The Spring Bloom Psychotherapy Approach
Where curiosity meets compassion, and depth meets humanity.
Custom-tailed therapy that helps you understand the patterns beneath the surface, heal what still hurts, and loosen the grip of shame so you can feel more at home in who you are.
My approach is both holistic and integrative.
This means that I honour the many layers of who you are: your thoughts, emotions, relationships, social context, past experiences, body, and nervous system.
It also means that rather than fitting you into one therapeutic box, I draw from several approaches to shape the work around what you need.
For those of you who love therapy lingo, are some of the approaches I use:
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
This is the main style of therapy I use.
With this approach we look at the deeper patterns that shape us. Together, we may explore how earlier relationships and experiences influenced the beliefs you developed about yourself and what you learned you needed to do to feel loved, safe, accepted or worthy.
This might involve looking at your attachment patterns, emotions, dreams, shadow parts, defence mechanisms, coping strategies, family roles, and needs.
For example, maybe you are easygoing, successful or helpful. These ways of being likely didn’t come from nowhere. They may have helped you belong, stay safe, receive approval or navigate relationships when you were younger.
The challenge is that strategies that helped us survive one chapter of our lives don’t always serve us particularly well in the next one.
Our goals wont be to spend years talking about your childhood, or decide that all your challenges are secretly about your mother! It will be to understand how the past may still be showing up in the present so you have more freedom to choose what comes next.
EMDR
Sometimes your mind knows a difficult situation is over but your nervous system hasn’t gotten the memo. You may know intellectually that you are safe now and yet your body can react as though it is happening all over again.
This can lead something as innocuous as a look, small conflict or minor rejection can send you on a week-long downward spiral!
Maybe you have already tried talking your way out of this with no avail… This is where EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, might be beneficial.
EMDR is a trauma-informed therapy designed to help the nervous system process experiences that continue to feel emotionally charged or “stuck.” Using bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements, alternating sounds or tapping, we work with memories, emotions, beliefs and body sensations connected to difficult experiences.
This doesn`t meant you have to tell me every painful detail of what happened or that we first meet on a Tuesday and dive headfirst into your deepest trauma on Wednesday! Please rest assured that before processing difficult material, we spend time preparing, building resources and making sure you feel ready. In other words, we dip a toe in before we dive because going deeper doesn’t have to mean going faster!
Mindful Self-Compassion
Often the difficult experience isn’t the only thing causing pain. The experience itself can be hard, but the internal commentary about it can be wayyyyyy harsher.
For example, we might tell ourselves: I shouldn’t feel this way. I should be handling this better. Why am I so sensitive?
That second layer can be brutal and that is where the mindful self-compassion can come in.
Mindfulness helps us slow things down enough to notice what is happening inside us without immediately trying to fix it, avoid it, or judge ourselves for having it.
Self-compassion helps us learn to respond to ourselves with some of the kindness we so readily offer to other people.
Also, just to be clear: self-compassion isn’t letting yourself off the hook, standing in front of a mirror reciting affirmations you don’t believe, or pretending everything is wonderful when it isn’t. It looks more Iike learning to say, « this is hard », « I am not alone in this struggle » and « what do I need right now? »
It starts by recognizing that shame rarely creates lasting change and that compassion give us a much better place to start.
IFS-Informed Parts Work
With IFS-Informed Parts Work we recognizes that we all have multiple parts within us that get activated in various situations, as well as a foundation of core `Self` energy that is like a higher version of us that feels compassionate, calm, curious and clear. This model is centred on the belief that we have no bad parts; that even the parts of us that drive us a little nuts have a story worth listening too!
Sometimes these parts want to move us in drastically different directions, which can result in internal conflict. For example, we might have one part who desperately wants rest while another is going “absolutely not, we have things to do”. Or, of course, many of us have an inner critic part who seems to have appointed itself CEO without anyone actually offering it the job! This is just to name a few, there are so many more. In fact, we contain multitudes!
With this type of therapy we aim to become curious about each part to find out why it’s there and what it might need. This can often lead us to discover that even our most frustrating patterns developed for a reason. For example: A perfectionistic part may be trying to protect us from criticism. A people-pleasing part may have learned that keeping everyone happy helped you feel safe. Even that inner critic may genuinely believe that if it pushes you hard enough, it can protect you from failure, rejection or shame.
This doesn’t mean that we have to let these parts run everything, but instead of fighting them, we can begin by listening and offering them compassion. You might be surprised how often this leads the parts to soften and transform.
Here are some of the principles that are woven in all my work…
EMPATHY
Therapy can feel intimidating, and opening up takes courage. I get it! That’s why I focus on creating a warm and non-judgmental space where you can eventually feel safe enough to share what’s really going on. Think of it as your weekly cocoon- a retreat from the noise of the world where you can focus entirely on yourself and your healing.
DEEP WORK
Let’s be real, quick fixes rarely lead to lasting change. If they did, you probably wouldn’t need a therapist! Together we will slowly dive beneath the surface to explore the roots of your patterns. By becoming aware of what’s driving your experiences, you’ll gain the tools to make choices that serve you. This isn’t just about “fixing” problems; it’s about understanding yourself on a deeper level and moving toward a more authentic and meaningful life.
INTEGRATIVE
Humans are beautifully complex, which is why I take a holistic approach that considers your mind, body, emotions, and even your spiritual side. While we will focus primarily on talk therapy, I might also bring in meditations, visualizations, EMDR, movement, or even some art exercises. Only if you’re into it!
CREATIVITY
Before I became a psychotherapist, I completed a PhD in the Study and Practice of Art, including courses in art education and art therapy. This means that if creative expression is your thing, we can weave in some art-based practices to enhance your healing journey.
Ready to Begin Therapy?
Access Integrative Psychotherapy in Oakville, Burlington, Waterdown and Online Across Ontario.
This work is a powerful investment in your well-being. It’s a chance to take the wheel of your own life again.
You weren’t made to simply get by. You were made to thrive.
Starting therapy can be overwhelming, which is why I offer a free consultation to see if working together feels like a good fit. Please reach out to start your therapy journey today!