What To Expect:
What is this Counselling business?
First, I want to say kudos to you for being here - finding a counsellor and starting this journey can be nerve racking. People are often unsure what to expect and sometimes wonder if they will be able to handle what comes up. Youology is founded on the belief that everyone has unique needs and experiences that bring them to counselling, and often, this can leave us wanting to reject or turn away from parts of ourselves. Your therapists goal is to help you tap into your inner wisdom so you can feel like your whole self. Most of all, we really want you to feel seen and understood.
What does this look like in practice?
Building a solid relationship comes first - it is really hard to discuss difficult things when trust is limited. Once we get to know each other, your therapist will tailor their approach to best suit your needs. This can look like; exploring stories you hold about yourself, processing emotional wounds, or identifying the various parts of yourself and how they impact you within the context of your relationships.
See information below on specific modalities offered.
Modality Specific Information
Virtual Counselling
Virtual counselling is offered through a video conferencing program (similar to Zoom). Often times client’s like the convenience of virtual therapy, so we encourage you to give it a go! All therapists offer virtual therapy as an option.
Sandtray Therapy
Sandtray therapy is not just for kids! It can also be used to support adults who struggle with a wide variety of concerns. Sometimes we just don’t have words for the things we are feeling or what has happened to us - Sandtray therapy can help with this. By creating your inner world within the sandtray, people use both their right and left brain to process what is happening internally.
Control-Mastery Theory
CMT explains how our early childhood experiences can impact the beliefs we hold about ourselves, and how these beliefs end up impacting our relationship to ourselves and others. In practice, your CMT therapist would want to explore your early childhood experiences and then map these experiences to the beliefs you hold about yourself (i.e., I am unlovable, I am not good enough, I am unattractive). Your therapist would then be looking for ways these beliefs are impacting you today.
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) uses eye movements or bilateral stimulation (tapping one side of your body and then the next) to help make traumatic memories feel as though they are at a distance. Research has shown that EMDR is effective at reducing symptoms of PTSD, Depression and Anxiety. Please feel free to reach out to learn more!
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
IFS believes that we all have multiple parts inside of us. These parts are often created as a way to keep us safe. Once we have moved out of these traumatic circumstances, sometimes these parts can still impact us, resulting in implications for our relationships and selves. IFS helps to identify and separate out these parts to help aid in the process of healing.
Somatic Experiencing
SE is a body based approach which supports an individual to get back in touch with their nervous system in a way that feels safe. By tapping into your body sensations and increasing your window of tolerance for experiencing sensations within your body, you can begin to allow stored trauma to be released. To add, this also helps with no longer feeling overwhelmed by symptoms of anxiety or depression.
