Counselling Services
Who I Work With
While I have the privilege and honour of supporting with a variety of people working through a variety of issues, my specialty is providing individual therapy to adult women (18+).
Many of my clients begin therapy with the goal of managing symptoms or concerns related to:
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Anxiety
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Anger Management
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Body Image and Relationship with Food/Exercise
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Depression
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Emotional Dysregulation
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Grief, Bereavement and Loss
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Loss of meaning or purpose
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Parenting Challenges
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People pleasing
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Perfectionism
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
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Pregnancy/Postpartum
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Relationship Challenges – e.g. conflict, boundary setting, relationships ending
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Self-Esteem, Self-Worth and Self-Confidence
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Work/Life Balance and Burnout
While all of these issues are important and worthy of our attention, some of my areas of expertise include the following:
Childhood Trauma
I help women to explore the parts of themselves who have experienced hurt, difficulties and trauma. For many, these pain points began in their childhood and family of origin. Perhaps they grew up in a dysfunctional family - maybe they had a parent or sibling who struggled with their own mental health concerns and/or addiction. Maybe their parents separated/divorced or there was conflict in the family home. Maybe their parents were never home because they worked too much. Maybe there was life-threatening illness, sudden loss of a loved one, or traumatic separation. Or maybe there was more overt abuse, such as physical or sexual abuse.
Childhood trauma is not just about what happened to you, sometimes it’s about what didn’t happen (but you needed), like emotional attunement, a sense of safety, security or belonging, to feel important and valued.
Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health
For many, the perinatal period – which includes conception, pregnancy, and postpartum/motherhood – is a whirlwind of emotions. I hear from many women, that it is often a lonely and overwhelming experience.
No matter where you are on your perinatal journey, you are not alone. I support women struggling with:
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Fertility challenges
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Pregnancy or infant loss
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Birth/reproductive trauma or obstetric violence
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Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs)
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The transition to parenthood, including loss of identity, changes in your relationships, and little time for self care.
The perinatal period often holds up a mirror – shining a light on and
scratching open wounds we didn’t know existed, or we thought we’d
dealt with. It is an incredible honour to help women heal from their
own childhoods and learn to re-parent themselves as they parent their
own children.
The Perfectionists and People Pleasers
Often an outcome of early traumatic experience(s), perfectionism and people-pleasing is so common in women. Always striving to be the “good girl” is exhausting and breeds resentment. I help women to explore and understand the origins of these behaviours, and learn how to prioritize themselves, and set boundaries.
Empaths and Highly Sensitive Persons (HSP)
As an empath, highly sensitive person (HSP), and an introvert myself, I am also passionate about supporting other empaths, HSPs, and introverts on their journey as they learn to navigate feeling and thinking deeply in a highly stimulating and often overwhelming world.
"Only When We Are Brave Enough To Explore The Darkness Will We Discover The Infinite Power Of Our Light."
- Brené Brown
How I Work
Prioritizing the therapeutic relationship - safety and trust. A thoughtful blend of support and insight, offering perspective, teaching coping skills, and asking thought-provoking questions.
Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy
(EFIT)
Emotion informs our perception of our experiences, shapes the meaning we create of those experiences, primes our body’s responses, and moves us into action. As the name suggests, the primary focus of EFIT is emotion.
Rooted in attachment science, EFIT focuses on enhancing emotional awareness and emotional regulation, facilitates trauma processing, and aids in healing attachment wounds, challenging unhelpful thoughts and improving relationships. EFIT has been proven to be effective in treating individuals living with depression, anxiety, disordered eating, trauma, and relationship challenges, among other concerns. Learn more here.
Our brain is an incredible thing. When we experience something difficult, the brain helps us to process this negative experience into a more neutral memory. We can look back on the memory and think “that was hard, but I got through it”.
Sometimes, though, this processing gets “stuck”, and the natural healing cannot take place. EMDR helps identify and process the stuck memories so that the brain’s natural ability to heal can continue.
Originally created to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), research shows that EMDR can now also effectively treat anxiety, depression, traumatic grief and loss, substance misuse, disordered eating and much more.
If you’re used to talk therapy, EMDR will feel a bit different, maybe even a bit weird or awkward at first. But, people are often surprised at how effective and powerful EMDR can be.
Interested in learning more about EMDR? Click here.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
(EMDR)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
(CBT)
CBT is one of the most researched and empirically-validated styles of therapy. It is a structured form of therapy that focuses on helping you explore the connection between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
There are two parts of CBT. First, cognitive strategies aim to disrupt the automatic negative thoughts and help you to develop more helpful and balanced thoughts. Second, behavioural strategies focus on bringing more intentional action to patterns in your behaviour that may not be working well for you.
CBT has proven to be effective for a number of psychological issues including depression, anxiety, relationship challenges, substance use disorders and sleep difficulties. Click here to learn more about CBT.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) encourages people to embrace their thoughts and feelings rather than trying to resist them or fight against them.
The goal of ACT is to enhance our psychological flexibility in an effort to create a rich and meaningful life, while accepting the pain that inevitably goes with it.
“ACT” is a good abbreviation because this therapy is about taking effective action guided by our deepest values and in which we are fully present and engaged. It is only through mindful action that we can create a meaningful life. Of course, as we attempt to create such a life, it is human nature to encounter all sorts of barriers, in the form of unpleasant and unwanted "private experiences" (thoughts, images, feelings, sensations, urges, and memories). ACT teaches mindfulness skills as an effective way to handle these private experiences.
To learn more about ACT, click here.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
(ACT)
Polyvagal/Somatic Experiencing
(informed)
Somatic comes from the root word “soma”, which means the body. Unlike traditional talk therapy approaches, somatic experiencing (SE) is a body-oriented approach for healing traumatic or overwhelming life experiences. SE argues that we cannot talk or logic our way through trauma that is stuck in the body. Informed by Polyvagal Theory, the goal of SE is emotional and nervous system regulation and the release and completion of self-protective responses (e.g. fight, flight, freeze, fawn states).
Polyvagal Theory suggests that by understanding how our nervous system responds to different situations, like stress, danger or safety, we can better manage our own health and wellness and better understand the behaviour of others.
Learn more about SE here.
Learn more about Polyvagal Theory here.
Do you have insurance?
Most health insurance plans will cover some or all of the cost of your session. Unsure if my services will be covered? Check to see if the services of a "Registered Social Worker" are covered through your insurance plan.
Are you a university or college student in Ontario? Student Health Insurance Plans often cover the services of a Registered Social Worker too.
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University of Waterloo undergraduate or graduate student: Your student health insurance plan covers $800 per benefit year. Click here for more detailed information about your student health insurance coverage.
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Wilfred Laurier University undergraduate or graduate student: Your student health insurance plan covers $800 per benefit year. Click here for more detailed information about your student health insurance coverage.
Counselling Rates:
60 minute session - $140
75 minute session - $160
90 minute session - $180
Do you have any questions about Root and Flourish Counselling's services?
Get in touch with Laura by sending an email below.