Psychotherapy
Generally, when people consider psychotherapy, it is because something is not working in their lives. Sometimes people know why they are hurting, and sometimes they don't. When they don't and they are feeling stuck, or miserable or generally unhappy, they are likely suffering from an accumulation of large and small traumas which have blocked, shut down or created disarray in their lives.
We all develop our own ways to cope with the traumas of our lives. When we were hurt in childhood, we had fewer resources to help us. As adults, we have many more coping skills, but we sometimes still react to stress with responses learned in childhood.
Some psychological symptoms are:
- feeling depressed
- feeling detached from life and relationships
- losing interest in former activities
- decreasing ability to handle stress
- responding inappropriately to situations
- phobias or panic attacks
- stressful or painful relationships
- sabotaging success
- anger and irritability
Some Benefits of Psychotherapy
- feel happier
- handle stress better
- feel more confident
- feel more in control
- get rid of phobias and panic attacks
- feel less anxious
- reduce self-destructive behaviour
- have better relationships
- manage grief better
- stop self sabotage
- handle anger better
- clarify a confusing life transition
The Psychologists Association has an excellent description about discerning the need for Psychological help. You can find it here:
Psychologist's Association of Alberta
Here is an important point to keep in mind when choosing a therapist: An effective therapist must have done enough of their own personal work that they don't get their unresolved issues confused with your struggles. The therapist must always be focussed only on your work. It is entirely legitimate to ask a potential therapist if they have had their own psychotherapy so you know the therapist has addressed his/her own difficulties and also experienced psychotherapy. I have had more than five hundred hours of individual, couple and group therapy in order to ensure I am clear in my own life, and that I will not mix any personal issues in with my client's work.
Since 1982, when I first became a chartered Psychologist, I have been a keen student of the most up-to-date psychotherapy training, learning all I can to help me be a truly effective psychotherapist.
(see About Elizabeth)
The best and most effective training I have ever taken is my recent and ongoing training in Self Regulation Therapy (SRT), a new therapy based on the newest neuroscience research. Although I still make use of all the other skills I have learned, I am very grateful to have this effective new tool to help people.
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