(she/her)
Registered Psychotherapist
RP, CTP Dipl
Much of therapy regards our personal and our professional relationships—and our ability to be safely, soundly, and creatively our selves—in them (and sometimes out of them).
People often enter therapy with ideas like: I should be happy, but I’m not—I can’t get excited about anything—I don’t know what I feel or what I want—There is no life, love, or room for me—Nothing is ever enough—I’m angry, overwhelmed, distracted, sad. I react to everything—I feel tired or lousy all the time—I keep making mistakes—I have this habit, this secret—I can’t focus, rest, get ahead—I’m not sure I know who I am…
Our authenticity and our agency can be like twins separated. Whether dealing with depression, trauma, intimacy and relationships, dissociation, anxiety, anger, self-esteem, obsessions with food, chemicals, the internet, money, sex, or the ever-moving goal of success—a lack of traction or satisfaction signals a deeper struggle worth attending to.
The process of therapy brings softness, compassion, and elasticity into being where there has been rigidity, fear, and shame. And where energies are liberated from the job of repression or denial, the more there is to put toward our best interests. As we learn to trust ourselves, our integrity, our internal signals, and our resources, the freedom to choose emerges. We experience living differently.
If something has you stuck, something from the past or something persisting right here, right now, an assisted process of discovery can help make sense of what’s going on—mentally and physically—and strengthen your engagement with your true self: body, mind, and spirit. And the best news is that the way through is already within you.
It might seem like it’s all in your head, but it’s in your body too… in fact, that’s where it all starts.
Growth and change involve a slow turning inward, toward things we have conditioned ourselves to ignore. So, we’ll pay close attention to the story, and the storyteller. What you’ve experienced and the way it’s being distilled inside you.
The session includes careful exploration of the narrative of your thoughts, dreams, and fantasies or interactions. It can also include noticing and working with the physical sensation, tension, movement, sensory perception, impulses, and emotional responses that take place simultaneously.
Combining the psychodynamic with the somatic, body-oriented approaches helps bring unconscious dynamics and core beliefs into awareness so that they may be worked with mindfully, opening new pathways of consideration and responding.
We spend our whole lives becoming the person we are today. The most important things you can bring to the therapy process are your curiosity and the willingness to be with yourself as fully and deeply as possible. While our patterns of behavior and emotional reaction can feel entrenched, with time, and with much deserved compassion they can become far more elastic and fluid.
Amazing creatures, we humans.
Some of my credentials include:
Form, function, and clarity in intention have always held my attention. Prior to becoming a therapist, I evolved a sales and marketing career into a consulting practice, helping public and private organizations align corporate values with business aims. I focused on business development, workflow practices and processes, internal/external client relations, and developing print/web based marketing and communications strategies. I have worked in television and radio: scripting programs for TV Ontario’s “The Global Family” and writing for Q107 and CFRB. I have been an active member of the Richmond Seminars, a think tank of artists and professionals discussing the philosophical, cultural, and ethical dynamics of living in our technological society.
For fun, when I get the chance, I let my creative energies and interests take me elsewhere; I am a fiend for colour, contrast, texture, form, and flow, loving everything to do with architecture and design, textiles, furniture, and food. Art and literature also provide an invigorating push against the everydayness of this precious existence. I enjoy modern dance, the opera, and keeping up on Toronto’s film and fringe theatre scene. Most recently these combined interests have me engaged with interior design projects for commercial and residential spaces. I love the notion of choreography, the interplay of space, form, and light—how we feel, move, and interact with the space we occupy. Full circle.
I’ve held my psychotherapy practice for more than 20 years here in Toronto and this work continues to be a place of positive challenge and enrichment for me. It’s also a place of intimacy and trust, where I’m witness to some of the greatest acts of courage and triumph…
You may already know that you’re ready to take this step. But if you’re still considering whether therapy is right for you, I offer a 30-minute, no-charge consultation where you can introduce the issues concerning you and see the kind of rapport that’s possible between us.
Sessions are generally 50 minutes and are held at the same time on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Some may benefit from longer or more frequent sessions.
Office hours are 9:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday to Thursday. I have two office locations:
In Person or On Line — Toronto (Thursdays): 908 Bathurst St. Toronto On M5R 3G3
On Line at this time — Dundas (M, Tu, W): 14 Carolin Crt. Dundas ON L9H 5P3
To get started, please reach me by email at pfe@sympatico.ca.
14 Carolin Crt., Dundas, ON, L9H 5P3