My clinical training has included extensive exposure to psychodynamic, experiential, and narrative therapeutic approaches. Occasionally, I use cognitive-behavioural strategies in the treatment of anxiety-based issues.
Psychodynamic therapy focuses on identifying the underlying sources of your suffering by providing you with a safe interpersonal space to experience your feelings, develop insight into your relational patterns, and work through barriers to psychic change.
Experiential therapy focuses your attention on what unfolds in the here and now. It encourages you to tune into your feelings, thoughts, bodily sensations, images, and memories as a way of staying present in the moment. Mindfulness awareness enhances your capacity to contain your distress and learn how to calm your mind.
I occasionally use cognitive behavioural therapeutic approaches such as imagery, desensitisation, relaxation and deep breathing strategies, reframing, and exposure techniques in helping clients cope more effectively with various manifestations of anxiety (i.e. phobias, panic attacks, etc).
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT
A – Adult assessment
Sometimes you may be asked to undergo a psychological assessment by a third party in
order to qualify for long term disability and/or, disability benefit. You may require a psychological
assessment if you have fled your country of origin due to torture and/or persecution.
In other cases, you and your family may have applied to be granted an immigrant
status based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. In all these cases, a psychological
assessment can determine your present mental status and offer an informed opinion
about your current psychological functioning. It is important to note that these
assessments are fair and impartial evaluation of your psychological condition; the purpose
of assessment is to gain a more in-depth understanding of your psychological needs and
get you the support you need in order to live a more fulfilling life.
B - Child/adolescent Assessment
An important area of my work is the psychological and psycho-educational assessment of
children and adolescents. Children and adolescents can experience various emotional difficulties
that may manifest themselves in impulsive or aggressive behaviours, depressive
thoughts and feelings and/or anxious avoidance of fearful situations. They may feel anxious
in social situations or they may be afflicted by self-deprecatory thoughts and feelings.
Anxiety and depression can be a source of many psychological issues including eating
disorders, aggressive outbursts, suicidal ideation, self-harm behaviours (e.g. cutting), phobias,
obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive behaviours.
In order to help ease the suffering of these youngsters, it is important to understand the nature of their problems by conducting a proper psychological assessment. The psychological assessment can identify the underlying causes of a child’s distress and offer appropriate recommendations to address the problem.
A typical psychological assessment includes the clinical interview with the child and his/her family and it usually involves the administration of a few questionnaires and psychological tests. The results of the assessment can be presented in a report.
C - Psycho-educational Assessment
Occasionally, learning problems may be the root cause of a child’s emotional distress. A
psycho-educational assessment can determine specific areas of concern that interfere
with a child’s ability to learn and it can offer recommendations for remedial support.
Working as a psycho-educational consultant, I have frequently used standard, dynamic or curriculum-based assessment methods in order to identify the instructional needs of children with learning disabilities and help them achieve their academic goals. Occasionally children with gifted abilities also need to undergo assessment in order to qualify for appropriate educational programs.
A typical psycho-educational assessment might take 10-12 hours. This process involves clinical interview with the child and the family and it includes the administration of a few standard batteries that could determine the child’s cognitive ability (memory, information processing skills, analytical thinking, etc) and achievement skills (reading and writing comprehension, Mathematics reasoning, etc). The assessment results will be presented in a comprehensive psycho-educational report.
REHABILITATION ASSESSMENT & TREATMENT
An important part of my work is to offer psychological support to individuals who have
been injured in workplace and/or motor vehicle accidents. A serious injury could be a traumatic
experience that can lead to significant instability and psychological disorientation.
An injury can interfere with a person’s ability to work and it can cause feelings of futility
and worthlessness. A traumatic injury can be a life-changing experience that can result in
loss of personal meaning and self-efficacy. Those who have suffered a serious injury may
experience chronic pain, feelings of apathy and dissociation, intrusive thoughts and imagery
(flashbacks), chronic anxiety, hyper vigilance, and constant worries about their
physical vulnerability and their capacity for productive work.
Therapy can offer the much-needed support to recover from the debilitating effects of trauma and restore a sense of meaning in life. An important part of the rehabilitation is to teach the client effective pain management strategies and help them learn to relate to pain in a less reactive way. In my work with rehabilitation clients, I use various treatment modalities such as mindfulness stress reduction strategies, and cognitive behavioural strategies such as deep breathing, relaxation techniques, desensitisation, imagery, and exposure techniques to facilitate the process of recovery.