Credentials & Professional Affiliations:
I hold a Master of Arts degree in Counselling Psychology. I am currently in the last year of my doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
I am a Registered Psychotherapist whose work is regulated by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. I am also a Certified Canadian Counsellor with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association.
Clinical experience:
I have had over a decade of therapeutic program development, psychoeducation and counselling experience with individuals, couples, families and groups. For over half of these years, I had also taught family therapy to and supervised clinicians and graduate/medical students from various disciplines (social work, psychology, psychiatry). I have provided training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to clinicians working with adolescents via the SickKids Learning Institute. Concurrent to my clinical work, I also serve on the Research Ethics Board (REB) at Centennial College (Toronto), reviewing research studies submitted to the College for ethics approval.
Areas of expertise:
My current focus is with adults. I have interest and experience working with those suffering from anxiety, obsessions and compulsions, emotion dysregulation, familial and intimate relationship issues, and life transition and existential concerns. My doctoral research is in the area of DBT treatment.
Training & Approach:
As a therapist, I draw from the above education and work experiences, as well as therapy-specific models that I have been trained in over the years. While my understanding of human needs and behaviours are deeply rooted in various early psychological theories (e.g., psychodynamic, developmental psychology) and advancements in psychological science (e.g., neuroscience), my theoretical framework is mostly grounded in two highly researched, effective, and complementary models: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Emotion-Focused Therapy. I am also influenced by Person-Centered, Feminist, and Existential perspectives.
Broadly speaking, my therapeutic approach is based on the following assumptions:
1. Belonging: We are social creatures with a deep desire to belong. We find much of our self in many of our relationships - intimate, familial, or social.
2. Authorship: We are the creative authors of our own internally meaningful story about our self, others and the world.
3. Purposeful emotions: Emotions signify internal messages about our needs. They organize our experience of and response to the world, thereby impacting many important decisions in our life.
The basic foundation for all my work, always, is the therapeutic relationship I share with the person in front of me.
As a therapist, I carry with me a deep sense of care and curiosity about my clients as people. I tailor my approach to the nuances of their life and the needs of their particular situation, drawing from our shared understanding of the challenges, grounded by my extensive, varied, and specialized training and experience.
If you're considering a way forward, let's talk.
