Helpful Information
Here is some helpful information about proceeding with therapy with me
What to expect the first few sessions?
Taking the step to start therapy is a difficult one, and I understand you don’t want to waste your time or money trying to find the right fit for you. The first session is generally 60minutes, but you can request 90minutes if you think you need extra time. We review consent and confidentiality, I explain my role, and I answer your questions before gathering information about you and learn about your goals for therapy. This learning and getting to know each other happens over many sessions, where I get to learn about your strengths and where you may need resources or skills to help with coping with therapy. I help you build your knowledge about the issue you are dealing with, and I help you create your own toolbox of skills and resources needed to support you with the therapy you decide to engage in.
What's involved in trauma therapy?
Yes, trauma changes you, but it doesn’t have to be lifelong struggle with devastating impacts to your body, mind, and relationships or for generations to carry the wound of the trauma. Trauma therapy requires consistency in appointments to enhance the effectiveness. I offer you sessions on a bi-weekly schedule*, aiming to be the same day and time, and are held in my calendar for 6-month blocks. This helps you with your own schedule, but also with building safety for your body to trust that you process your trauma content during this time and contain the content between sessions. Your session schedule can be changed as needed, and you can decide to stop your therapy at any time. Trauma therapy should not cause huge disruptions to your life, so when you know it’s not a good time for you, at each session you are given the choice of proceeding with a trauma session or take a break from the heavy content and focus on other matters that need your focus. If you decide to proceed with a trauma session, I use many tools that help pace the work, teach you how to sit with the feelings or thoughts that come up, help the body recover so you can continue to process trauma content, and we always finish a trauma session with a containment so you can return to your day and function as you need to.
How do you create safety in therapy?
Your emotional, physical, and cultural safety is paramount. I offer a safe space to be vulnerable and discuss difficult experiences that often brings up shame, fear, and sadness. I get permission to proceed with any therapy and ensure you are at the centre of everything we do together. Over my years of providing therapy, I have learned how to notice the cues indicating someone is having trauma/stress responses, including flashbacks, dissociation, and intense feelings. When I observe this happening in session, I check in and focus on creating emotional safety and help you connect to the present moment through the use mindfulness, grounding exercises and emotion regulation strategies. Together we re-teach your nervous system how to sit with the upsetting content so you can heal from it. My social work lens offers a different way to understand your experiences and how you’ve coped. I offer a non-judgemental space for you and will always bring a compassionate approach stemming from my commitment to a trauma-informed practice. I pay attention to what strategies work for you, so you can trust the process, and trust me to focus on your needs and meet your therapeutic goals.
