Ingrid Phaneuf
ANDC, Member CAPT
Français
We enter psychotherapy for a wide variety of reasons: the death or loss of a loved one, illness, job loss, divorce, addiction, etc., but all of us seek help because we are trying to find a better way to deal with the reality we are facing.
My job is to help you find your own unique way of processing the painful feelings you are having about your situation, whatever it may be, in order to be able to better deal with it and come out of it in the most desirable and happiest way you can.
As a practitioner of a non-directive and creative approach to psychotherapy (I trained at the Centre de Relation d'Aide de Montreal), and, perhaps more importantly, as someone who has seen real improvement in my relationships with myself and with others thanks to my own journey in therapy, I've learned the answer to our problems are within ourselves.
My effectiveness as a psychotherapist lies in my ability to reflect your own unique responses to your experiences, in order to help you to:
- Talk about your emotions and reactions in a safe environment
- Figure out whether these emotions and reactions stem from or are similar to those experienced due to an earlier trauma or experience
- Observe whether your reactions produce the desired outcomes
- Discover new ways to react, if that would produce more desirable outcomes
Of course, the best way to deal with life's difficulties can only be determined by you. This is where the "non-directivity" of the therapist plays an important role - my job is to listen and reflect, not to judge and evaluate.
The mandate of the psychotherapist is:
- To listen, not to judge
- To witness your suffering with compassion, without getting in the way of you releasing it or understanding it fully
- To help you recognize and develop alternatives to behaviours and patterns that may lead to further suffering
As I've already mentioned, I received my Diploma after a three-year training at the Centre de Relation d'Aide de Montreal, a French-language school for the training of psychotherapists in Montreal.
As a graduate of the school (and a native Montrealer) I am able to work in English and French. I specialize in what is often called "talk therapy," with a few creative techniques thrown in. For example, I find that those of us who are more "rational" than "emotional" can benefit from visual or auditory aids, such as art, music or poetry, to allow access to emotions which may otherwise remain repressed.
I myself am a 40-year-old, happily married woman who is artistic in temperament, and who has found success in a range of occupations: as a journalist, communications VP, editor, actress, and playwright. I enjoy reading, making things (food and objects) with my hands, caring for my cats and dog, and am a very lazy musician who never practices.
I also pursue therapy as a client myself, and regularly see a supervisor who helps me improve my own practice. Supervision, in my opinion, is necessary for the ongoing growth of a therapist, no matter how experienced.
If you think I might be the right therapist for you, please don't hesitate to contact me. As you know, you are entitled to a free consultation to determine whether you have the right fit.
My hours are flexible and I practice from two conveniently located offices. My central office is in the Bathurst-Christie area, close to the Bathurst subway. Here's my central office map. My west end office is at Dundas-Bloor near the Kipling subway. Here's my west end map.
I look forward to meeting with you soon.
|