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.
