A designation of BC Association of Clinical Counsellors
Abby has her Masters in Counselling Psychology, certification in workplace
conflict resolution and diploma in Business Administration. With over 25
years of experience in working with individuals, couples and families in
complex relational situations across generational and cultural lines Abby
has a unique and welcoming approach that easily engenders trust with
clients. She has worked in humanitarian efforts in various parts of the
world and has volunteered with the Victims' Assistance Program doing crisis
intervention and stabilizing work with victims of crime and trauma. She is a
Registered Clinical Counsellor with the BC Association of Clinical
Counsellors (RCC), re responsible for licensing and regulating counsellors
in British Columbia. The emphasis of her practice is individual and couple
counselling with consideration to the family as a unit.
Abby utilizes the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT),
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) to
address a wide range of issues regarding communication challenges, anxiety,
depression, abuse, trauma, relational conflict, addictions, anger and
identity issues.
CBT
focuses on identifying and changing troublesome thoughts, which in turn
changes emotions and behaviours. Clients work to develop new ways of
thinking, which shifts their perception of situations and changes how they
feel and respond to them. This is a short-term goal oriented approach to
treatment lasting between 8 to 12 sessions.
EFT is an evidence-based approach that utilizes a
combination of emotion, attachment, and growth theory. It helps individuals
understand themselves in context of their life experiences and attachment
styles and gives them insight into how they attach to others. I work with
clients to face painful memories, which affect their current lives
negatively. Through empathy, I assist clients to discover ways to make
healthy contact with these feelings, memories, thoughts, and physical
sensations that they have ignored or feared and avoided. Once my clients
learn how to access these negative emotions and experiences they are able to
use them as resources to address their fears, sadness of abandonment, and
shame of inadequacy that have developed from past traumatic experiences.
They then learn how to attach to others in meaningful and secure ways. As
such, EFT is very effective in couples' therapy. It is a short-term
therapeutic plan that last between 8 and 20 sessions.
SFT
focuses on desired outcomes as a therapy solution. Little attention is given
to symptoms or issues that brought someone to therapy. This approach looks
to the present and the future desires of the client instead of focusing on
past experiences. I support clients by encouraging them to imagine their
future as they want it to be and then I collaborate with clients on a series
of steps to achieve their goals by using their own skills, abilities and
resources. I support clients in emulating and integrating past patterns of
success as a way of rehearsing the ways and approaches that worked for them
before. This becomes a rich resource and motivator to achieve their future
hopes and goals.
Nature of Counselling
You benefit from counselling in that you will learn new coping skills and
you will gain personal insights from reflective and introspective exercises.
This will assist you in challenging and changing unwanted behaviours. From
your learning, you will develop healthier ways of relating to those in your
world. While counselling is a transformative process, there is risk of
significant emotional discomfort. As you face the unpleasant issues that
exist in your life, strong emotions may surface causing you unease. Your
work will require courage and focus, but I am committed to you and your
process, and will support you as we walk together through the tricky spots
in your journey.
Couples Counselling
If you or your partner require individual sessions while you are in couple counselling and chose not to be referred to other therapists outside of my office, then your individual sessions will be treated with the highest level of confidentiality. It would be your personal choice to bring forward any information from your personal sessions to the couple's sessions and must be initiated by you.
