Families may sometimes require support to address challenging issues.  Our counsellors are trained to provide family counselling in addition to offering support to children and adolescents.

Adoption

The Counselling Group and The Family Service Centre are excited about our new post-adoption program collaboration.

Families formed through adoption, and adopted children in particular, face many issues and stresses which may increase vulnerability to developmental, emotional and behavioural difficulties. In the past there has been little in the way of specialized intervention for these children and families.

There are as many variables in the adoptive experience as there are adoptive families. Children, even infants, can come into their new families having experienced multiple caregivers, separation from caregivers, and possibly trauma, which may result in a myriad of problems. Adoptive families can feel isolated, overwhelmed and guilt-ridden when they experience difficulties with their children.

International and inter-racial adoption introduce a new layer of complexity for adoptive families. How do children from a different race and culture experience their transfer to strangers who look, sound, and smell, very different from their original caregivers? How do these children learn a new language? How does this process affect functioning in school? How do we explain why their parents were unable to raise them? How do we assist them, as adolescents, to develop a solid sense of identity? While developmental, behavioural and emotional problems can arise early on, they are often manageable until the child reaches adolescence, when they can begin to interfere with family functioning.

Therapists at The Counselling Group have extensive experience and training in post-adoption counselling, as well as an understanding of the processes of attachment, child development, family systems theory, and family and play therapies.

The program addresses a number of topics, including:

• Emotions and Anger Arousal Management
• Stress and Relaxation
• Cognitive Strategies and Out-Thinking Anger
• Self-Monitoring of Anger
• Self-Esteem
• Relationships
• Assertive Communication
• Responding to Anger and Criticism
• Problem-solving

TRANSFORMATIONS is not a program for people with charges of domestic abuse.

To register for our next anger management group, contact Reina McSheffrey at 613.722.2225 ext. 407 or email rmcsheffrey@thecounsellinggroup.com .
top of page

Anxiety/Panic

Anxiety is a normal response to stress, which may arise due to pressures at home, work, school, or in the context of any number of relationships. While it is common to feel anxious at times, anxiety can become excessive, interfering with work and family life.

Anxiety can be accompanied by physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, fatigue, nausea, chest pain, shortness of breath, stomach or head aches. Emotional symptoms may include feelings of apprehension or dread. difficulty concentrating, feelings of  tension, irritability, restlessness, and constantly watching and waiting for signs of danger.

Panic attacks are episodes of extreme anxiety lasting from 1 or 2 minutes up to as much as 15 or 20 minutes. Common symptoms of a panic attack include rapid heartbeat, perspiration, dizziness, trembling, uncontrollable fear, and  hyperventilation.

Working with a counsellor you can decrease or eliminate these symptoms, as well as develop techniques to reduce anxiety and stress.

A family member who suffers from anxiety adds a challenging dynamic that can interfere with relationships and family functioning. Counselling sessions for partners or family members of those who suffer from anxiety can be beneficial for strengthening relationships.

Children and adolescents can also suffer from excessive anxiety, and may experience it differently than adults. They may not want to go to bed or go to school. They may have more difficulty with change or be more emotional than other children. Anxiety may lead to depression or thoughts of self-harm. Counselling sessions with one of our specialized children and youth therapists can assist your child in coping with the anxiety, and/or work with you as a parent to support the development of healthy functioning.
top of page

Automobile Injury and Trauma

Automobile accidents can impact your life in a variety of ways. Not only may you be dealing with a physical injury from an accident, but you may also be experiencing emotional trauma. Dealing with insurance companies, medical forms, and sick leave procedures add levels of stress that can overwhelm an accident victim and provide her/him with added barriers to healthy recovery. It is common for people who have been in an automobile accident to:

• Experience anxiety
• Become afraid of driving
• Suffer nightmares and flashbacks
• Have panic attacks
• Experience other stress- related symptoms

Individuals seriously injured in an automobile accident may be coping with additional physical and emotions issues, such as:

• Acute or chronic pain
• Grief and loss
• Feelings of guilt about those injured or lost in the accident
• Loss of self-esteem
• Financial hardships
• Difficulties dealing with insurance companies

Any kind of trauma takes time to heal. TCG counsellors can help you re-build and gain back a sense of control in your life.

Counselling sessions for victims of accidents, their partners or family members can be beneficial in strengthening relationships and providing the tools and strategies necessary to heal.

Individual counselling is also available for children and adolescents who have experienced, witnessed, or have been traumatized by an automobile accident. Our specialized counsellors help them understand their symptoms and process of recovery, and to develop age appropriate solutions to cope.
top of page

Chronic Pain and Illness

Chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts for more than 6 months. Chronic pain affects daily functioning, and may appear as fibromyalgia, back pain, tension headaches, or many other painful disorders. Symptoms may include:

• Pain
• Fatigue
• Muscle aches and weakness
• Disturbances in vision
• Cognitive difficulty
• Issues of mobility

Chronic pain affects all areas of life. Tasks may take much longer to accomplish, physical environments may have to be altered, diminished work ability may cause financial problems. You may no longer be as independent in your daily activities. Anxiety and fear about the future may aggravate your physical and emotional suffering, making relationships more difficult to manage effectively.

Together with you, our counsellors can help develop strategies to regain a sense of control and improve the quality of your life. When needed, we can also provide assistance with advocacy and referral to other services.
top of page

Couples Counselling

Emotionally fulfilling relationships are central to mental and physical health; however, creating and maintaining a healthy couple relationship can be a challenge with all of today’s life stressors. Conflict styles resulting from old family-of-origin patterns may also influence a couple’s relationship.

A counsellor can help you address current and long-stranding issues that may arise in your relationships. Our counsellors can also help you understand how unhealthy communication patterns impact your relationships. Conflict, unhappiness or dissatisfaction in relationships may be addressed at the level of the individual or couple.
top of page

Depression

Depression can range from feelings of sadness to chronic or clinical levels. Left untreated, it can interfere with day-to-day living. If some of the symptoms listed below are affecting your ability to function for more than a few weeks, you may benefit from speaking to a counsellor:

• Fatigue
• Low energy
• Overwhelming grief and/or sadness
• Poor concentration
• Difficulty making decisions
• Low self-esteem
• Feeling worthless, hopeless or helpless
• Disturbed sleeping patterns
• Disturbed eating patterns
• Anxiety
• Avoidance
• Loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed

There are now many forms of treatment that can alleviate symptoms and get you back to a high quality of life in very little time. The Counsellors at TCG have extensive experiences in working with individuals suffering from various forms of depression, by providing a safe place to talk, exploring causes and contributing factors, and helping to develop coping strategies.

Children and adolescents are also susceptible to depression. Our counsellors provide individual counselling for all ages, as well as family support counselling.
top of page

Disordered Eating

Disordered eating is a condition where a person’s attitudes about food, weight, and body size lead to rigid and/or irregular and chaotiic eating and exercise habits that may jeopardize their emotional, social, physical and mental health.

Disordered eating can include a wide range of abnormal eating habits and behaviours including those seen in eating disorders such as anorexia. bulimia and binge eating, as well as chronic restrained eating, compulsive eating and habitual dieting.

Individuals who experience disordered eating often find that their emotional well-being becomes linked to what they have or have not eaten and/or by their body weight. They may find that initial behaviours such as dieting, over-exercising, binge eating, fasting and/or purging quickly become out of control. They may experience obsessive thinking about controlling their eating and find that they are unable to respond to their desire to stop certain habits or behaviours. Often physical sensations of hunger or fullness are ignored.

Counsellors  at TCG have experience working with children, youth, and adults struggling to overcome disordered eating issues. They can work with individuals one-on-one or with families where a child/youth is struggling with disordered eating.
top of page

Domestic Violence and Abuse

Abuse touches the lives of people from every age, cultural, socio-economic and ethnic group. It can be physical, verbal, emotional, financial and/or sexual. Its effects can be profound and devastating, not only to victims, but also to those who love and care for them.

TCG counsellors understand that abuse can have immediate and/or long-term effects, affecting how a person thinks, feels and acts. A person may even completely block out memories of abuse, sometimes only recognizing it happened many years later.

Counsellors provide confidential services that can help you:
• Learn to deal with the emotional impacts of abuse
• Learn to recognize warning signs of abuse
• Overcome nightmares and flashbacks
• Re-build your self-esteem
• Make positive relationship choices
• Develop a safety plan, if you are currently living in an abusive relationship

Domestic violence is widespread and poses serious health threats to the health and well-being of its victims. Since abusive partners are generally trying to wield power and control, incidents are rarely isolated events, and tend to increase in frequency and severity over time.

Our counsellors can help you:
• Evaluate choices and options
• Develop a safety plan
• Learn to deal with the emotional impacts of abuse
• Re-build your self-esteem
• Make positive relationship choices
top of page

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of psychotherapy that is highly effective in the treatment of trauma. EMDR utilizes rapid eye movements or bilateral stimulation while a traumatic memory is recalled and processed. Research has shown that this technique reduces the amount of therapeutic time needed to process and resolve traumatic memories. It is also useful in treating anxiety, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you have recently or historically experienced trauma, The Counselling Group’s therapists trained in EMDR, can help you develop coping strategies and reduce the pain left behind so that you are able to start living your life to the fullest.
top of page

Educational Testing and Evaluation

The Counselling Groupprovides psycho-educational testing for children aged 6 - 16 in a timely fashion, for a reasonable cost. Psycho-educational testing can provide useful information about your child’s cognitive ability and grade level equivalency across a broad range of academic areas. These comprehensive assessments involve combining information from parents and teachers, along with the testing results, to diagnose difficulties with such issues as attention, learning and emotion. Testing can help facilitate the academic success of your child since it provides information on your child’s cognitive level and potential, how your child’s mind best learns, and your child’s strengths and weaknesses.
top of page

Inter-racial and Inter-cultural Relationships

Inter-racial and inter-cultural relationships bring together different values, views, and experiences that can provide a rich and diverse assortment of traditions to share or, in some instances, become sources of conflict. The needs of extended families, questions about how to raise children, and decisions regarding holidays are all opportunities for stress and tension. Over time, these stressors can develop into serious relationship issues.

While there are no rules that fit all inter-faith couples, the experienced counsellors at TCG can help you learn how to build a foundation for a successful relationship, how to deal with family pressures and be resolute in your decisions, and how to find compromise so that your partnership is a long-lasting source of support.
top of page

Isolation / Interpersonal Difficulties

Sometimes life events can impair our sense of basic safety and trust, which in turn can affect the way we view both the world and relationships. Sometimes these life events can also make forming relationships and maintaining connections very difficult. Some people may experience severe distress in social situations. Social anxiety, where people experience significant anxiety and discomfort is social situations, is often experienced as a fear of being embarrassed, humiliated, or scorned by others in social or performance situations.

The counsellors at TCG have extensive experience working with adults and children who experience social anxiety and/or have issues related to attachment and interpersonal connection. With counselling and support, you can learn to create and maintain healthier relationships.
top of page

Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Two-Spirited, Queer and Questioning (LGBTTIQQ) Issues

Counsellors at TCG offer a queer friendly environment which will allow you to explore thoughts and feelings about relationships, family of origin issues, school / work place difficulties, coming out and parenting. Questions about gender identity, sexual orientation, coming out and the impact of homophobia may be explored in an open and respectful environment.

Through counselling you can look at what your relationship expectations are and how to achieve what you want and need wherever you identify on the queer continuum. Individual and couple relationship counselling can help with communication and sorting out feelings. The dynamics of relationship violence can also be examined through the unique lens that is specific to queer relationships.

Our grief counselling solutions promote the well-being of bereaved people, enable clients to understand their grief, and help them cope with feelings of loss. Where appropriate and when demand warrants, Bereavement Groups are organized to offer support in a group setting, sometimes as an addition to individual counselling.
top of page

Parenting

The role of a parent can be fulfilling, rewarding and enjoyable, as well as filled with challenges and frustration. The demands and stresses of daily life, coupled with raising and caring for a child, can sometimes leave parents feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious. Conversely, healthy parent-child relationships are the key to a child’s success in every sphere of life.

Understanding a child’s stage of development and what to expect both physically and emotionally is empowering. Discussing issues that arise with one of our counsellors can help develop effective parenting strategies, provide tools to manage stress, and reaffirm what works for your particular family with its unique dynamics.
top of page

Parenting Children with Special Needs

Parenting a child with special needs adds challenges that can be overwhelming for any or all members of the family. It demands understanding, skills, and advocacy that have hence been uncharted. Feelings of anger, frustration, resentment, helplessness, and the like are highly common, as is over-exhaustion. Couples can grow apart as each tries to cope with the added pressures and demands on their time and finances. Siblings can rebel against the other receiving more time and attention.

Individual, couple, and/or family counselling can help sort through overwhelming feelings, rebuild relationships, and direct you to other resources. Partners can develop positive ways to communicate, resolve conflict, and make the relationship a priority. Other family members can learn strategies to build successful relationships, develop empathy, and deal with negative feelings.
top of page

Prenatal and Post-Partum Issues

Popular opinion tells us that pregnancy is a happy time for women; however, the reality is that it is also a time full of changes, questions, and challenges. A large percentage of women experience the so-called “baby blues” during or after pregnancy. Prenatal depression is difficult to diagnose due to the similarity of its symptoms with general symptoms of pregnancy: low energy, changes in sleep and eating patterns, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, etc. Early detection and treatment of prenatal depression is critical to a woman and her baby’s health, and ensures the best beginning for both of them. It also helps prevent or decrease postpartum depression.

For many women childbirth can be a traumatic and overwhelming experience, with blame belonging to hormonal changes. Following childbirth, most women experience hormonal changes and may feel weepy, moody, and exhausted. If these symptoms do not decrease on their own, this can be an indicator of postpartum depression. Postpartum depression is often experienced as profound sadness, feelings of failure and confusion, crying spells, agitation, rapid mood swings, suicidal thoughts, and/or the desire to hurt the baby.

The Counselling Group offers individual or couples counselling sessions for those struggling with prenatal or postpartum issues. Our specially trained counsellors provide a safe environment to discuss issues and develop coping skills to deal with the changes of parenthood.
top of page

Self-esteem

Self-esteem may be best described as how we perceive our worthiness as a person. Our sense of self is developed during childhood and continues throughout life, affected by a variety of factors. A person’s self-esteem can impact their day-to-day functioning, including their ability to make choices and their overall health.

A person with low self-esteem may experience such symptoms as:

• Fear
• Anxiety
• Emotional turmoil
• Helplessness
• Social withdrawal
• Poor body image
• Depression
• Perfectionism
• Feeling worthless, helpless to change life for the better

TCG counsellors can help you reframe negative, exaggerated, and inaccurate beliefs about yourself and encourage you to work towards changing self-defeating behaviors.
top of page

Separation and Divorce

The end of a relationship can be one of the most stressful life events. Whether the relationship ended suddenly or fell apart gradually, it can bring about feelings of loss on many levels: the loss of companionship, the loss of dreams for the future, the loss of identity. There may also be a host of other losses, such as the loss of the family home, time with children, extended family members, financial security, pets, and a whole host of other familiarities.

Separation and divorce often require you to face multiple practical issues that carry strong emotional consequences. You may need to deal with the division of property and assets, spousal and/or child support, court and legal systems, changes in residence and schooling, and changes in care and custody arrangements.

It is typical to feel a loss of self-esteem, failure, sadness, anger, frustration, hopelessness, confusion, or even a sense of relief. Our counsellors can help you and your family members clarify what happened and explore ways to deal with the new situation. Together we can look at coping skills, options, and solutions to the issues that may arise, as well as working through any painful or emotional issues, re-examining the future, and making positive life changes.
top of page

Childhood Sexual Abuse

If you were sexually abused as a child or adolescent, you may require counselling to sort through your feelings of fear, guilt, and anger. 

With different life phases or stages, you may want support in identifying your needs, and/or negotiating life transitions, such as becoming a part of a couple or becoming a parent. You may have difficulty sharing your experience and want some assistance in learning how and when to disclose.

Our counsellors can offer support to individual children, adolescents, and adults who have experienced sexual abuse.

If you are the partner of someone who was sexually abused, you may experience confusing emotions including anger at the offender, the extended family or other responsible adults who failed to protect your partner.  You may also experience anger about impact of these violations on your partner, and on your relationship.  You may feel helpless in your efforts to care for and support your partner.

Counselling can help you sort through these feelings. We can also help you learn to support your partner in ways that promote health and wellbeing, while maintaining your own sense of self.
top of page

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault is a violent crime committed by a stranger, an acquaintance, friend or present/past partner or other person.. Our counsellors provide support to any person who has been sexually assaulted, recently or in the past.

Sexual assault may have long-lasting effects on your health and well-being. How you respond to this trauma will depend on many circumstances: your support system of friends and family, the reaction of people you encounter after the assault and your life experiences prior to the assault.

You may feel fear, shame, guilt, self-blame, and anger.  At times you may feel out of control. You may also feel suicidal. These feelings are normal and often temporary.

Our counsellors can help you understand and process the event and your feelings about having been sexually assaulted. Counselling can help you work towards rebuilding your sense of strength and self-worth.

Information and support are also provided to parent(s), family members and partners of those who have been assaulted..
top of page

Sexuality

Sexuality refers to how we experience ourselves as sexual beings, the importance of sex in our life, how we express our sexuality, and who we choose as a sexual partner.  Our intimate relationships may be on-going sources of happiness, pleasure, support and excitement, or carry trepidation, anxiety, and stress. 

Many factors affect our intimate lives, some of which are rooted in childhood, while others stem from experiences of adolescence or adulthood. Low self-esteem, poor body image, abuse, and similar issues can negatively affect sexual intimacy.  Our sexuality may be full of questions around sexual orientation or gender identity, or of concerns regarding sexual behaviours, fantasies, and preferences.  Lack of desire, inability to achieve orgasm, or sexual dysfunction may make it difficult to enjoy any kind of physical intimacy.

TCG counsellors are trained to help with a wide range of sexual issues, whether individually or as a couple, within a relationship or as a single person.
top of page

Special Needs

Our counsellors have experience working with clients who are coping with many lifelong challenges.

Individuals with developmental disabilities find themselves facing many unique challenges. For some clients, moving from their family home into independent and/or permanent group home settings which lack the privacy and intimacy to which they were accustomed, can be a very difficult transition.  Additionally they may be facing the loss of ageing parents, and experience sense of isolation and a lack of family support as their siblings move away or move on with their own lives.  Our staff can provide supportive individual counselling for these clients, as well as meeting with them and their new staff members to discuss ways in which they can be assisted to make adjustments and live rich and fulfilling lives in their new circumstances.

Individuals who have issues such as developmental delay, impaired vision, brain injury, disabling migraines, seizure disorders, etc. may find that navigating their world becomes increasingly overwhelming and difficult.  Life stresses, in addition to these chronic issues may seem to be overwhelming at times. When these additional life stresses seem overwhelming, we can help.
top of page

Stress

Everyone experiences stress in their lives. It is a healthy reaction to the demands of our lives.  However, stress can build and influence how you feel about life. Prolonged stress can lead to frustration, anger, hopelessness, and, at times, depression. Other symptoms of stress may include:

• Disturbed sleep 
• Fatigue 
• Headaches 
• Body aches
• Pain
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Tension

top of page

Trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress

Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible and extraordinary life event. It can shatter your sense of security and safety, and cause you to feel vulnerable and helpless.  Typically, trauma victims experience both physical and emotional issues that disrupt and impede the ability to function.  Examples include: