How I Work
Counselling and Music Therapy Providing a Safe and Compassionate Approach
In order to make changes in your life to overcome and manage your struggles, you’ll need to invest in yourself and commit to working towards feeling better about your life.
As a compassionate and skilled counsellor, I’ll guide and support you in your journey as you take the courageous steps to move forward in your life.
You’ll always be in control of the direction our sessions take and the methods we use, moving at a pace where you feel safe along the way. While I commonly incorporate music therapy, if you’d rather not use it in our sessions, we can explore alternative methods.
I’ll help you tap into your inner wisdom to gain the insight and confidence to make needed changes to achieve your goals.
Treatment Modalities for Lasting Change
I use a combination of traditional counselling methods, guided imagery with music and a specialized sound protocol to address problems that are rooted in the nervous system.
Backed by research, these methods aim to bring about lasting change by regulating the nervous system, unlocking reactive patterns, and promoting a renewed perspective where you feel better about your life.
Methods Tailored to Your Unique Needs
I use any or all of the approaches below depending on your level of comfort, safety and desired goals.
Your comfort is central to our work together. I’m flexible and adaptive, allowing us to adjust our work and the therapy methods we use, ensuring our sessions feel right for you.
This personalized approach ensures you’re an active participant in your healing journey, helping to get your needs met.
Adlerian Therapy: Fostering Self-Discovery, Confidence, and Social Connections
Adlerian Individual Psychology recognizes the importance of nurturing feelings of belonging and empowers you to understand your unique strengths, weaknesses, and behaviour patterns.
By fostering a sense of self-awareness and social interest—the capacity to empathize and connect with others—Adlerian therapy promotes positive change as it encourages you to overcome challenges.
Adlerian therapy is particularly effective in addressing issues such as low self-esteem, feelings of inferiority, and the development of a more optimistic and resilient outlook on life.
The Adlerian method also emphasizes the importance of understanding you in your social context and examines the order in which you were born within your family.
Moreover, Adlerian therapy encourages you to identify your life purpose and meaning and helps to instill motivation and create a greater sense of direction.
Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music: Accessing Your Inner Wisdom
The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (BMGIM) is a music-centered, consciousness-expanding therapy. It involves listening to evocative classical music designed to access your inner experiences and emotions. While listening to the music, you describe your images and sensations to me, and I ask questions to enhance and deepen your experience.
BMGIM can induce a non-ordinary state of consciousness where you can access deeper emotions, thoughts and experiences that may not be available to you otherwise.
Addressing and healing the deeper layers of your psyche in this way facilitates profound insights and wisdom. It can bring about a resolution of symptoms that may not be possible or may take longer with talk therapy alone.
Safe and Sound Protocol: Feeling Safer and Calmer by Regulating Your Nervous System
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is an intervention where you listen to specially processed music with over-the-ear headphones. It’s designed to regulate the autonomic nervous system, promoting a sense of security and tranquility.
The SSP results in reduced stress and anxiety while boosting emotional resilience. This helps you become less reactive to situations that would typically cause distress, ultimately improving your emotional well-being.
Traumatic Incident Reduction: Rapidly Resolving Traumatic Experiences
Traumatic incident reduction (TIR) helps you overcome challenging and traumatic experiences faster than traditional therapy. It involves facing difficult or painful incidents from the past that are getting in the way in your present life in a safe and supportive environment with your therapist.
With TIR, you move through a structured process at a pace that aligns with your comfort level. TIR enables you to release pent-up feelings, leading to emotional healing and a reduction in the intensity of negative emotions associated with traumatic and distressing experiences.
Using a combination of the above approaches can address your issues more comprehensively, leading to greater and more lasting improvements.
I hope the above gives you some idea of how you can benefit from my work.
We’ll discuss your concerns and decide the best approach for working together.
I offer in-person counselling in my North Vancouver office.
I also provide online video‑conference sessions.
** Some evening and weekend appointments are available