Approach & Style
As a clinical counsellor, my personal style is empathic, engaging, educational, empowering, holistic, client-centred, non-judgmental, collaborative, trauma-informed, mindfulness-based and skill-building based. My approach is an integrative one that combines aspects of Psychoeducation, Counselling Theories, Life coaching, Eastern Perspectives/Wisdom and more. This multi-faceted approach and diverse, adaptable style allow for personalized plans for each client. My top priority in sessions is to create a safe, welcoming, calming and non-judgmental space where the client feels valued, heard and has the opportunity to be vulnerable. By fostering a strong therapeutic alliance through trust, authenticity and empathy that enables the client to freely express and explore their thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
The goals of my approach include:
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Increase understanding and awareness.
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Teach the fundamentals of mental health and the mind.
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Help develop healthy relationships with technology and substances.
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Combat the new arising issues related to Artificial Intelligence.
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Relieve symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.
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Increase motivation.
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Increase a sense of purpose and fulfilment.
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Facilitate long-lasting change.
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To set my clients up with the knowledge and skills to sustain the changes they've made and manage their mental health independently.
Specific aspects of my personal counselling approach that I use in sessions include but are not limited to:
Fundamentals: I consider myself to be someone who focuses on the fundamentals of mental health and the mind. This includes gaining a better understanding of your mind and how it works, the body and mental health as a general subject. Some examples of fundamentals are: how to manage and understand our thoughts, how to understand, feel and process our emotions, how to understand the connection between thoughts, emotions and behaviours, and how to understand the connection between physiology and our mind.
Eastern Wisdom: A lot of what I have learned over the years is related to Eastern perspectives and the wisdom of the mind. Humans have been trying to figure out happiness for thousands of years, and there is a lot of valuable wisdom and insight to be learned from Eastern traditions.
Holistic: To me, a holistic approach means including a focus on the foundational pillars of health and wellness to improve the treatment process for mental health issues. These topics include sleep, exercise, diet, hydration, and breathing. These are evidence-based methods to improve your mental health.
Psychoeducation: I love to teach! I believe a foundation of understanding and awareness of one's issues is an important aspect of successful treatment. I also incorporate teaching mindfulness and meditation.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): A well-known, respected and evidence-based theory to treat depression, anxiety, and addictions by addressing problematic, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
Psychodynamic Therapy: A form of psychoanalysis to explore and resolve past issues of one's life and explore how those unresolved issues affect present-day thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
Life Coaching: A more future-focused mindset that involves acknowledging and enhancing your strengths, setting achievable goals, and developing strategies to achieve those goals.
Evolutionary Psychology: I believe an important aspect of improving one's mental health and overall well-being is understanding our primal brains and how the evolution of the brain affects our mental health in our modern world.
Positive Psychology: Often in counselling and therapy, the time is spent focusing on the problems and what's wrong. This can make being in counselling a negative experience at times, as a lot of focus and energy is put towards the negatives. Positive psychology includes problems and solutions, but also a greater focus on what you and others are doing right, and how to move towards living a happy life filled with meaning and purpose. Understanding and utilizing positive emotions is just as important as understanding and managing negative emotions.
Nature Therapy: An evidence-based approach which involves the utilization of the natural world. With my passion for nature and outdoor recreation, I integrate and advocate for the benefits that nature can have on our mental health.
If you want to know more about me and what it would be like to have counselling sessions with me, check out my social media pages which can be found below.