Registered Psychologists (AB)

We welcome you to counselling at the Synergea Family Health Centre. We hope that the following information will answer many of the questions you may have about our shared practice and counselling psychology in general. You may be interested in browsing our archive of articles that we have written for the Arbour Lake Reflections monthly community newsletter, Counsellors’ Corner.

Counselling

You may decide to seek counselling when you feel that a change is needed in your life. Whether the change is a response to a need from within or due to changing relationships, counselling can provide you an opportunity to learn new skills, do reflective thinking, and heal. Our role as psychologists is to assist you to better understand your situation and to help you to use and strengthen your own internal and external resources to deal with the situation most effectively. We believe that you are most knowledgeable about yourself and that through the work we do together, you will become more aware of your feelings, thoughts, and experiences. This will allow you to identify the solutions most appropriate for your situation. If you are experiencing any of the following, we may be able to help:

• Personal Development
• Self-esteem Enhancement
• Pre-marital Counselling
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Trauma and Abuse
• Stress Management
• Adjustment to Grief and Loss
• Adjustment to Divorce or Separation
• Adjustment to Immigration and Cross-Cultural-Issues
• Relationship Concerns
• Life stage Transition
• Parenting Concerns
• Bullying
• Weight Loss and Body Image

THE COUNSELLING EXPERIENCE

As psychologists, we follow a strict code of professional ethics and are regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists. We aim to provide a supportive environment to help you talk openly and confidentially about your concerns and feelings. Since high quality psychotherapy is a collaborative effort, therapeutic approaches will be individually tailored.

Individual Counselling

Client’s often prefer to work individually when they reach a decision point to make an important personal change and they want professional support to guide them. We agree that many situations are well suited to individual work entirely. Often, it is also true that at a later time, it be very helpful for a partner, spouse, or other family member(s) to attend with the initial client. Within couples or families, it is not uncommon for one member to seek counselling before others are prepared to do so. In that case, a client comes alone, and begins to make personal change suited to their own needs within the couple, family, or larger social group. Later, others are welcome to join. As counselors, we agree that it is often helpful for counselling focus to begin with individuals and for work to progress to either couple or family work at a later appropriate time. If the counselling psychologist believes that such a progression will be beneficial, she will discuss the merits carefully with her client when appropriate.

Couple Counselling

As we work with couples, our goal is typically to enhance their relationship in a number of common ways. We support them in strengthening and renewing their friendship, helping them to become aware of each other’s needs and of their own within this important relationship. Strong communication skills are essential in healthy partnerships and these are facilitated throughout the counselling work. Having a healthy problem solving process is a hallmark of great relationships and will often be a goal of couples that we see at Synergea. At times, couples will come to Synergea when they are struggling to decide whether they will remain in the relationship or whether it would be best to separate. In these cases, our work is to support them as they carefully work at making this difficult decision.

Psychoeducational Assessments ( click here)

Parents and caregivers often wonder why their children are doing more poorly at school than they expected. A common concern is that their child does not appear to be living up to their potential. One possible reason for this problem may be that the child is experiencing a learning disorder. The disorder may relate to difficulties with listening, speaking, reading, writing or mathematical abilities, as well as difficulties with attention and concentration. Alternately (or additionally), there may be emotional, psychological, or medical difficulties that are interfering with the child’s ability to succeed in the classroom environment. Psycho-educational assessments help to clarify the nature of these difficulties to ensure the best learning environment for the child in question. Information is gathered from the child’s home and school environment and the child’s learning abilities are examined using standardized testing procedures. The results are then compiled into a written report that outlines the child’s strengths and weaknesses and includes recommendations to help improve the child’s learning and coping skills. The process is often invaluable, as it can shed light on the nature of the child’s struggles and contribute to greater self-confidence.