Counselling | Vancouver + Sunshine Coast

1 on 1 Sessions

Vancouver + Sunshine Coast

We can't always change things simply by thinking about them.

If we could, we would have by now.

(Or, like my friend says, "I can't change my garbage dump of nonsense using my garbage dump of nonsense.")

I am not saying thinking is bad, only that it, alone, does not change things.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”

- Albert Einstein

"I know what I need to do I just can't seem to do it."

"I look at my life and think I should feel happy, but I don't."

-Many Clients

In a culture based on Oprah Winfrey & Freud, along with a ton of self-help, many of us may understand a pattern, or at least know what we want to do differently; however, changing goes beyond rationally "getting it." If we could have talked ourselves out of "it", we would have.

As a result of emerging neuroscience we know that we have 3 brains, at least for the sake of simplicity.

One in our head. One in our heart. One in our gut.

Why does this matter?

If this is the case going to a therapists appointment to talk about our problems is a bit like going to the gym to read a book on weight training. We try to deal with our problems by attempting to analyze the brain in our head. Freud had it wrong, or only half of the puzzle.

The thinking brain in our head, our frontal lobe, knows what we need to do. It knows we probably shouldn't yell at our partner, eat 3 chocolate bars, drink so much, date another controlling person, judge, or stay at our job.

The brain in our body, our brainstem, is slower to change. It carries deep, old patterns. It feels resistance, experiences pain, makes habitual decisions, contains emotions, reacts, pulls back, charges forward, and makes decisions on impulse. It is a powerful force we are often not conscious of.

Working together we get these brains congruent. We change the blueprints (mental models) in the bodybrain.

These blueprints determine the following:

How you see yourself (e.g. positively or negatively, capable or incapable).
How you see others (especially your most intimate relationships).
How you see the world (is it friendly and are you safe to take risks and be close to people).

Shifting some of the oldest patterns in your brains (the one in your head and the one in your body), we can work to create new neural pathways to ensure that you feel good and not just think more rationally about your problem.

These will be available to you long after we stop working together. We can start to see these shifts happen rather quickly by engaging all the brains. Once there is awareness it is a slower (and most important) practice we begin of integration.

I support you to move out of the endlessly spinning and analyzing mind and make room for creativity, fulfilling relationships, clear thinking, and the ability to play with who you are and what you do rather than get played by it.

Why you might come see me

depression (trouble finding energy)
confusion when people say "just love yourself"
unexplained sadness
anxiety or tensing up
familiar uncomfortable sensations that won’t leave you alone
a sense of in-congruence (between what you believe/feel and what you rationally tell yourself)
questions or even massive doubt about your self-worth
trauma (PTSD-things that continue to live on in the body even once they’re finished)
trouble accomplishing your goals
finding you push people away
feeling alone
feeling you need to hold tightly to the people around you
the feeling of wanting to run away from others or situations when things get to intimate or stressful

Modalities

Somatic Therapy:

This is a therapeutic modality that works with both subtle and not so subtle body sensations and movement. It is informed by Neuroscience and knowledge of how trauma and other beliefs, patterns and ways of relating are stored in the body and brain. This method leads to bringing the mind/body/heart into a greater state of congruency, regulation, and wholeness.

Mindfulness:

This practice helps us become conscious and aware. It helps us work with our emotions & reactivity and return to the present rather than staying stuck in the past or the future. It is scientifically proven to help relieve stress and change our brain.

Narrative Therapy:

This modality considers that the challenges an individual encounters are connected to, and informed by, a specific culture, community and political environment. These problems (or stories) that we carry around with us can become re-storied or multi-storied. The problem is the problem; the person's not the problem.

Session Logistics

Sessions are $110 (plus GST) for 55 minutes.

How often you come is up to you, however, generally I see people once/week if they are working through something. Over time the frequency may shift.

Many employers with extended health plans offer some coverage for Registered Clinical Counsellors. Check with your insurer. If this is the case I will write receipts with my registration number for you to submit for reimbursement.

Cancellation?

You have 48 hours before an appointment to cancel with no charge. Payment is due in full without exception if appointments are missed or cancelled within less than 48-hours. If skype is possible we can switch to that or if I have an opening in the same week I can occassionally shift an appointment. If I have to cancel an appointment with less than 48 hours notice, your next session will be free.

What people have said

"You're really good, and I've worked with a lot of people. I've never been given these kind of tools before."

"Helped me make some major awareness changes."

"Brilliant. Relatable. Kind. Very good."

"To the point. Laser focused."

"Working with you I've changed more in the past year and a half than the previous 14 years in therapy. I'm been so grateful to realize I don't have to be in therapy for the rest of my life."

"Lisa provides a safe, caring and friendly space allowing for authenticity and openness. She listens and observes, picking up on insights that I have not come to on my own or with previous counsellors. She provides this insight as a suggestion and allows me to reflect on it and see if it is true to me and how I feel. My inquisitive self also finds it very helpful when she provides easy to understand science behind why I might be reacting the way I am and why it has been challenging for me to move through PTS. I have gone to therapy before and although it has helped me I have not been able to shift the physical responses I have due to PTS. That has now changed, working with Lisa has allowed me to get to the physical attached to the emotional, to take a look at the event and observe and support myself in a whole new way. Each time I walk out of a session I feel lighter and more open, this feeling is accumulative and gets stronger every session. I still have moments but there are less of them and they are less reactive. I am believing now, which I did not for years, that I can actually change my body’s response to stress and I can let go of the stories that surround it, while honouring the loss that has happened. I have gained invaluable insight in the last few months and change that has not only lessened my PTS to a level I did not think possible, but has also opened so much space and exciting change in all aspects of my life. Doing the work is not easy but I look forward to every session as the outcome is so worth it!"

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