Services and Approach

 Topics/Issues

Exploration of Emotions

As our world becomes increasingly emotionally literate, we are realizing that feelings are more complex and diverse than we may be comfortable with. Processing the “granularity” of feelings allows us to distinguish between worry and anxiety, fulfillment and contentment, hopelessness and depression, to name a few. Within safe exploration, we can learn to identify and “ride the wave” of our feelings and can sometimes even find their roots. As a polyvagal informed therapist, I also know that our bodies give us vibrant clues about feelings and about safety. Learning how to listen to our bodies is often a key to becoming unstuck and to processing our emotions.

Life Transitions

Having spent almost twenty years working with adolescents, I admire this group of humans more than I could have ever imagined. Without fail, youth are courageous, curious, brave, worried, attuned to the world, adaptable, and sensitive. In a few short years of life, teens and young adults experience so many transitions, often feeling uncertainty and hope in equal parts. Having lived through many of my own transitions and supported others while they grappled with change, I value a possible role in accompanying those who, at any age, are considering a change in their lives, have had a transition forced upon them, and are existing in a complex world that is itself transitioning.

Giftedness

Giftedness may be interpreted as possessing high potential or being high achieving. Many link it quite closely to intelligence. While aspects of these interpretations may be true, giftedness is also linked to intensity, creativity, loneliness, overexcitabilities, perfection, frustration, anxiousness, robust humour, leadership, deep empathy and compassion, and pain. As a therapist and a gifted human, I respect the complexity of giftedness and understand the potential importance of exploring it safely and with self-compassion. My understanding of giftedness is deeply affirming of neurodiversity and twice exceptionality.

Exploration of  Identity

 While traditionally associated with adolescence, search for identity and belonging is a lifelong exploration. That said, it is especially key for teens as they grapple with their autonomy, acceptance-of-self, making sense of a complex world with growing responsibilities, and shifting relationships from familial bonds to peer ones. Emotions and communication during identity exploration, in any stage of life, can be confusing and worrying, often with feelings of being stuck or disillusioned. With support and room to explore, identity exploration can also be rich and hopeful, allowing for a deeper alignment with authentic purpose and meaning.