Attachment-based Therapists in Southwest Calgary, Calgary, AB

Have you been called needy? Or been called cold/distant by people you’re in relationship with? Do you find you vacillate between feeling needy or emotionally shut down? These issues are based on, what psychologists call, insecure attachment styles. These are relationship styles that we subconsciously learn when we are young and take with us into adulthood.

Distress can be the catalyst for personal growth and meaningful transformation. The journey can take many paths and I would be honoured to join you. We will work collaboratively together and provide guidance toward positive change. We will focus on trust to create a safe and supportive relationship. It is crucial to me that we have a strong relationship in the therapy room, laying the foundation for effective therapy. I find value in understanding how past experiences shape our ways of thinking, relationship patterns, and coping mechanisms. In other times of need, we will focus on the urgent crisis at hand.

You are the expert in your own life and I believe that a positive and supportive therapeutic relationship can help create the change you are looking for. When working with you, I bring my authentic and fully-engaged self to help you feel heard, valued, and respected. It is an immense privilege to enter the stories of other people’s lives and I feel deeply honored to do so. It is important for me to tailor treatment and interventions specific to each of your unique and individual needs, and so wholehearted listening and understanding to each unique story, experience, and situation is vital.

Life can be a beautiful mess and a heartbreaking gift, sometimes at the same time. My aim is to provide the connection and support you need to navigate the challenges you are currently facing. I will remind you of your innate strengths and values and encourage you to listen to and trust yourself. I will seek to help you recognize the patterns of thinking and behaviour that might be holding you back, as well as invite you to consider how various influences in your life impact your functioning. I believe the body-mind connection is essential for health and wellbeing and I will work to help you strengthen that bond within yourself.

Hi! Let’s take a deep breath: you’ve made it past the first step of identifying you need some help. In a world that is often too loud and busy, it is easy to fall into thought patterns that you are lacking; as a therapist, it is my role to help you shift that narrative from deficit to plenty. I believe mental health is fluid experience and that understanding your emotions and building meaningful coping strategies is key to sustainable resilience. My role is to create a safe and empathetic space for you to be vulnerable and show up as your authentic self. My practice style is grounded in attachment-based and family systems theory.

I am a clinical psychologist in Calgary, and provide individual, family, as well as group therapy. I also provide comprehensive psychological assessment services, as well as consultation to parents, schools, health care providers, and other professionals. My experience includes previous and current employment in the health care and educational sectors, including hospital and community settings. I typically practice from a cognitive-behavioural therapy model, and use a brief, solution focused approach to therapy. My work with couples and families tends to be more emotionally focused, attachment based, and I use a family systems approach.

It is an honour and a privilege to be invited into a person’s journey as they navigate the complexities of this world. It is possible you are noticing struggles with anxiety, mood, relationships, difficult emotions, or have experienced trauma or loss. Perhaps you are moving through a life transition or are generally curious about how to take your personal growth to a deeper level. Therapy can be incredibly beneficial to build self-awareness, tap into our most authentic selves, discover tools, and build resilience for creating sustainable change to move through life with more ease and meaning.

My career has centered around my primary area of interest concerning relationship dynamics and the impact and understanding of insecurity, frustration, anxiety and loss. I am passionate about supporting parents in understanding the influence of early life experiences and how those shape emotional development and our ability to remain connected to our children. My work is influenced by attachment-based therapy, narrative therapy, humanistic and experiential play approaches.

Hello and welcome to this space. It takes immense courage to reach out for help, whether you are doing so for the first time or are returning - I commend you for taking that first step. I was once told that we each have a light that shines within us: it is the essence of our being and burns bright. When faced with challenges, like trauma, addictions, or emotional and/or mental stress, that light can become covered; caked in mud, if you will. The more challenges, the more layers. The light is still there, but it’s difficult to see. In therapy, we will work together to peel back the layers and let your light shine bright again.

I have over 15 years of experience in supporting children, teens and adults in various community, non-profit and school-based settings. During this time, I supported people from all walks of life while they navigated life's challenges.I define myself as a relationship-based therapist and, hence, have a strong belief in the power of connection between therapist and client. I strive to develop a supportive and understanding relationship with clients, and create an environment of empathy, compassion, and unconditional positive regard.

Sometimes life is messy and complicated, and we don’t always have the tools or strategies to manage what comes our way. Sometimes we need a different perspective, or a challenge to see things in a new way. Sometimes we need to have the hard conversations. Whatever it is for you right now, welcome. My goal is to work with you to get you where you want to be. We'll do that using a variety of tools, techniques, and approaches throughout our counselling process, all the while focusing on our relationship (this part's key). We'll collaborate together and I'll seek your feedback along the way.

Excessive worry, overwhelm, inner conflict, and fear can impede our ability to cope. I work with a range of hardships such as painful life events or transitions, relational stress, instability, conflict or betrayal, grief and loss, past or current trauma and parenting issues. My commitment is to hold a safe space to explore your concerns holistically - processing from an emotional, cognitive and somatic lens. It is important to me that you come away from our time with clarity and insight, new self-awareness and the strength and tools needed to help you move forward.

My passion in helping disconnected couples and families find their way back to each other. My work assists couples who seek that connection and experience of being seen, heard and deeply understood by their partner. I pay particular attention to those interactions where couples get stuck, and guide them to create more trust and safety in those moments where the "signals get scrambled'. My family therapy focus is informed by an attachment based, developmental approach. This is a parent coaching model that empowers parents/caregivers by grounding them in the science of attachment while providing "in the moment" strategies.

I recognize that these are trying times and that it can be difficult to reach out for support. As a result, I take care in ensuring that families feel safe, comfortable, and connected by providing a warm and empathic therapeutic environment. I specialize in clinical psychology and provide treatment to children, adolescents, and young adults. I work primarily from a cognitive-behavioural lens and integrate other evidence-based treatments into my practice to meet the needs of each individual client and family. I also have training in attachment-based interventions and offer parent support for those who may feel stuck or overwhelmed.

Life can be unpredictable and challenging, and sometimes the situations that make it so may be outside of our control. As we grew up, we learned to respond to life's uncertainties in ways that may have been adaptive and functional at the time. In fact, they may have been necessary for our survival. However, there comes a time in our life when these once adaptive ways of coping are hindering our ability to thrive. We seek something different. We want a change. We long for a rich life that is full of purpose, meaning, and loving connection.

Modern life is full of complex pressures—though it doesn’t come with a road map to help us make sense of where we are or where we want to go. Sometimes we get stuck and need some assistance finding direction. Every person has the capacity for growth; yet every person’s story, life experiences, and hurdles are different.

Daytime/evening availability. Life can be so hard sometimes! Whether it’s difficulty in your relationships with others, in your relationship with yourself or coping with the pressures of life, psychotherapy can help make things easier. My aim is to provide you with a safe, compassionate and authentic space to open up about your concerns, process them with a trained professional and feel less alone. I want to help you learn to to kinder to yourself, detach from your thoughts (giving your mind that much needed break) and lessen the intensity of emotions so that they do not overwhelm you.

You have already taken the first step by searching for a therapist on your journey! I am a Registered Psychologist with over 20 years’ experience working with children, youth, and families. My clinical experience includes working in addictions, child & adolescent mental health, employee & family assistance, working with children & families in the non-profit sector, and extensive experience in school counselling with students, families, and educators. Areas of clinical interest include: child & adolescent mental health, couples counselling, depression, anxiety, life stage transitions, and interpersonal relationship issues.

Why do we make the choices that we do? Life provides unique experiences that affect people in different ways. These experiences contribute positively or negatively to our well-being and guide our life choices and impulses. It is important to honour the good things we have encountered but it is vital to address the challenges that we have faced, especially when they keep us stuck.