Helpful Resources

American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT):

The professional association of Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) and Registered Marriage and Family Therapists (RMFTs) throughout Canada, the United States, and other countries.

Clinical Supervision:

A professional consultation about your counselling process (without personally identifying you) between your therapist and his or her clinical supervisor — a highly experienced Registered Psychotherapist (RP) approved as a clinical supervisor by the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) — to promote the ongoing professional development of your therapist and to ensure the highest standard of ethical service delivery to you.

College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO):

The health regulatory college authorized by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) under the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA) of 1991 and the Psychotherapy Act of 2007 to regulate all Registered Psychotherapists (RPs) in Ontario in the public interest by establishing registration requirements and professional practice standards.

Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT):

A psychotherapist with a pre-clinical fellowship in the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) and a holistic perspective in which your counselling process is more effective if he or she incorporates your primary relationship networks (such as your family) into his or her assessment and treatment of your private concern.

Psychotherapy:

A broad range of psychological treatment methods in which you and your therapist communicate openly about your memories, feelings, and thoughts about your private situation in order to improve your personal mental health or your relationships with others; also referred to as “counselling,” “therapy,” or “talk therapy.”

Psychotherapeutic Modalities:

A psychotherapeutic modality in which you and your therapist explore any negative attachment/separation experiences in your childhood in order to identify and correct your unhealthy relationship patterns and help you to feel more confident and secure in life.

A mode of pastoral care (available to you at CFCS at your request) in which you and your therapist incorporate the Christian belief system and Biblically-based teachings and values into the interpretation and treatment of your private situation.

A short-term, evidence-based psychotherapeutic modality in which you and your therapist identify and transform the two-way relationship between your cognition (that is, your memories, feelings, and thoughts) about your private struggle and your behavior in order to improve your day-to-day mental health and personal well-being.

A short-term, evidence-based psychotherapeutic modality in which you and your therapist identify and transform the two-way relationship between your cognition (that is, your memories, feelings, and thoughts) about your private struggle and your behavior in order to improve your day-to-day mental health and personal well-being.

A psychotherapeutic modality in which you engage in a therapist-directed activity (such as art therapy, equine therapy, music therapy, psychodrama, recreational therapy, or wilderness therapy) in order to identify and address your hidden or subconscious issues.

A short-term, evidence-based psychotherapeutic modality in which you engage in therapist-directed eye movements as you and your therapist discuss your traumatic and other adverse memories, feelings, and thoughts in order to create a more positive emotional association that reduces your distress and improves your mental health.

A short-term psychotherapeutic modality in which you and your therapist develop your inner awareness of your slight bodily responses (referred to as your “felt sense”) to your memories, feelings, and thoughts about your personal difficulty in order to gain a deeper, more intuitive understanding of your private situation and its effective resolution.

A short-term, evidence-based psychotherapeutic modality for treating mood disorders (such as anxiety or depression) and relationship issues in which you and your therapist develop your communication and interpersonal skills in order to enhance your social support system.

A psychotherapeutic modality for treating individuals, couples, and families in which you and your therapist identify how your “narrative” (or your personal conceptualization of your private issue) is selectively negative in order to create a new narrative that helpfully contributes to positive change and personal growth for you.

An age-appropriate, evidence-based psychotherapeutic modality for the treatment of emotional and behavioral difficulties in children in which your child’s therapist engages with your child through creative activities (such as artwork, dance, music, role-playing with puppets or toys, and storytelling) in order to foster emotional literacy and healthy emotional management strategies in your child.

A psychotherapeutic modality in which you and your therapist create a secure, empathetic relationship in order to develop your confidence, knowledge, and skills in forming and maintaining similarly fulfilling and supportive relationships with others.

A short-term, evidence-based psychotherapeutic modality in which you and your therapist minimize the assessment and diagnosis stage of your counselling process and instead empower you to apply your existing inner resources (such as your creativity, knowledge, and motivation) in order to immediately improve your private situation through goal-setting and homework activities.

A psychotherapeutic modality in which your therapist identifies and analyzes the relationships and rules governing your family system in order to positively restructure your dysfunctional family relationships.

A short-term, evidence-based psychotherapeutic modality based upon cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) in which you and your therapist utilize a specialized combination of exposure (both real and imagined), cognitive restructuring, and stress management techniques to help you recover from trauma and improve your daily functioning.

Registered Psychotherapist (RP):

A psychotherapist (also referred to as a “therapist” or a “counsellor”) in Ontario licensed by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) to help with emotional and mental health problems in individuals, couples, and families through numerous possible psychotherapeutic modalities.

Therapeutic Alliance:

The unique professional relationship that develops between you and your therapist as you work together to create the improved well-being that you seek for yourself, your relationship, your family, or your child.