our services
We offer a range of therapeutic services to address the
diverse therapeutic needs of individuals and couples in Ottawa.
Our services are grounded in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic principles with action-oriented approaches that foster meaningful changes. We believe that the challenges you face are often symptoms of deeper psychological patterns, and for that reason, our work together isn’t just about alleviating your symptoms. It’s about understanding their origins and how they have been perpetuated over time. By addressing the root causes, we guide you toward meaningful, lasting change.
During our time together, our aim is to help you reorient your life and relationships in a way that feels balanced, fulfilling, and true to who you are today. By exploring both external symptoms and internal emotional dynamics, we create space for you to connect with what truly matters, enabling you to live with greater self-awareness, emotional stability, and relational fulfillment.
Our therapists are here to support you with care, expertise, and compassion, guiding you on this journey with clarity and confidence.
couples therapy
Our couples therapy process guides partners from emotional reactivity and disconnection toward effective communication and genuine connection.
We work collaboratively with you to create a personalized treatment plan tailored to your unique individual and relationship needs and goals. Please note, couples therapy is a long-term process intended to encourage deep exploration, understanding, and lasting change.
individual therapy
We are here to provide a safe and supportive space where you can explore your inner world and gain insights into the different facets of your personality that might be contributing to or affecting your well-being.
We work collaboratively to identify your challenges and create a treatment plan that aligns with your personal goals and needs. It is important to note that our therapy is a long-term process designed to foster deep exploration, understanding, and lasting change.
Online Therapy
Our online therapy provides the same depth, quality, and support as our in-person sessions, ensuring that you can engage in meaningful therapeutic work from the comfort and privacy of your home.
Through secure video conferencing via JaneApp, you can access therapy at a time and place that suits your needs, allowing for greater flexibility without compromising the therapeutic process. Our aim is to create a supportive and effective therapeutic environment, no matter where you are.
learn more: areas of practice
We understand that the concerns you bring to therapy are often part of a deeper, more complex story. Instead of focusing only on symptoms or behaviours, we take a compassionate approach and work closely with you to gently explore the deeper layers of your emotional world and experiences beneath the surface. This process helps uncover the underlying patterns that have shaped your life, offering a clearer understanding of how these patterns continue to influence your state of mind and your relationships today.
Through an in-depth therapeutic process, we gain valuable insights that go beyond intellectual realizations; they lead to profound shifts in how you see yourself and your relationships, empowering you to make more informed choices about your life. These insights open doors to possibilities that may have previously seemed out of reach. In various environments or situations, you might not have felt free to make different choices or been aware of other options. By bringing these dynamics into awareness, we help you recognize new paths that were once hidden, enabling you to navigate life with greater confidence and intention.
As your insights deepen, they begin to transform how you handle daily challenges and long-standing issues. With this newfound awareness, you can make choices that align more closely with your true self, rather than being guided by old, unconscious patterns. Real change happens when these insights translate into new ways of living, creating an authentic sense of inner balance and fulfillment.
We aim to walk alongside you in this journey, helping you move toward greater clarity, balance, and emotional freedom, empowered by choices that reflect your deepest values and desires.
We aim to approach you as a whole person as we support you. Below are some examples of challenges that may prompt you to connect with us and seek our services.
emotional challenges
Emotional struggles can often feel like a storm inside: waves of sadness, bursts of anger, or mood swings that seem to control you, leaving you feeling lost and overwhelmed. These challenges often run much deeper than they appear, stemming from unresolved experiences or unmet emotional needs that may have been buried over time. You might find yourself wrestling with emotions that feel too intense or confusing to manage, unsure why they keep resurfacing.
We believe that emotions are not just fleeting feelings. They are meaningful signals from your inner world that reveal unspoken parts of your life story. Through a compassionate, psychodynamic approach, we work with you to explore the roots of these emotions, whether they stem from early relationships, past experiences, or conflicts you’ve pushed aside. Understanding these deeper patterns helps you make sense of your emotional world, allowing you to respond differently to life’s challenges. By shining light on what’s driving these emotions, you can begin to find relief and cultivate a more peaceful, balanced way of being.
Examples of emotional challenges (though not limited to these):
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Emotional dysregulation: Feeling swept up in emotions that are difficult to manage, often triggered by situations that seem disconnected from the intensity of your response.
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Anger: Recurring anger or irritability that creates tension in relationships, often linked to deeper frustrations or unresolved past experiences.
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Anxiety and depression: Persistent worry or sadness that weighs you down, often reflecting deeper fears or losses that haven’t yet been fully acknowledged.
While these emotional challenges may bring you to therapy, we focus on helping you explore what lies beneath them. By understanding the patterns that manifest in your life, you can begin to create emotional stability and peace from within.
behavioural challenges
Behaviours such as substance use, gambling, or compulsive distraction can seem to offer temporary relief, a way to numb, avoid, or fill a painful void. Often, these patterns are driven by deep emotional pain or unmet needs that have become too overwhelming to face directly. What may have started as a coping mechanism can turn into a difficult cycle to break, leaving you feeling stuck and powerless.
Through our theoretical framework, we believe these behaviours are not problems in themselves, but signals of deeper emotional struggles that need attention. Through a psychodynamic lens, we look beyond the behaviour to understand what fuels it. Are you trying to numb a longstanding hurt, avoid feelings of loneliness, or suppress emotional vulnerability? By gently exploring the emotional and psychological wounds behind these behaviours, we help you find healthier ways to cope, allowing you to live more freely, no longer trapped in a cycle.
Examples of behavioural challenges (among others):
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Substance use: Using alcohol or drugs to escape from emotional pain, whether it’s rooted in past losses, relational wounds, or a sense of emptiness.
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Gambling: Seeking the thrill of gambling to momentarily avoid feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, or emotional distress.
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Avoidance: Steering clear of responsibilities or relationships out of fear, feeling overwhelmed by unconscious emotional conflicts.
While we are highlighting some common behavioural challenges here, these are just a few examples of the many ways emotional pain can manifest. By addressing the deeper dynamics at play, we help you achieve meaningful change and lasting freedom.
relational challenges
Our relationships, whether with others or ourselves, often mirror past experiences, sometimes reflecting unresolved wounds we carry from earlier in life. You might find yourself stuck in recurring arguments with a partner or feeling emotionally distant from loved ones. At the same time, you may feel disconnected from yourself, struggle with self-acceptance, or feel like you've lost your sense of identity. These struggles are rarely limited to current circumstances; they often stem from early relational patterns that shaped how you learned to connect with others and with yourself.
Through a psychodynamic lens, we explore how your early relationships and past experiences may be influencing your current connections, both with others and within yourself. By understanding these unconscious patterns, you can begin to build deeper, more fulfilling relationships and rediscover a stronger, more authentic sense of self. This process allows for greater self-compassion, emotional closeness, and the ability to form healthier, more meaningful connections.
Examples of relational and self-issues (though not exhaustive):
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Relational conflict: Finding yourself in recurring arguments or emotional distance with a partner, often reflecting unresolved relational dynamics from your past.
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Emotional disconnection: Feeling distant or detached from others, as if you can’t fully connect, often rooted in fears of vulnerability or past relational wounds.
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Self-acceptance: Struggling to accept yourself, feeling fragmented or unsure of who you are, possibly tied to early experiences of rejection or criticism.
These are just a few examples of how relational and personal challenges can appear, but each person's experience is unique. By exploring the emotional roots of these struggles, true growth and mental health are possible, not only in your relationships with others but also in your connection with yourself. This process leads to lasting changes in how you experience love, belonging, and self-compassion.