Psychotherapy Services in Toronto
Psychotherapy Services in Toronto
Do you ever think back to when you were a child and reminisce about how simple life once seemed?
Even if things were turbulent, it was easy to tap into an inner joy that you can't seem to find now.
Where did that happy kid go?
Many adult individuals who are seeking psychotherapy for various issues, such as anxiety or depression, state they had a relatively normal childhood.
We tend to think a traumatic past consists of growing up with an abusive or alcoholic parent, surviving a tragic accident or enduring horrendous bullying.
While these examples are obviously legitimate sources of trauma, we don't realize that an emotionally unavailable father, an overbearing mother, or getting lost in the grocery store at age 4, can be just as traumatic to a little one.
Since these situations and events are so overwhelming, our psyche exiles these memories or 'parts' that hold these unbearable feelings of terror, shame and unworthiness and locks them away.
The locks are shiny, new and strong when we are young, so we don't feel the pain. As a result, we continue to enjoy life's simple wonders and joys through our child eyes.
The problems begin to develop when the locks become rusty and weaken over time, which is why our emotional and physical discomforts intensify as we age.
We develop negative coping strategies such as rage, control, avoidance, perfectionism, anxiety, depression, substance use, or a biting sense of humour, just to name a few.
We may also become sucked into unhealthy relationships and fight to hold on to them, even though we logically know they aren't good for us.
Many of the strategies we developed to deal with life's struggles when we were young were brilliant. Some of them, such as perfectionism or over-working may have even contributed to our success. However, they also leave us feeling anxious, depressed, unfulfilled, and never good enough.
Worse yet, all of these unwanted emotions that are constantly lingering in the background lead to increases and decreases in hormones and other biological signalling molecules. This can affect sleep and leaves the body vulnerable to ailments, syndromes and diseases.
Instead of reacting to people and situations based on fear caused by something that happened in the past, my goal is to bring you into the present moment where you can respond from a place of calmness, connectedness and curiosity.
I'll gently and respectfully guide you through your internal system so you can uncover your true Self and build trust and compassion from within.
I use a variety of evidenced based psychotherapy modalities, including Internal Family Systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) mixed with mindfulness, somatic awareness practices and spiritual counselling.
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