Gloria Murrant
BSW, MA, RSW, DCTP, Clinical Member OSP, Member CAPT

Thank you for visiting my webpage. Whether you are actually looking for a therapist or just browsing, I appreciate you taking the time to read about me and how I work as a therapist.

Some reasons clients come to work with me

• To manage depression or anxiety;
• To deal with life crisis, oppression or trauma;
• To come to terms with grief, loss or suicide;
• To explore gender, sexual orientation or other identity issues;
• To examine spiritual issues;
• To make more conscious choices in life;
• To discover their life directions;
• To reconnect to meaning in their lives;
• To learn to set boundaries with others;
• To gain insight into their experiences in relationships;
• To live in a more fulfilling, resourceful, playful, creative way;
• To improve their self-esteem;

The kinds of results people can expect

Psychotherapy can lead to a greater understanding of our feelings, our beliefs and our behaviour. It is a creative process where we learn to move more freely and with less inhibition, to really find room for our own voice and discover the course that is authentic and right for our own life.

The results often manifest as:

• Understanding and resolution to long standing concerns or issues;
• New insights that can contribute to new and more helpful ways of dealing with old issues;
• Greater self acceptance and confidence;
• More realistic and balanced expectations of ourselves and others;
• Less stress and anxiety;
• Enriched relationships;
• A more authentic way of being in the world;
• A greater sense of wholeness and well-being;

There is a ripple effect created by each of us as we become more fully ourselves. Author Marianne Williamson put it so beautifully. She said: As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. What a great gift to give to ourselves and others.

How I work with people

I provide psychotherapy to a diverse group of individuals and couples. My goal is to create a supportive, respectful, non-judgmental environment in which clients can focus on their self-discovery & self-actualization. I like to think of therapy as a process of clients waking up to themselves.

I work with an assumption that we all have unconscious, unacknowledged parts of ourselves that influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. The more we can bring those parts of ourselves into awareness and begin to pay close attention to them, the more we will be guided by our own experience rather than external influences. These unconscious, unacknowledged aspects surface through our engagement in the therapeutic relationship & conversation as well as through dreams, art work and other products of our imagination.

I don't have one theory, method or technique that I use with all clients. Everyone is different and has different needs so the pace, depth, and duration of the work is always different. I am guided by the client as together we place a non-judgmental, curious lens on their moment-to-moment reactions to their experiences. This way they can discover more about who they are and what is right for them.

My professional credentials

My credentials as a therapist are augmented by a wide range of professional experience in the areas of: HIV/AIDS, adult education, international development, community development, hospice/palliative care and bereavement, anti-oppression, cultural competence, human rights and equity work. I have lived and worked or volunteered in Australia, Botswana, Guyana, India and Israel.

My practice is also informed by my skills as a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction facilitator and by many years as a practitioner of Vipassana meditation.

I have a Bachelor of Social Work and Masters of Education. My psychodynamic psychotherapy training took place at Center for Training in Psychotherapy which involved 7 years of intensive post-graduate study including psychoanalytic theory; an experiential component of personal and group psychotherapy as well as case supervision. I continue my development as a therapist through ongoing courses & supervision.

I am a Registered Social Worker, a Qualifying member of the Ontario Association of Psychotherapists and a Member of the Canadian Association for Psychodynamic Therapy.

My office is centrally located at the Broadview Therapy Centre. For more information or to schedule a consultation please send me an email.