Jennifer Bettger

(she/her)
Registered Psychotherapist
RP, OPC Dipl
Availability:
Waitlisting New Clients
Session Format:
Online TherapyPhone Sessions
Office Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Clientele:
Adults
Email Jennifer
  • Anger
  • Anxiety
  • Body Image
  • Career Dissatisfaction or Transition
  • Chronic Pain and Disability
  • Depression
  • Health and Illness
  • Intergenerational Trauma
  • Life Crisis and Transitions
  • Loneliness and Isolation
  • Loss and Grief
  • Obsessive and Compulsive Thoughts and Behaviours
  • Relationship Issues
  • Self-Destructive Patterns
  • Self-Esteem
  • Sexuality and Gender Issues
  • Sleep Difficulties
  • Spirituality
  • Stress
  • Suicidal Thoughts and Attempts
  • Trauma
  • Contact Information

    Email:
    Jenbettger@protonmail.com
    Phone:
    416-460-2811

    Research shows us that connection is the key ingredient in healing and growth. For many people, feeling deeply listened to and understood can provide a new and healing experience in itself. An empathic and collaborative relationship with a skilled therapist can offer you a secure base as well as an invitation to take the kind of risks needed to initiate the process of change. 

    Each one of us has a wealth of innate resources. When pain and suffering are no longer obscuring our view, we can access our inner wisdom, our unique potential, and our capacity to heal. Armed with increased resilience and vitality, we can move toward wholeness and create and live a rich, meaningful life that is ours.

    I am an attachment-oriented, mindfulness-based, psychodynamic psychotherapist. My work is client-centered and trauma informed. I also am committed to an anti-oppressive practice, and continue to learn and develop myself professionally.  So what does this all mean?

    Psychodynamic psychotherapy involves exploring and understanding how unconscious, past relational patterns may be having an impact on the present. This kind of therapy is longer-term, it is interactive, and emotionally focused.  Addressing the root causes of suffering and distress, rather than only modifying symptoms, is core to the approach.

    Each one of us developed in a specific environment with specific caregivers. Understanding how our nervous systems and attachment patterns were shaped in these contexts can empower us to make informed decisions about our wellbeing, and to improve our relationship to ourselves and others.

    In my approach to this work, I draw heavily on mindfulness, self-compassion, and somatic work. Learning how to turn towards, to be safely with, and to regulate the emotions that arise in the body is at the heart of what I do. I am also able to use tools like cognitive-behavioural therapy, dreamwork, expressive arts, and role play in my work. It is important to note that each therapeutic relationship is unique; the tools and techniques I use in my sessions depend on the needs and preferences of the individual in front of me.

    I completed my training in the Ontario Psychotherapy and Counselling Program (OPC) in 2019 after five years of study, including two years of practice as a student psychotherapist.

    I came to be interested in the mind and body through my studies in yoga. For me, working with the body was the gateway to deeper learning about myself. I am trained yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and meditator, and my work as a psychotherapist is greatly informed and supported by over 20 years of my own practice in these areas.

    I also have an undergraduate degree in English literature, and a master’s degree in Library Science, both of which serve me in my role.

    Empowering people through information has always been important to me.  I aim to make psychology terms, concepts, and theories more accessible, as well as help you locate valuable information inside yourself.

    I’m also interested in individual stories and collective stories, and how they relate. I believe that having the power to make sense of, to deconstruct, and reconstruct our own stories opens up new possibilities – ones that we might not have dared dream of.  

    Because a good fit in the therapeutic relationship is vital, and because many people haven’t been in a therapeutic relationship before, I offer a free 30-minute consultation over Zoom. In this session, you’ll have a chance to ask me questions and I’ll talk a bit about the process, confidentiality, and what goes on in a typical session.

    I am currently only offering appointments by Zoom or over the phone.

    If you would like more information or to schedule an initial consultation, please contact me at 416-460-2811 or at Jenbettger@protonmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.