Services
“Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”
– Pema Chödrön
First Time Going to Therapy?
1st
Session
Informed Consent, develop an understanding of your challenges (past or present), and set goals/intentions for therapy.
2nd
Session
Support you in gaining personal insight and awareness about your experiences, help you to constructively work through emotions to aid in alleviating symptoms and move you towards positive change.
3rd
Session
Engage in deeper conversations to uncover core challenges, education about how to navigate limiting beliefs, self-sabotage, communication issues, attachment challenges, and other key areas that may be contributing to disharmony within yourself and/or your relationships.
4th
Session
Engage in deeper emotional or cognitive processing to move through challenges and continue working towards restructuring your life in a way that aligns with your visions and goals.
If you’re feeling nervous, that’s very normal. There is no pressure to discuss anything you don’t want to share, and you can expect this to feel a bit like a normal conversation, just with a guided focus.
Healing after Loss
Death and other forms of loss are terrifying to think about, let alone face. We often avoid even the mere thought that something could happen to ourselves or to the ones we love. At some point in our lives, we will all be confronted with the shock of loss, which can be overwhelmingly intense and unpredictable.
Illness, loss, divorce, and death shatter’s the very foundation of who we are. Loss asks us to be someone new in the world, often during a time of darkness, with no light guiding us to the other side. With one loss, often comes many other secondary losses. For example, loss of marriage easily results in loss of identity as a wife or husband, parent roles, primary home, confidence, faith, etc.
Movement through grief requires individuals to actively engage with the experience, to make sense of it, and to discover new meaning in their lives.
I will be there to support you to develop an enhanced understanding of your own grieving process, provide you with tools to manage and lessen powerful emotions, help you to deal with stigma and shame associated with certain types of loss (e.g. suicide, divorce), to rediscover and redefine who you want to be as you move into a new and different life, and to find joy in life after death.
Loss teaches us how to live; It teaches us what is important to us. The challenge is discovering what that means to you.
Transform Your Life
I know how frustrating and hopeless it can feel to be making efforts to work through past/present challenges, and to feel stuck or unable to break old patterns from repeating themselves.
For anyone wanting to engage in deeper therapeutic work, I tend to practice from a somatic attachment lens, which relies heavily on the therapeutic relationship and wisdom of the body in the resolution of daily stress, trauma, and past relational wounds.
You will be in charge of what we focus on and how deep we go. I am committed to getting into the deep-rooted work with you to guide and support your healing and transformation.
This work is not only for those with experiences of trauma and is beneficial for anyone wishing to experience a more profound and rich life.
You may choose to work with me to find peace and acceptance of deeply painful experiences from your past, or to discover yourself deeply and to find your higher purpose in this life.
Finding Balance
When we find ourselves feeling out of balance in managing various aspects of our lives, whether it be work demands, family pressures, health concerns, dating and boundary challenges, commitment to our own goals, life can quickly begin to feel unsettled and overwhelming.
My approach is to provide safe ways to regulate the nervous system and to process old negative life events and emotions. I will also provide practical tools for problems solving, identifying options, improving communication, and building resilience to better manage difficult times in your life.
I will support you to find courage to take steps forward in your own healing, to move you out of ‘survival mode’ and back into a life of connection, joy, and vitality.
Relationship Counselling
Whether you’re single or in a relationship, if you are unhappy in your love life, there are steps you can take to create or find a relationship that you desire.
I will support you to learn key elements contributing to relationship dynamics, such as attachment history and experiences of trauma, and will support you in creating safe ways to reconnect to yourself and your partner. I have a comprehensive understanding of modern dating and the challenges, as well as navigating polyamorous or open relationships, or dealing with emotional complexities involving infidelity.
I have extensive experience in working with grief and loss and can support your healing through challenges in relationships, such as illness, job loss, or betrayal. I will provide you with practical strategies and suggestions to help you understand and learn to cope with transition, and will also work with you to process deeper emotional challenges to transform your life and your relationships.
I am a trained mediator and can assist separated couples in working through parenting, property, or financial matters.
A Couple Words From Me
Visit My Location
Located on the second level of the Shoppers Drug Mart building. Entrance to the building is on the north side of the building, on 24th Avenue SW. Come to the second floor to suite 210.
There is underground parkade in the back of the building, as well as paid street parking and some free 2 hour parking around the area.
Phone: 587- 353-3445
Email: katrina@shawpsychology.ca
Address: Suite 210, 333 24 AVE SW, Calgary, AB, T2S 3E6
