Adoption Therapists in V9M
Grunberg Patterson Centre for Counselling
Psychologist, PhD, RCC, RPsych
Verified Verified
Comox, BC V9M
Also, issues relating to adoption, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, early life trauma, attachment-related difficulties and parenting challenges.
Ethical, caring and safe relationships form the fabric of a rich and joyful life, therefore, individual and community healing go hand in hand. We believe in the healing power of a therapeutic relationship, where clients can feel valued and empowered to envision, practice and create change. Creating this relationship is the starting point for therapy. In all aspects of our work - therapy, assessment, consultation and education - we are committed to our clients and to the bonds of family, friendship and community that sustain them. We are proud of the way that we, as a practice, contribute to community health.
Also, issues relating to adoption, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, early life trauma, attachment-related difficulties and parenting challenges.
Ethical, caring and safe relationships form the fabric of a rich and joyful life, therefore, individual and community healing go hand in hand. We believe in the healing power of a therapeutic relationship, where clients can feel valued and empowered to envision, practice and create change. Creating this relationship is the starting point for therapy. In all aspects of our work - therapy, assessment, consultation and education - we are committed to our clients and to the bonds of family, friendship and community that sustain them. We are proud of the way that we, as a practice, contribute to community health.
Bethany Bowman
Pre-Licensed Professional, BHSc, MC, (Cand)
Verified Verified
1 Endorsed
Comox, BC V9M
Bethany (she/her) has extensive experience holding space for human suffering. She has a warm, vibrant energy and a lightness that helps you carry whatever burden you bear. Her “why” in this work is that she believes we are all worthy of a life of joy, authenticity, pleasure, and aliveness. She believes deeply in the tenacity and resilience of the human spirit and in your capacity for agency and healing. Bethany is constantly inspired by her clients’ ability to move from places of pain and trauma to wisdom, connection, and self-compassion.
Bethany (she/her) has extensive experience holding space for human suffering. She has a warm, vibrant energy and a lightness that helps you carry whatever burden you bear. Her “why” in this work is that she believes we are all worthy of a life of joy, authenticity, pleasure, and aliveness. She believes deeply in the tenacity and resilience of the human spirit and in your capacity for agency and healing. Bethany is constantly inspired by her clients’ ability to move from places of pain and trauma to wisdom, connection, and self-compassion.
Monika Grunberg
Counsellor, MEd, RCC
Verified Verified
Comox, BC V9M
Monika Grünberg received her Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia in 1999. Prior to completing her degree she worked primarily doing therapy with traumatized women and children in the Greater Vancouver area. She moved to the Comox Valley and began full-time private practice in 1998.
Monika Grünberg received her Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology at the University of British Columbia in 1999. Prior to completing her degree she worked primarily doing therapy with traumatized women and children in the Greater Vancouver area. She moved to the Comox Valley and began full-time private practice in 1998.
Rising Tide Wellness
Counsellor, MSc, MFT, RCC
Verified Verified
1 Endorsed
Comox, BC V9M
Are you looking for greater life satisfaction? Something needs to change but you just can't make it happen on your own? Or perhaps you want to check in with someone objective, for another perspective? Let's talk! Counselling doesn't have to increase your anxiety levels. It can be about two or more people sitting in a safe place, having coffee and a good chat about life. Face to face, online, or on the telephone. I'm a registered psychotherapist and I can help. Maybe for the first time in a long time, it's all about you!
Are you looking for greater life satisfaction? Something needs to change but you just can't make it happen on your own? Or perhaps you want to check in with someone objective, for another perspective? Let's talk! Counselling doesn't have to increase your anxiety levels. It can be about two or more people sitting in a safe place, having coffee and a good chat about life. Face to face, online, or on the telephone. I'm a registered psychotherapist and I can help. Maybe for the first time in a long time, it's all about you!
Sara Turner
Counsellor, RTC
Verified Verified
1 Endorsed
Comox, BC V9M
Not accepting new clients
We carry our life story within us. Each person has a unique collection of joys and triumphs, pleasures and pain that imprints their biology. These imprints, formed unconsciously, influence our feeling states, our decision making, self-esteem, and the way we see the world. They shape the way our nervous systems respond and adapt to challenges and change. The imprints that hold the most charge are often formed in childhood or in response to trauma, and they have the ability to create mental, emotional, and physical imbalance—to create a state of disregulation. However, we each possess the profound capacity for change.
We carry our life story within us. Each person has a unique collection of joys and triumphs, pleasures and pain that imprints their biology. These imprints, formed unconsciously, influence our feeling states, our decision making, self-esteem, and the way we see the world. They shape the way our nervous systems respond and adapt to challenges and change. The imprints that hold the most charge are often formed in childhood or in response to trauma, and they have the ability to create mental, emotional, and physical imbalance—to create a state of disregulation. However, we each possess the profound capacity for change.
See more therapy options for V9M
Adoption Counsellors
Does my adopted child need therapy?
Not every adopted child needs therapy. However, many can benefit from seeing an adoption-informed therapist, especially if they were victims of abuse or neglect, appear withdrawn or disconnected, have behavioural or developmental issues (which may or may not be related to their adoption), are struggling with feelings of grief or loss surrounding their birth parents, or find it difficult to establish an identity, a challenge that often becomes most apparent during adolescence.
When should adoptive parents seek therapy?
Prospective parents can benefit from therapy even before an adoption—for example, to voice worries and fears; to reconcile infertility struggles, if relevant; or simply to prepare themselves for parenthood. After the adoption, parents who are struggling to bond with their child; are unsure how to talk about adoption or related issues, such as race; or whose child is dealing with developmental, behavioural, or psychiatric concerns can address these and other issues with the help of an adoption-competent therapist.
Is family therapy appropriate for adoptive families?
Family therapy can be invaluable for strengthening the bond between adoptive parents and children, helping the latter feel more secure in their place in the family. Family therapy can also help adoptive families navigate complex communication issues—for example, parents who feel uncomfortable discussing race with their child, who in turn feels invalidated by their silence, or a child who has questions about his birth parents but avoids asking them out of fear of hurting his adoptive parents’ feelings.
What therapy is not appropriate for adoption issues?
A discredited therapy known as “attachment therapy” (sometimes called “holding therapy” or “rebirthing therapy”) should not be used to treat adopted and foster children, though it was largely designed for this population. Attachment therapy involves restraining, coercing, and punishing the child in order for them to “release” negative emotions and attach to their new caregivers—techniques that are abusive and dangerous and have even proven fatal in some cases.