Counselling Methods

Our Counselling Methods

We are informed by a variety of evidence-based and holistic counselling methods and theoretical orientations. Many of these terms may sound like jargon or technical language. Please know you can look them up, or ask us questions, if you're wanting to learn more.
 
These counselling methods and theoretical orientations include Cognitive Behavioural, Existential, Experiential, Expressive Arts, Family Systems, Gestalt, Humanistic, Mindfulness-Based, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative, Nature-Based, Person-Centred, Positive Psychology, Psychodynamic, Somatic (body-centred), Strength-Based, Vocational Rehabilitation, and other types of therapies.​

In simple language, most of what what we do in counselling involves actively listening and responding. We attend to a person's feelings and needs. We notice nonverbal communication and use silence, paraphrasing, and summarizing to understand. We ask questions to search for meaning. This includes establishing the purpose of sessions, defining the relationship, exploring and understanding (thoughts, emotions, feelings, behaviours), problem solving, and evaluating the situation and context. Empathy is at the core of developing connection and relationships. Supporting a process for empowerment and change takes place by mobilizing people's strengths, using anti-oppressive practices, crisis intervention, motivational interviewing, and honoring the stages of a person's readiness for change.
 
The primary modality we work with is 1-on-1 with individuals. Our focus is on supporting young adults (ages 19-35) and middle-aged adults (ages 36-55) who have experienced adversity and faced psychosocial barriers or limitations in their lives. We share lived experiences and cultural identities which bring unique insights for supporting people who identify with male gender, mixed family ancestry and ethnicity, adverse childhood experiences, separated/divorced or multi-family, and with attachment or developmental trauma (emotional or psychological) issues from their family of origin.

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Counselling Methods for Anxiety

There are a variety of therapeutic methods for alleviating anxiety. Selecting which interventions are appropriate, depends on the unique experiences of each person. In general, recovery may involve addressing physical, behavioral, emotional, and/or cognitive issues.

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Relaxation is at the foundation of overcoming anxiety. It includes methods like abdominal breathing, muscle relaxation, visualizing a peaceful scene, guided imagery, meditation, sensory deprivation, yoga, and calming music.

 

Here are examples of interventions that can be used to recover from anxiety:

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Physical 

• Abdominal breathing exercises.

• Progressive or deep muscle relaxation practice.

• Regular aerobic exercise.

• Elimination of caffeine, sugar, nicotine, or other stimulants.

• Nutritional improvements, including herbal or vitamin supplements to support mood.

• Exposure to a situation that induces the internal bodily symptoms associated with anxiety to experience them without anything negative or dangerous happening.

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Behavioural

• Coping techniques to change reactions at their onset.

• Imagery, visualization, or real-life exposure to reduce or overcome anxious responses.

• Identify the external event, interpretation of it, and feelings or reactions that lead to avoidance behaviour. To change the avoidance, change the interpretation and adjust the feelings or reactions.

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Emotional

• Identifying anxiety or panic reactions that are emotions (like anger) in disguise.

• Learning to identify and express feelings, especially anger, frustration, and sadness (verbally and in writing).

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Cognitive

• Changing or countering negative self-talk at the onset of anxiety, and adopting positive self-talk to provide supportive and calming messages.

• Practicing coping affirmations.

• Re-evaluating or countering underlying mistaken beliefs and adopting more relaxed or accepting attitudes or perspectives.

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Interpersonal

• Developing a more assertive style of communication.

• Explore your subpersonality type (worrier, critic, victim, perfectionist, needing approval, needing control, etc.) and how this way of thinking and acting affects anxiety.

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Existential-Spiritual

• Pursuing a creative interest (such as playing an instrument) to create a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.

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Whole Self

• Developing self-esteem by addressing things like body image, inner critic, wounded inner child, etc.

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Other Health Conditions or Medications

• Exploring and identifying what other health conditions or medications may have an effect on anxiety.

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Counselling Methods for Depression

​The signs of depression can range from mood disturbances (sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, pessimistic, guilt, worthlessness, helplessness); to changes in behaviour (diminished interest or pleasure in activities, decreased energy and fatigue, or withdrawal from others); to alterations in thinking (difficulty thinking, concentrating, remembering, inability to make decisions, recurrent thoughts of death or suicide); to physical complaints (restless, irritable, fatigue, low energy, sleep disturbance or insomnia, loss or gain in appetite and weight, chronic pain, suicide attempts).

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There are a variety of therapeutic methods for assisting people with depression. Selecting which interventions are appropriate, depends on the unique experiences of each person. In general, counselling methods may include:

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• Helping to recognize and identify symptoms of depression.

• Referral for medical examination and treatment, including medication or more acute care.

• Help with developing coping strategies for dealing with stress.

• Counselling for loss or grief issues.

• Assessing and managing self-harm and suicide risk.

• Help to develop cognitive-behavioural strategies for overcoming low self-esteem or self-defeating thought patterns.

• Support and understanding for emotions and mood disturbances.

• Counselling to interrupt communication patterns that contribute to or intensify depression.

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Counselling Methods for Stress and Trauma

​Stress can be a feeling of emotional strain and pressure in response to normal or abnormal things that upset our balance in life.  Stress can also be experienced as a more intense and prolonged emotional response to traumatic events where overwhelming amounts of stress were more than a person could cope with or integrate. This can lead to long-term consequences. Symptoms may occur immediately after the event or be delayed by months or years.

 

Recollection of traumatic events or experiences can result in a variety of symptoms including: emotional numbness; sleep disturbances; reliving the event; intense anxiety with exposure to cues or reminders; avoidance of activities, people, or conversations; hypervigilance; outbursts of anger; and other issues. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress may dissipate within six months, but sometimes they last longer. 

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In addition to a variety of symptoms, traumatic stress can be associated with features such as self-recrimination (feeling shame, guilt, and responsibility), shattered assumptions about self, the world, and other people; mood disturbances (depression, anxiety, hostility, grief and loss); impulsive behaviors; somatic (bodily) complaints; overcompensation to regain lost control; death anxiety; repetition compulsion (re-enacting trauma); deliberate self-injury to deal with pain or feel relief and aliveness; other addictions and self-destructive behaviours.

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In general, relaxation training and counselling are effective tools for stress and trauma. There are at least seven principles of therapy for recovery and growth. These include:

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1. Applying skills to manage the symptoms of traumatic stress.

2. Processing or integrating the traumatic or stressful memories.

3. Confronting fears, pain, and suffering in a safe way to replace the avoidance of distress.

4. Exploring trauma and stress in a climate of safety where you move at a comfortable pace.

5. Maintaining intact boundaries and limitations.

6. Practicing kindness, awareness, and compassionate acceptance of feelings and parts of self.

7. Restoring equilibrium and balance; taking breaks from healing work to nourish yourself.

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Other methods and interventions may include:

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• Taking care of your health with exercise, sleep hygiene, eating and nutrition.

• Managing symptoms and affect by learning skills for recognizing emotions and feelings.

• Reducing general arousal through relaxation, facing and accepting symptoms, and reducing or eliminating stimulants (sugar, caffeine, nicotine, drugs).

• Retraining your breathing and preventing or managing unhelpful fight-flight-freeze responses.

• Adopting regular relaxation practices including progressive muscle relaxation and meditation.

• Developing skills for understanding and managing anger to take responsibility; putting it into words; soothing the hurt; communicating with others; channeling any vengeance fantasies; considering opposites to anger; viewing the offender differently; using humor; or choosing other thoughts and strategies.

• Learning Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR) and bilateral brain stimulation techniques.

• Intrusion management using eye movements, grounding, safe place imagery, safety objects, support groups, and containment skills.

• Cognitive restructuring to reframe and replace automatic thoughts and distortions.

• Using a daily thought record to identify the facts, analyze thoughts, and get results based on how much you believe your initial responses.

• Using questions and answers to get to the heart of your most distressing thoughts and core beliefs, and to create possible alternatives.

• Confiding in others about concealed emotional or psychological wounds and resolving denial, responsibility, blame, guilt, shame, and self-punishment.

• Thought field therapies like energy psychology and emotional freedom techniques or acupressure tapping.

• Other brief processing techniques like the rewind technique, traumatic incident reduction, and the counting method.

• Exposure techniques, dream processing, healing imagery, and rituals.

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For more information, please refer to our Approach to Counselling and Counselling Services.

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