Katherine’s Therapeutic Approach

My work with clients is based on evidence-informed psychotherapeutic approaches. Like most psychologists, during grad school I was trained in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). Since then, I have studied various other approaches, including emotionally-focused, psychodynamic, acceptance & commitment, attachment, somatic, mindfulness, and compassion-based modalities. I have specific training in relationship and sex therapy, and hold a certificate in Sexual Health & Sex Therapy from the University of Michigan (If you’d like, you can see my CV here). I actively seek out new learning opportunities and stay up-to-date with best practice research.

This being said, in my experience therapy is most successful when there remains some room for creativity. I do not rigidly adhere to any particular treatment modality, and instead tailor my approach to reflect the uniqueness each person or couple brings to therapy. As esteemed psychiatrist Dr. Irvin Yalom states in The Gift of Therapy, a “therapist must strive to create a new therapy for each patient.” With this in mind, I use an informed biopsychosocial lens to consider how a client’s identity and context may be affecting their experience and worldview. In every case, I collaborate with the client to decide what works best for them, and from there integrate various evidence-based techniques and modalities into the therapeutic process. I believe that this gives the client the best opportunity to achieve further understanding and insight, and ultimately transform this self-discovery into meaningful and lasting change.