I am a Registered Psychologist with an M.Ed. and a Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology from the University of Alberta in Edmonton (a CPA accredited program). I have worked in private practice for several years as one of the partners of Red Tree Psychology and it is now an honour to be a founder and partner of Willow Psychology. I have also provided psychological counselling with local non-profit groups, at an area high school and the Univeristy of Alberta. I currently work with adults on a variety of concerns ranging from crisis situations to helping people increase their self-esteem.
One of my passions is life-long learning, and I continue to hone my training in psychology by attending workshops, training and professional development opportunities each year. I also really like to laugh and don’t take myself too seriously. Some clients find that they are surprised by the idea that they can have a laugh with me when we are talking together, even about pretty serious things.
I follow a humanistic orientation to counselling – I see all of my clients as human beings who are in the process of growing and learning. Somewhere along that process things happen to every one of us that cause us to get stuck. Maybe even stuck for a long time. We find ourselves trying to keep going on in the same way we usually do, but for whatever reason it just doesn’t seem to work. We feel sad, angry, hopeless, frustrated, ashamed, or afraid. And it can be so hard to reach out for help. I find that when my clients call me, they’ve already taken the first steps toward change. My job is to acknowledge where they are, what they are feeling, how they might feel stuck, and work with them to find another story, another way to keep growing and learning.
In my practice, I use a holistic approach – focusing on thoughts, feelings, actions, and the human spirit. I often use techniques from Existential-Humanistic Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Positive Psychology, and mindfulness-based therapies.
Email me at shelagh@willowpsychology.ca