Lisa Shouldice

Attachment theory guides my work. I believe your primary attachments with your parent(s)/caregivers and siblings in your childhood taught you how to relate and be in relationship. This is great if you have a healthy family, but can be problematic if you feel your experience in past relationships has been unhealthy or not ideal in some way. Attachment injuries can limit depth, closeness, and intimacy in your life. However, attachment history can be healed. You can learn how to relate in a new and different way in your adult life that works better for you, your partner(s), friends, and family.

I use emotion-focused techniques in therapy sessions. This is an evidence-based, effective treatment for feelings of depression and anxiety. These techniques help clients who struggle with affective and personality disorders as well as trauma. Emotion-focused sessions with me include discussing feelings in a complete way or emotion-coaching. We live in a society that teaches us to think and behave in certain ways, but feeling deeply is neglected. So as we navigate our lives, we sometimes lack the skills to sit with intense feelings.  This can result in numbing, drinking, overeating our feelings to stuff them down. Over time this tends to create a life that we experience as empty and devoid of joy, and can lead to anxiety and depression. My sessions will take you through the process of sitting with feelings, letting them inform you so you can be at peace, and using them to guide you toward satisfaction and new experiences of meaning-making.

I use, among other techniques, bodywork, visualizations, open-ended questions, and the observation of patterns and tendencies. I also use solution-focused techniques, which involve us exploring your strengths and applying co-created solutions to your life and relationships. We discuss healthy communication, family dynamics and related skills in a unique way, tailored to you and the people you interact with. I work in a manner aligned with your goals. This results in an interactive therapy process in which you can trust me to offer expertise and teach you new skills.

I also use emotional exploration, visualizations, Gestalt, Sandplay and other creative/therapeutic techniques in session when deemed appropriate.  I occasionally use thought records and other exercises from the Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy approach.  Sandplay is a wonderful technique that taps into your unconscious to access deep emotions and experiences that can then be healed in a gentle way (but must be completed in person).

I became a therapist as I feel it is my calling and felt this from a young age.  I love my job and enjoy a deep therapeutic relationship.

I have two Masters degrees, one in individual and another specifically in couple counselling.  The university I attended in Ottawa, Ontario included training in spirituality, enabling me bring a spiritual element into our relationship, if you wish to do so.  Spirituality has been an important factor in my own personal healing. I have been a therapist for 19 years.  I moved to Toronto in 2014 from Ottawa, where my last full-time job of 7 years was as a Clinical Therapist at an Aboriginal Health Centre.  As a result, I am extensively trained to work with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples offering culturally relevant and informed care.  I have also worked intensively within the LGBTQ community.  I am a cis-gender lesbian and feel I can be a strong support for those of you living the possible daily struggles of being LGBTQ.

I am an experienced psychotherapist comfortable working with diverse presenting concerns such as addictions, trauma, and relationship issues. I have also fulfilled several other professional roles, including program developer, crisis/intake worker,and group facilitator. I have held supervisory and management roles and given presentations.

It is important to me that you get high-quality service and feel in control of your healing and therapeutic sessions. I am open to anything you need to say, and we will chat along the way to make sure your goals are being met.

Get Inspired to Change Your Life.

I have a passion for Sandtray/play therapy and have long used this approach.  While this approach must be used in person, and therefore is temporarily on hold, it is a favourite of mine.

My work as a therapist has included working with clients that present with abuse histories, and often complex trauma. I find this can take years to heal and is hard emotionally and spiritually on a client. So I trained with Lalita Salins MA, LMFT in order to use Sandtray/World Play in my work.

What is Sandtray Therapy?

Sandplay is a wonderful technique that taps into your unconscious to access deep emotions and experiences that can then be healed in a gentle way.  What I love about this technique is that your natural healing centre chooses unconsciously what and how deeply you need to heal something, sometimes surprising you.  It can be used in a single session or every session until you have reached your goals.  It is great if the past has stayed with you or if you feel “stuck”.  It is also a way to connect with the elements and heal without talk as the central modality.

What is your part?

Using figures of your choosing and the arrangement of the sand in the tray, you then become the “world builder,” and watch whatever reveals itself.  It can be transformational in processing grief, past hurts, or help you to identify and process what is causing or maintaining your depressive and other mental health symptoms, enabling management and recovery.  It provides the possibility to set up a world corresponding to your inner state. Through free, creative play, unconscious processes are made visible in a three-dimensional form.

Why Sandtray Therapy?

It is a great way to get out of your head, stop racing thoughts and start processing issues, life events (past and present) and intense feelings in a non-threatening way.  Some people find talking about their feelings hard or find it only gets them so far.  Sandtray also tends to result in less of the “hangover” we sometimes get after a talk therapy session.  Sandtray sessions tend to be really wonderful with the people that simply don’t get it and think that the whole idea is “weird”.  If you think you will feel foolish, give it a try because you will likely find it works.  It is generally fast, effective, and speeds up your healing process.