Apprise Psychology
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Adolescents (16 and older)
Adults
ADHD Assessment
Psychoeducational Assessment
Personality Assessment
Anxiety Assessment
Depression Assessment
Bipolar Disorder Assessment
Memory Assessment
Dissociation Assessment
... and more!
Adolescents (13 and older)
Adults
Coaching
Psychoeducation
Skill Building
Parent Education
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Dialectical Behavior Therapy - Informed
Whether you're gaining knowledge through assessment or therapy, we're here for you every step of the way.
It actually helps us understand ourselves in a way that is less threatening than having emotion about a behaviour.
A good example is getting angry at yourself for forgetting something or failing.
Sure, you could beat yourself up about it,
but research tells us that this is more likely to result in it happening again (shame is such a powerful emotion).
Being curious allows us to take a step back from the behaviour, the emotion, and try to understand what happened.
It can take our brains from an intense emotional state (where we really can't think properly) to
a rational state (where we can problem solve and weigh facts).
To change your behaviour, emotion, and the like, you need to know yourself.
Sometimes it's very hard to accept things about ourselves that we really don't like.
Accepting that these things exist allows us to move into the change stage.
Both therapy and testing are hard work.
Sometimes it's like learning a whole different language.
We can't promise it'll be easy, without any bumps in the road.
What we can promise is that you will notice differences in how you experience things, how you cope with things.
There will be more challenges and stressors throughout your life.
We're here to validate that, absolutely this is really tough, and, at the same time,
we just watched you overcome this other obstacle which was also very hard.
We know you can do it.
You might even feel overvalidated (kind of joking).
Your story is your story. Period.
How you feel in that moment is how you felt.
Us telling you "yeah, sorry Bob you shouldn't have felt that way," isn't helpful.
Validation can be so powerful.
Some people have rarely experienced the feeling of validation.
If you're one of those people, it might feel uncomfortable at first AND
once you get used to it, it's this huge feeling of relief, the shame deflates,
the connection increases, and the stuffing of emotion decreases.
Emotion becomes safer. Change in behaviour increases.
And we're there for every.single.second. Period.
A good example of this is Kerry calling Larry a you-know-what when she feels angry.
Validation is we hear you, we get it.
We've all felt that bubbling anger.
Those spiralling thoughts.
The urge to react. To hurt how we have been hurt.
Agreement is "Kerry, you did the right thing, continue calling Larry a you-know-what."
We're here for you. We will ride out the waves with you.
Together, we will put in the work to reach your goals.
We will work on skill building, making sure coping mechanisms are in place,
in-session and between-session practice of skills, building relationships with others, and much more!
Though it's not always a straight and smooth path,
we will navigate the road and adjust our strategies as we move.
We balance acceptance and change during counselling.
This is because, in order to change,
you must accept the behaviour, emotion, etc.
In the things we can change,
we work to move toward change after acceptance.
Without needed change, one could remain in acceptance purgatory.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy
are well known for being effective in treating a variety of mental health concerns.
With that said, not every type of therapy will help every type of person.
What is helpful for one person might not be the least bit helpful for another.
This is why we continuously check-in with you during treatment.
If we find that progress is not being made, we will work together
to figure out next steps.
