come to my office:

I offer my clients a safe place to be themselves; I am non-judgemental which give my clients the freedom to feel at ease and to be themselves! I value my client’s honesty during our sessions, as honesty allows us to get deeper work done! Furthermore, I listen attentively to my clients to ensure you are being heard and that I understand your challenges and emotional imbalances. I may ask questions along the way to better understand the situation which will enhance the therapeutic relationship and healing process.

Therapeutic Relationship and Progress – what is that?

The first couple of sessions are known as getting to know each other through the assessment; I ask questions involving my client’s history, their family-life, work/volunteer-life, school-life, health concerns etc. to build a clear communication and relationship between myself and my client. This process allows me to get a feel as to what’s going on with my clients and where they’re at.

The middle sessions are known as the work sessions; this is where we collaborate together and the client decides what their goal-focus is so we work on it! This is where therapeutic techniques are brought into the sessions and my clients may even have homework to do. This may go on for several sessions depending on the situation.

Eventually our sessions may come to end, but that doesn’t mean you may never see me again; it means my door is always open, if you’re faced with some new or still have lingering unsolved issues that you need to work through again, you’re welcome to return and picked up from where you left off. I even encourage my clients to feel free to give me updates down the road on how they are doing, even a quick line through email. I really appreciate my client updates and happy they’re staying in touch and is proud of them for doing so.

If you have any questions, please feel free to connect with me via the form below.