Methods
Online/Skype/Email Therapy
Hypnotherapy
Dreamwork
Sandtray Therapy
Animal Assisted Therapy
Gottman Couples Therapy
Relational Life Therapy (Couples)
Imago Therapy (Couples)
Depth Psychotherapy
Depth psychotherapy describes a range of approaches to therapy that take the unconscious into account, rather than one specific modality. This interdisciplinary approach to treatment is based on the idea that all people possess traits or elements of nature and past experiences, such as childhood trauma, that may influence, often unconsciously, their natural processes.
These processes—such as the ability to feel, choose, work, love, or think freely—may be affected negatively by certain of these elements, and people may seek treatment in order to resolve distress experienced as a result of any unbalanced processes. Depth therapies may help individuals explore and consciously realize those forces having an effect and study them in order to better understand their present situation.
Often very complex systems and processes that were developed in childhood or through adult trauma are buried deep in the psyche and become unconscious. When our behaviour is not congruent with our conscious intentions the culprit generally lies in the unconscious. Please watch the video below for a more thorough explanation as to why this modality of psychotherapy is very often superior to other forms of therapy alone.
My MA and my PhD are both in Depth Psychotherapy and my primary therapeutic modality is psychodynamic with a depth psychotherapy orientation.
A wonderful video by one of my professors at Pacifica Graduate Institute explaining why a depth psychological approach to psychotherapy is superior to the more common cognitive approach.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is a time-sensitive, structured, present-oriented psychotherapy directed toward solving current problems and teaching clients skills to modify dysfunctional thinking and behavior.
CBT is a psychotherapy that is based on the cognitive model: the way that individuals perceive a situation is more closely connected to their reaction than the situation itself.
One important part of CBT is helping clients change their unhelpful thinking and behavior that lead to enduring improvement in their mood and functioning.
CBT uses a variety of cognitive and behavioral techniques, but it isn’t defined by its use of these strategies. We do lots of problem solving and we borrow from many psychotherapeutic modalities, including dialectical behavior therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, Gestalt therapy, compassion focused therapy, mindfulness, solution focused therapy, motivational interviewing, positive psychology, interpersonal psychotherapy, and when it comes to personality disorders, psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Most psychotherapists are extensively trained in CBT and I am no exception. I use this modality when it is called for to “put fires out” and relieve suffering from symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other emotional issues. My primary focus of practice, however, is in psychodynamic modalities.
A useful and informative video on the wonders of CBT. Be sure to watch the Depth Psychology video before drawing any sweeping conclusions! CBT is a very useful modality, but as I explain above, it does have its limitations.
Spiritual Counselling
This is the blurb about Spiritual Counselling
Past Life Regression Therapy
You don’t have to believe in reincarnation to benefit from a Past Life Regression therapy session. PLT is a therapeutic technique aimed at revealing a deep recess of a patient’s unconscious. It is believed that this unconscious information may relate to a past, pre-natal (before birth into this life) experience. Most practitioners of PLT believe that a person they regress actually lived the lives that they “see” and describe while under hypnosis. This rigid description of PLT is not necessarily accurate, although it certainly could be true, and most of the serious scientific research into the past life therapy experience corroborates this view (see the work of Ian Stevenson and Jim Tucker at the University of Virginia.)
In my work with patients, I am not deeply concerned with establishing an experience under hypnosis as a true “past life”. I believe that our creative unconscious presents images, thoughts, and stories that may “play out” as if they are actual lives we have lived. This is fine, and is in line with the typical experiences that past life patients’ report. However, to be therapeutic, which is the purpose behind any session of PLT that I would administer, the story a patient tells during a PLT session need not be consistent with a certain time and place.
If you are interested in PLT please be prepared to spend at least two sessions with me. Not everyone is suited for this level of work and I may determine during our first session that this modality is contraindicated, however, this is highly unlikely. If we proceed with the process, I will put you into a light trance through a hypnotic induction. You will still largely be conscious, but a bit woozy. From this state I will ask you questions so you can verbally describe your experience.
I have had extensive training in PLT having had taken courses with several leading practitioners of the method.
The first part of a 2 part “documentary” a fellow Past Life Regression Therapist created to explain PLT. There are more “scientific” videos on YouTube if you are interested in a less metaphysical explanation of the process.
This interview was conducted by Stephen Sakellarios, the producer of the documentary “In Another Life: Reincarnation in America.” Dr. Tucker reviews the history of the research he and Dr. Ian Stevenson has been involved with at the University of Virginia, as well as the features typically seen in cases of young children who report memories of previous lives. He also discusses possible explanations for this phenomenon.