After Your First Appointment

In the appointment following the intake you will do the majority of the talking. At the same time I want you to know you can take the time you need to share things with me.  We will build a trusting therapeutic relationship and when you feel ready you can share as much as you are comfortable with. That being said, sometimes you may have to push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone in order to get the full benefit of counselling.  As I can only help you as much as you’ll let me. Through your expression of what brought you to therapy we will be able to make a plan for what you want to do about it and we will work together to find the ways that best suit you to work through any concerns/issues you came to therapy about.  

There is a general format to how each session will go, although you may have a goal or two that are your priority, sometimes other things will arise in your everyday life that you may want to address in session.  This is totally fine! At the beginning of each session I will usually ask how’ve you been since our last session, or is there anything in particular you’ve been thinking about since we last met. Then it’s your chance to fill me in on what you are wanting to focus on for that session.  We will work through whatever comes up for you and we’ll also be sure to summarize and wrap up at the end of each session.

Therapy involves effort. The good news is that you won’t be doing it alone. The alliance between us means that there would be someone there to support you, ready to work with you in your best interests.

I believe my clients would say that I am a supportive, attentive therapist who advocates for my clients. They would also say that I am a challenging therapist who believes that when in session we are both there to work on helping you to move through whatever brought you to therapy.

I like to take action and have clients be accountable, most clients who work with me have come to me specifically for that style of counselling.  So if you’re ready to make things happen, I’d love to help you with that. Similar to a personal trainer who would support you and push you to achieve your physical health goals, I will push you to achieve your mental health goals.

Since each person is unique there can never be a one-size-fits-all method of therapy. However, it is my experience that when someone can open up to a non-judgmental and compassionate therapist, they can start to experience the changes that will make their life more satisfying.  

At the same time, my goal as a counselling therapist is to get you the help you need to attain whatever goals you have. If that means referring you to one of my colleagues in order to find the best fit for you, I have absolutely no problem with that.