Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a collaborative treatment based on the relationship between an individual and a therapist. Grounded in dialogue, it provides a supportive environment that allows you to talk openly with someone who’s objective, neutral and nonjudgmental. You and your therapist will work together to identify and change the thought and behavior patterns that are keeping you from feeling your best. By the time you’re done, you will not only have worked on the problem that brought you in, but you will have learned new skills so you can better cope with whatever challenges arise in the future.

Some people seek psychotherapy because they have felt depressed, anxious or angry for a long time. Others may want help for a chronic illness that is interfering with their emotional or physical well-being. Still others may have short-term problems they need help navigating. They may be going through a divorce, facing an empty nest, feeling overwhelmed by a new job or grieving a family member’s death, for example.

Counselling is a process which can include psychotherapeutic techniques but is, generally speaking, educational in its aim and of shorter duration. The goal of psychotherapy is to encourage understanding of the problem through the generation of insight and the building of trust in the therapeutic relationship. Adjunctive to this, is the therapist’s mandate to foster a warm and trusting therapeutic alliance in order to encourage the client to engage freely in exploration and expression of presenting problems.