I am a Registered Clinical Counselor, registered with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (#2102). I received my MA in clinical Psychology from the Adlerian School of Professional Psychology in 2001, and have worked as a Professional certified therapist in family service agencies as well as in my own private practice.
Over the years my work as a therapist has given me the unique honor of seeing people of all 'shapes and sizes' regain a sense of contentment with their life on this earth. While i maintain some credit for being the right therapist in the right place and at the right time for my clients, it is them who have transformed a life of dissatisfaction into a life of gentle gratitude. And once they reach that place of inspiration, FUN is not far behind.
I have worked relentlessly in the past ten years to create an effective and long lasting approach to psychotherapy and client care. My Adlerian background has provided me with the perfect framework from which to begin my understanding of how we function in the world. For more information on Adlerian Psychotherapy, go to About Counseling. My practice was going along quite well, but i noticed something was missing. I was able to facilitate clients' growth in many areas but sometimes our work would get stuck. Change would take place in the clients' 'minds' (the rational and analytical left hemisphere of their brain) but it wouldn't quite reach deep enough into their gut (the creative right hemisphere of their brain). My clients and I needed something more than the traditional talk therapy.
EMDR came into my life while i was in the role of the client. At the time, i was dealing with general anxiety disorder and panic attacks. Interestingly, the only time i was not effected by my 'anxiety hobby' was when i was with my clients. I approached an old colleague of mine who suggested that I try EMDR. I agreed.
Sitting in my therapist's office during that first EMDR session, I must say, I was nervous. This was not my first time in the role of the client, nor was it my first time with this particular therapist, but this was my first time doing EMDR. I was also quite excited because i had heard so many good things about the process and had been wanting to try it for a while. Because i had been seeing this therapist for sometime, we skipped the history taking phase and went straight into 'safe place'. Together we established my unique place (real or imaginary) of calmness. We explored this place's characteristics to help anchor it inside my mind and added a short- cut in the form of a cue that i could use to help my mind conjure up this place of bliss either during session or at any other time. I still use my safe place whenever i need to.
Next, my therapist asked me to rate my disturbance level as it related to my issue. Being a professional therapist (and a left brainer) I appreciated all of the measurement procedures embedded in the EMDR protocol. They helped me see that we were doing something concrete and measurable. Once, we established the negative self assessment (Negative Cognition), the feelings, and the bodily sensations that were the characteristics of the 'file' in my mind this anxiety belonged to, we very calmly 'got out of the way'. My mind comfortably led me to an early memory. It wasn't a big dramatic memory but it was definitely an unpleasant one. Something i always knew was in the background of my life but i never thought about it as a core memory. It had been stuck in my associative network collecting 'debris' (other associated experiences that had been assorted into that file). Once found, it was so obvious to me that this memory was the root of the many associations that grew out of it.
My therapist used tapping (gentle rhythmic tapping on my knees). I have since learned of many other forms of stimulation, though the eye movement achieved by following some form of visual stimulation (light bar, hand movement, a dot on a screen) is most effective as we have the most sensors inside our eyes. The experience i felt while my therapist was tapping on my knees was fascinating. It was as if I was sitting comfortably on a moving train and watching the scenery outside unfold. And what a scenery. My feelings came and left. It was empowering to see that every feeling has a beginning, middle and an end. I processed that memory and the feelings that were stuck inside it, and then my mind gently carried me to another memory where i had felt similar emotions. Once that one had been processed I was encouraged to scan my body and I noticed a tightness in my shoulder. My therapist suggested i put my hand on where i felt the tightness which i did, and some more feelings came out (who knew our bodies held feelings inside the tissues...). The feelings came, and the feelings left and as i was processing all this information i began to notice a shift inside. A sense of gentleness was beginning to form inside me. The best way to describe it is as a sense of "I'm ok", "It's ok". It was a lightness that i welcomed with open arms. I left the office that day thinking "THAT is why i love therapy!"
EMDR changed the way i relate to myself, to those around me and to the world. With my anxiety out of the way, i now had more time to dedicate to the important things in life.
Today, I am a trained EMDR Practitioner and I use EMDR as a main tenet in my approach to therapy and client care.
My life is dedicated to my family, my friends, my world and myself.
My work is dedicated to providing the BEST service to ALL my clients, and to honoring their uniqueness and their wholeness.
I have offices in Richmond, Down- town Vancouver, North Vancouver and East Vancouver.
Contact me for a free 15 minute phone consultation.
604.616.9908
info@lifecounseling.ca
I look forward to working with you.
