MEET
DARRELL
Therapy with a little more back-and-forth
Maybe you're fed up. With the situation you're in, the way you've been handling things, or the fact that nothing seems to be changing. You know something needs to give, but you're not entirely sure how to go about it.
I get that reaching out for therapy isn't always easy.
Here's what you can expect from me. I won't tell you how to live your life, but I won't sit back and watch the clock either. I'm an active part of the conversation. I'll challenge some of the things you tell yourself, offer a different perspective and help you figure out what might actually work for you.
I am a big believer that what happens in therapy needs to be useful outside my office. Otherwise, what's the point?
And if you've made it this far, I'm guessing you're not just reading therapist websites for fun. Although, if you are, I have questions.
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Chances are something isn't sitting right in your life, and you're wondering if talking to someone might help. That's a perfectly good place to start.
There's a whole lot of life happening between appointments.
SO? WHO AM I?
I started working in human services back in 1992, and somewhere along the way, I realized I'd found my thing. These days I'm a Registered Psychotherapist based in Kingston and across Ontario through online therapy.
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I had my own struggles growing up, and those experiences played a part in why I was drawn to this work. I understand what it felt like to have a hard time figuring things out, and I liked the idea of being able to help someone else through that.
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Over the years, I've worked with children, teens, families and adults. I've learned a lot, changed how I think about certain things and probably learned just as much from the people I've worked with as I have from any textbook.
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More than 30 years later, I still genuinely enjoy being a therapist. I bring that experience into my work, but I also know no amount of training means I've got every answer.
SO, HERE WE ARE. WHAT’S NEXT?
LEARN MORE ABOUT ANXIETY,
TRAUMA, YOUTH & FAMILY
Building Trust & Therapeutic Connection
ANXIETY
Anxiety can be the monster that is unseen, but always looming. It’s that sense of fear or dread that can be gripping and holds us back from engaging in activities with confidence and enjoyment. It holds you back from being you and creates an avoidance of interactions that may have been enjoyable to you in the past. If this is your current state, the symptoms of anxiety are real and playing a part in your current life, holding you back from being yourself.
Where does this anxiety come from? What fed this beast?
How to process and move past anxiety will be our goal for you to live a happier, more confident life. Getting to the heart of what causes you to become anxious, working through why it causes trepidation and developing ways to push through and eliminate the sources of that fear is like lifting a weight off your shoulders.
You’ll be able to live with the confidence you once enjoyed, have the courage to face the day and conquer the fears that once held you captive. Take deep breaths and appreciate the little things in this world of yours.
Rewrite your story.
TRAUMA
Your trauma is your own. Defined and experienced exclusively by you. You may feel damaged or broken as a result of things that have occurred in your life unexpectedly. It’s something that has had a long term, lasting effect on your ability to navigate the world. Trauma can change our perspectives and haunt our memories and thoughts. At times, it seems impossible to process things that have been seen, felt and experienced.
Let’s get a handle on this out of control feeling, acknowledge that issues have been created and then work to move past it.
The goal doesn’t involve forgetting, or re-living the trauma. It will be to incorporate your experiences, in a healthy way, into your life story. My office is a place of comfort, safety, respect, and compassion; as counselling should be. It’s not a place where you will experience adverse pressure to give answers or leave you facing challenges that you cannot accept. You’ll be given space and gentle, guiding nudges along the way.
It’s my role as a counsellor to help you recognize the impact it has had on your life, your personality and your behaviour and to re-integrate and take control of your feelings and desired experiences to allow some space for greater peace, contentment and happiness.
Building skills, re-building families
YOUTH & FAMILY
In today’s stressful and busy world, meaningful family connections can become lost or strained. Teens face challenges that we adults are not able to understand. At times, parents can feel helpless, leaving our teenage children trying their best to manage life’s challenges. You may find that your teen has become withdrawn, disconnected or acting out in ways that are new or undesirable. This may indicate that issues they face in their hectic, and at times, confusing lives, are affecting their mental well being.
Depression, anxiety and generally feeling overwhelmed are becoming more common among teens.
You may notice changes in your child’s demeanour, but aren’t aware of how they are managing their own struggles. Therapy can assist our teens to sort out and find real solutions to issues such as understanding feelings, assertiveness, managing responsibilities and recognizing stresses that can lead to negative thoughts of themselves.
Strong families lead to strong kids. I can be an outlet, someone to talk to about the challenges and struggles in an effort to mitigate or end them. A rebuilding of self esteem, confidence, and sense of worth that we all crave. Families can benefit from redefining roles, gaining a better understanding of each individual’s challenges and ways to work more effectively together, creating consistency, cohesion and positive relationships.
If you are looking to rebuild or enhance the relationships in your family, contact me to arrange an appointment.
