My Approach
Building self-awareness, exploring emotions and needs, and shifting unhelpful patterns is all central to the work we’ll do together. Therapy is collaborative and personalized, using evidence-based practices to support meaningful, lasting change.
I work with adults experiencing challenges such as anxiety, mood difficulties, emotion dysregulation, and sleep concerns. I offer both short- and long-term therapy adapted to your specific needs.
Looking beyond the symptoms.
Evidence-based care,
personalized to you.
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As an integrative psychologist, I draw from several evidence-based approaches, including cognitive-behavioural, emotion-focused, and psychodynamic therapies, to better understand your experiences from multiple perspectives.
By combining complementary strategies, I create a treatment plan responsive to your unique needs, goals, and lived experiences.
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The CBT model looks at how our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours are linked. We can change how we feel by altering unhelpful patterns in thinking and behaviour.
This therapy is goal-directed and focuses less on processing the past and more on changing how we move forward. It often involves doing exercises to build up new skills between sessions.
CBT has been shown to be effective for many problems like depression, anxiety, insomnia, interpersonal issues, and severe mental illness.
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ISTDP is an active emotion-focused therapy and much of the work happens within the therapy sessions, as you process experiences with your therapist.
We begin by building insight into how the unconscious mind (i.e., things outside of our awareness) and past experiences influence how you feel and behave today. We then explore how your current coping system is or is not working for you.
Treatment involves increasing awareness of signals in your body, working through avoided emotions, building comfort with discomfort, and learning more effective ways of having your needs met. Successful resolution improves current problems like interpersonal difficulties, depression, anxiety, and unexplained physical symptoms.
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ACT stems from traditional CBT approaches but instead of changing thoughts and emotions, it emphasizes changing our relationship with our thoughts and emotions to achieve more peace.
Not all uncomfortable emotions and experiences need to be “fixed”. By accepting ourselves and our painful experiences, we give up the struggle of trying to change what we cannot. In turn, we are freed up to change what we can.
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I have unique experience assessing and treating insomnia. CBT-I is a highly effective short-term treatment for sleep problems.
Majority of clients experience meaningful improvements in their sleep after 4-6 sessions.
By changing thoughts and behaviours that interfere with your sleep system, we can get your sleep back on track. Throughout treatment, you will monitor your sleep using sleep logs so we can tailor recommendations to your specific needs.
Assessments
Before starting treatment, I complete a 2-hour intake assessment with all clients. Understanding your history and presenting problems allows us to make a treatment plan to guide the work.
When further clarity is needed I also conduct psychodiagnostic assessments.
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Psychodiagnostic assessments are comprehensive evaluations of mental health and can clarify mental health diagnoses.
A psychodiagnostic assessment is not always needed, particularly if you’re initiating treatment with myself and feel that the intake interview provided a good understanding of your problems and how we will treat them.
Having a diagnosis can help select an evidence-based treatment path, in cases where difficulties are complex.
Clients may seek a full assessment in the following situations:
You want clarity to better understand yourself, or confirm or rule out a diagnosis.
When symptoms overlap, are complex, or previous treatment hasn’t helped and we need guidance for the treatment plan.
You require an official diagnosis to secure accommodations (e.g., for work, academic support, disability benefits).
To support your work with other care providers (e.g., family physician, psychiatrist, occupational health).
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A full psychodiagnostic assessment involves history taking, completing questionnaires, and a semi-structured symptom interview.
We will start with a 2-hour appointment. If we do not get through all the information in that time, we will schedule additional appointments. While a typical assessment requires a minimum of 2-3 hours, how long we will require depends on a few factors, including:
the purpose of the assessment
the complexity of the problems
individual needs (e.g., difficulty concentrating for long periods, financial limitations)
We will discuss the plan at the outset and I will keep you informed along the way if more time is required, so we can decide how to proceed together.
After I review all the information, we will meet for a feedback session to discuss findings, provide a diagnosis if assigned, and go through recommendations.
At the end, I can provide a brief letter or a full report if required.
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My fees are based on the recommended rates of the psychology regulatory body in the province where a client resides. My fees are:
$250/clinical hour for clients in Ontario
$230/clinical hour for clients in Nova Scotia
I charge assessment fees separately at the end of each individual service (e.g., 2-hour meeting, 30-minute feedback), so you won’t have to pay the full cost all at once, unless requested.
Fees are charged for all direct client contact (e.g., appointments) and non-direct clinical services (e.g., report writing, file review). In some cases where a client’s presentation is complex, I may require extra time to conceptualize problems or consult with colleagues. We will discuss fees at the outset and throughout the process.
A typical psychodiagnostic assessment might include a 2-3 interview, a 30-minute feedback session, and around 3 hours of conceptualization and report writing time.
The cost will depend on your individual needs and complexity of the issues, so fees may vary widely.
A brighter path starts here.
Therapy offers a space to slow down and consider the life you want for yourself. I’ll help you move toward your goals with thoughtful, collaborative support.