We are uninvited settlers occupying the stolen, territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), S’ólh Téméxw (Stó:lō), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), Qayqayt, and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem) peoples. Our relationship with these lands dictates our commitment to understanding the ongoing impacts of colonization and decolonizing our practices in and out of the counselling room.
You are multidimensional and complex. Our brain, body, consciousness, unconsciousness, and relational lives are connected to each other in ways that we are just starting to understand. Research shows that your body and relationships have a significantly larger influence over your conscious brain than your conscious brain has over your body and connectedness. Can you talk your body into not freezing when surprised? Can you reason with your heartbeat so it stays stable when you're in danger? Can you simply decide not to feel pain when you get a cut or a burn?
That's why simply focusing on talk therapy is like painting with only one colour. You can create something, but richness and depth comes from using a full palette. Not to mention, only having one colour sure makes the process a whole lot harder than it has to be!
When you go beyond the talk with us, you are supported in accessing your full capacity for growth. Keep reading to learn about how each beyond the talk discipline can support you in your wellness.
EMDR is an evidence-based therapy that draws on the neurobiology of the brain. By engaging in specific cadences of bilateral stimulation, EMDR helps to process the "stuck" memories that are causing distress. Most clients find EMDR to be beneficial because its effects are often seen within a shorter amount of time when compared to traditional talk therapy. EMDR can be used for a wide range of issues and is not limited to what is traditionally quantified as "PTSD" or "Trauma".
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The most important thing to remember about art-based practices in therapy is that it's not about the artwork itself. There's no skill level required to engage in art-based practices, in fact, the more organic the piece is the better! By combining the creative process and psychotherapy, art helps you self-explore through a level of unconscious meaning-making that inaccessible through talk therapy alone. The best thing, art-based practices are beneficial for any problem you might be experiencing!
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Besides being an alternative setting to deepen your inner work, it has been shown that movement with nature-based therapy helps to quiet the part of our brain responsible for producing ruminative and negative thoughts while promoting quantifiable health indicators. When we integrate the mind, body, and nature into the work while engaging in a multi-sensory experience, our nervous system is calmed and we are able to come to more creative, deeper ways of thinking.
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“The body is the first geography for the stories we tell.”
Traditional psychotherapy and various “gold standard” therapeutic models focus only on the mind’s ability to define your choices, your emotions, and your reactions. The fundamental flaw of that logic? You are not just your mind, and while your mind is essential for you to communicate and understand what might be going on for you and to make different choices, the body is what really holds the wisdom and power over your actions.
Connect with our somatic + sensorimotor practitioners:
Relationship counselling supports all relationships, including romantic partners, friendships and family members. Folx often begin relationship counselling to resolve interpersonal issues related to trust, intimacy, communication and conflicting points of view. Folx may also seek relationship counselling to explore ways to best support each other through difficult challenges that might be showing up in life. Whatever the prompt for seeking it, relationship counselling can help each person understand the other/s in a deeper way, and feel more expressed, emotionally held, and aligned with one another.
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By engaging in justice-oriented clinical supervision, individuals and teams can gain the practical and theoretical skills to guide practices and conversations that challenge oppressive systems and examine the power dynamics within work, life, and community settings. Our justice-oriented clinical supervisors in Vancouver offer an external perspective and guidance as you seek to foundationally integrate your ethics of equity and justice into your work. Meanwhile, business consulting can also support you in creating sustainable practices and improve upon policies and procedures to ensure that ethical decisions and actions are taken.
