(She/Her)
Registered Psychotherapist
MSW, RSW
RelPsyche Dipl
Now more than ever, people are taking care of their mental and emotional health and needs. What is bringing you to therapy? Perhaps you feel down or stuck, and it’s harder to bounce back. Do you often feel anxious, worried, or doubtful? Perhaps you’re dealing with grief, loneliness, or feel isolated. Do you have a persistent inner critic? Does irritation or anger make it difficult to stay close to those you care about? Has the trust in your relationship been hurt? Have you tried your best and are unsure of how to move forward?
Therapy can help with these concerns and others. Therapeutic conversations can heighten your awareness and bring understanding to the events that have shaped you and your life. We can explore thought patterns, connect emotions and your choices, and better understand your relationships, both with yourself and with those who are central in your life. We can discuss and find new ways of coping, relearn ways of responding to others and to challenges with more clarity, confidence, and a greater sense of well-being. Therapy can better prepare us to manage the disappointments and difficulties that happen in life. We can’t always avoid the challenges but we can work towards new ways of managing them.
I will listen with compassion and attention to understand your experiences in the context of your life. I believe that a caring and understanding therapist can help change things—change how you hear and see your experiences, change how you see yourself. Some people have specific goals for therapy and some people have a sense that something just doesn’t feel right. We will start by talking about whatever has brought you to therapy and then work together on the concerns that are most important to you.
As we talk, we bring more awareness and understanding to your experiences, exploring your emotional responses, unfolding automatic patterns, acknowledging what helped you in the past but also discovering what you may need to change in your life now. We can discuss different therapy approaches such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Mindfulness and find which approaches resonate the most with you.
I realize the process of therapy is as unique as each person. We will determine what that pace is for you, support and work collaboratively on your goals, and figure out how therapy can help.
I have been working with people in my private practice for more than 15 years. My path as a therapist began with my studies in social work, receiving both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. After I graduated, I worked in counselling positions in community mental health. My experiences and the learning that came from those positions led to my desire to pursue more specific education in psychotherapy. I completed extensive training at the Toronto Institute for Relational Psychotherapy and have continued to train in different therapy approaches, including Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Mindfulness, Attachment, and Somatic approaches.
If you feel that we may be a good fit or would like more information, please email or call me to book an online appointment or a complimentary consultation, offered by phone or online. My email address is karen@zarnett4therapy.com and my phone number is 416-822-7716.