On this page you will find what Theoretical Orientations I pull from as a therapist. 

I've included a description of each with links for additional information. ​​

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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an action-oriented approach to psychotherapy that stems from traditional behavior therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Clients learn to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions and, instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that should not prevent them from moving forward in their lives. With this understanding, clients begin to accept their hardships and commit to making necessary changes in their behavior, regardless of what is going on in their lives and how they feel about it.  See more about ACT HERE. 

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Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) provides clients with new skills to manage painful emotions and decrease conflict in relationships. DBT specifically focuses on providing therapeutic skills in four key areas. First, mindfulness focuses on improving an individual's ability to accept and be present in the current moment. Second, distress tolerance is geared toward increasing a person’s tolerance of negative emotion, rather than trying to escape from it. Third, emotion regulation covers strategies to manage and change intense emotions that are causing problems in a person’s life. Fourth, interpersonal effectiveness consists of techniques that allow a person to communicate with others in a way that is assertive, maintains self-respect, and strengthen relationships. See more about DBT HERE. 

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a structured, goal-oriented type of psychotherapy (talk therapy). Counselors use it to treat or manage mental health disorders and emotional concerns. A therapist or psychologist helps you take a close look at your thoughts and emotions. You’ll come to understand how your thoughts affect your actions. Through CBT, you can unlearn negative thoughts and behaviors and learn to adopt healthier thinking patterns and habits. CBT usually takes place over a limited number of sessions. Using a question-and-answer format, your therapist helps you gain a different perspective. As a result, you learn to respond better to stress, and difficult situations. CBT can be used alone or along with medication and other therapies. Your therapist will customize your treatment based on the issue you’re addressing. See more about CBT HERE. 

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Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)  

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a form or psychotherapy intended to help those with obsessive thoughts refrain from responding with compulsions or rituals. ERP, which gradually exposes clients to stimuli that induce their maladaptive responses, belongs to the category of treatment known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).  See more about ERP HERE. 

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Brief Solution-Focused Therapy

Unlike traditional forms of therapy that take time to analyze problems, pathology and past life events, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) concentrates on finding solutions in the present time and exploring one’s hope for the future to find quicker resolution of one’s problems. This method takes the approach that you know what you need to do to improve your own life and, with the appropriate coaching and questioning, are capable of finding the best solutions.  See more about Brief Solution-Focused Therapy HERE. 

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Play Therapy 

Although sometimes used with adults, play therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach primarily used to help children ages 3 to 12 explore their lives and freely express repressed thoughts and emotions through play. Therapeutic play normally takes place in a safe, comfortable playroom, where very few rules or limits are imposed on the child, encouraging free expression and allowing the therapist to observe the child’s choices, decisions, and play style. The goal is to help children learn to express themselves in healthier ways, become more respectful and empathetic, and discover new and more positive ways to solve problems. See more about Play Therapy HERE. 

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Gestalt Therapy 

Gestalt therapy is a client-centered approach to psychotherapy that helps clients focus on the present and understand what is really happening in their lives right now, rather than what they may perceive to be happening based on past experience. Instead of simply talking about past situations, clients are encouraged to experience them, perhaps through re-enactment. Through the gestalt process, clients learn to become more aware of how their own negative thought patterns and behaviors are blocking true self-awareness and making them unhappy. See more about Gestalt Therapy HERE. HERE. 

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Narrative Therapy 

Narrative therapy seeks to be a respectful, non-blaming approach to counselling and community work, which centres people as the experts in their own lives. It views problems as separate from people and assumes people have many skills, competencies, beliefs, values, commitments and abilities that will assist them to reduce the influence of problems in their lives. There are various principles which inform narrative ways of working, but in my opinion, two are particularly significant: always maintaining a stance of curiosity, and always asking questions to which you genuinely do not know the answers.  See more about Narrative Therapy HERE.  ​​

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