Frequently Asked Questions

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Ofereço uma consulta inicial gratuita, durante a qual podemos discutir o motivo pelo qual você está considerando iniciar a terapia e verificar se somos compatíveis para trabalhar juntos. Clique aqui para agendar. 

Self-referrals are welcome, or you may also be referred by your family physician or psychiatrist or other professional. 

The best way to get started is to send a message, and we can schedule a free initial consultation. During this session, we will discuss what you are struggling with and determine how I can help.

Let's connect today to explore how I can provide the assistance and support you are looking for. 

Therapy sessions are 50 minutes long. Initially, we dedicate approximately 5-6 sessions to what I refer to as the assessment phase. During this phase, I will ask you questions to help us better understand your inner workings and the challenges you face within the context of your life. 

As we progress, our approach becomes more exploratory, focusing on uncovering patterns and themes through open-ended conversations. We may introduce exercises for you to practice during the week to complement our discussions and/or help you cope with your difficulties. By recognizing problematic patterns and gaining insight, you will cultivate greater self-awareness, enabling us to collaboratively explore healthier and more effective strategies for living.

Research indicates that positive therapeutic outcomes stem from a firm commitment to the psychotherapeutic process, with weekly attendance playing a pivotal role in the process. By adhering to a regular and consistent schedule, clients cultivate a rhythm and momentum that facilitate progress. Weekly attendance also strengthens the therapeutic alliance, which is key for making therapy work well.

During periods of increased distress or ongoing stressors, clients may find beneficial to increase session frequency to twice a week. Conversely, as therapy approaches its conclusion, clients often transition to bi-weekly sessions, gradually spacing them out.

Ultimately, the frequency of sessions should be determined taking into account individual needs and progress throughout the course of treatment. 

Psychodynamic therapy focuses on exploring the unconscious processes that influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. By examining past experiences and relational patterns, we can gain insight into current challenges and develop a deeper understanding of ourselves.

In our sessions, we will work collaboratively to uncover underlying conflicts and unresolved issues, fostering self-awareness and promoting healing from within.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a goal-oriented therapeutic approach that emphasizes the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Through this form of talk therapy and its techniques, we will identify and challenge negative thought patterns and develop practical skills to manage difficult emotions and improve coping strategies.

By learning to recognize and modify unhelpful beliefs and behaviors, you will gain the tools to overcome obstacles and make positive changes in your life.

This integrative approach helps you explore underlying patterns while also learning practical strategies to improve your daily life. Our sessions are collaborative and tailored to your unique goals.

During your sessions, you can expect:

• A safe and supportive environment to explore your thoughts and feelings
• Insightful exploration of underlying issues and patterns
• Practical strategies and tools to manage symptoms and improve coping skills
• Personalized treatment plans to address your individual needs and goals
• Ongoing support and guidance throughout your therapeutic journey

If your benefits cover Registered Psychotherapy, you may be eligible for reimbursement. Please inquire with your provider to see what your unique plan entails. 

If you have coverage, you typically pay for your sessions upfront, and receipts are provided for you to submit to your insurance for reimbursement.

Weekly Individual Psychotherapy Session (Adults, 18 or older) - FROM $174 per session

Session fees may vary according to treatment frequency*

Sessions are offered in person and/or online and are 50 minutes long and are held at a regular time slot each week. 

Pricing remains consistent whether you choose online or in-person sessions. 

Payments are made at the end of each session by American Express, Mastercard, or Visa.

If your benefits cover Registered Psychotherapy, you may be eligible for reimbursement. Please inquire with your provider to see what your unique plan entails. 

If you have coverage, you typically pay for your sessions upfront, and receipts are provided for you to submit to your insurance for reimbursement.

From a psychoanalytic perspective, trauma refers to an event or experience that overwhelms an individual's capacity to cope, leading to psychological distress. It often disrupts the individual's sense of self and safety, creating unconscious conflicts. These unresolved conflicts may manifest as repressed memories, distorted emotions, or maladaptive behaviors. Trauma, in this view, is not just about the event itself, but how it is internalized and processed by the psyche, influencing both conscious and unconscious aspects of the person's life, sometimes leading to symptoms like anxiety, depression, or dissociation.

From a psychoanalytic perspective, "unresolved emotions" refer to feelings that arise from past experiences but are not fully processed or integrated into the individual's conscious awareness. These emotions often emerge in response to traumatic or distressing events that were too overwhelming for the person to face at the time. Instead of being consciously acknowledged and worked through, these emotions are repressed or denied, becoming unconscious forces that influence thoughts, behaviors, and relationships in subtle or overt ways. Unresolved emotions, such as unprocessed grief, anger, or fear, can lead to inner conflicts, maladaptive patterns, and psychological symptoms, as they continue to affect the person without their full awareness or understanding. Psychodynamic therapy aims to bring these emotions into conscious awareness, allowing the individual to process and resolve them, fostering emotional growth and healing.

From a Psychoanalytic Perspective (Freud):

The unconscious, in Freud's psychoanalytic theory, is a mental repository for thoughts, memories, desires, and experiences that are repressed or not consciously accessible. These unconscious contents are often too threatening or anxiety-provoking to be consciously acknowledged, so they are pushed out of awareness. Freud believed that the unconscious exerts a powerful influence on our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, often surfacing through dreams, slips of the tongue (Freudian slips), and symptoms (like neuroses). The goal of psychoanalysis is to bring these unconscious elements into conscious awareness, where they can be examined and integrated, helping individuals to resolve inner conflicts and psychological distress.

From a Jungian Perspective:

Carl Jung’s conception of the unconscious is broader and more dynamic. He distinguished between two layers: the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. The personal unconsciousis similar to Freud's idea, containing repressed memories, forgotten experiences, and unprocessed emotions unique to the individual. The collective unconscious, however, is a deeper layer shared by all humans, containing archetypes — universal symbols, patterns, and motifs that transcend individual experience and reflect fundamental aspects of the human psyche.

Jung viewed the unconscious not just as a repository of repressed material but as a source of creativity, transformation, and psychic balance. He believed that engaging with the unconscious through dreams, symbols, and active imagination could lead to individuation — the process of integrating the unconscious with the conscious self to achieve a more whole and harmonious personality. While Freud focused primarily on uncovering repressed content, Jung saw the unconscious as a dynamic, positive force in the process of self-discovery and personal growth. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which an individual realizes their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, works productively, and contributes to their community. It goes beyond the absence of mental illness, emphasizing emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Mental health is integral to overall health, and its promotion involves factors like resilience, positive relationships, and the capacity for growth.

From a Psychoanalytic Perspective, mental health, is characterized by the ability to maintain a stable sense of self, integrate unconscious desires and conflicts, and adapt to life's challenges without excessive repression or maladaptive defense mechanisms. It involves the balance between conscious and unconscious processes, where unresolved conflicts are worked through, and the individual can achieve emotional maturity. A healthy psyche is one where there is insight into one’s inner world, and where internal conflicts are resolved in ways that allow for meaningful relationships, emotional regulation, and a sense of purpose.

From a psychoanalytic perspective, depression is not just about feeling sad or lacking energy; it's a complex process involving repressed emotions, unresolved inner conflicts, and a failure to integrate unconscious material. The goal of psychoanalytic treatment is to bring these unconscious conflicts into awareness, helping the person to resolve them, reduce self-criticism, and restore a more balanced emotional state.

From a psychoanalytic perspective, anxiety is seen as a manifestation of unconscious conflict. It often arises when repressed desires, unresolved emotions, or internal tensions surface, threatening the individual's sense of stability. It often manifests as fear, nervousness, or dread, sometimes without a clear external cause, and can be linked to unresolved childhood experiences or fears of repressed desires coming to light. Psychoanalytic therapy aims to uncover these unconscious conflicts and integrate them into conscious awareness, reducing the intensity of anxiety over time.

In psychology and psychodynamic theory, projectionis a defense mechanism in which an individual unconsciously attributes their own undesirable feelings, thoughts, or impulses onto someone else. Essentially, it involves perceiving others as having the feelings, traits, or behaviors that the person themselves may be struggling with or denying. Projection serves as a way to avoid the anxiety or guilt that would arise from acknowledging these feelings in oneself.

Emotions are biological and physiological responsesto stimuli, often occurring automatically and unconsciously. They involve bodily changes (such as heart rate, breathing, and facial expressions) and prepare us for action (e.g., fear might trigger a "fight or flight" response). Emotions are typically brief and can be universal, experienced similarly across different people and cultures (e.g., anger, fear, happiness).

Feelings, on the other hand, are subjective experiences or conscious awareness of emotions. They are the mental interpretations of emotional states and are shaped by our thoughts, perceptions, and past experiences. While emotions are more physiological and instinctual, feelings are the personal, cognitive aspect of what we experience emotionally. For example, the emotion of fear might lead to the feeling of unease or anxiety.

In essence, emotions are the automatic, physiological responses to stimuli, while feelings are the conscious, reflective experience of those emotional responses.