FAQs

Timescales: To begin with, sessions will be usually once a week for one hour. Later on, sessions can be scheduled depending on your needs and progress.

Fees: My usual fee is $80 per hour. I also operate a sliding scale for people with financial difficulties. If you are a student, ask about Student Rates.

Location: I see clients at the Annex Therapy Centre, 176 St George St.(North West corner, Bloor & St George), opposite St George Subway.

My Approach: I use the Gestalt approach which means I do not diagnose nor analyse you. Instead, we will work towards you becoming more fully engaged in the present rather than stuck in the past or worrying about the future.

Whatever issues you bring to therapy, be it working to overcome emotional upset or to get unstuck, you can expect to start feeling noticeable gains within about three months. The exact duration of the therapy depends on you. However, in almost all cases, the process will be complete within about a year.

There is plenty of information about Gestalt on the Internet if you are interested in finding out more. Including at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto's website, the 'Theory' section of which I wrote. One very important thing to note is you don't have to know anything about Gestalt to begin therapy and benefit from it.

Just to whet your appetitie, here is a brief list of of the key features of Gestalt. It is for people looking for a: supportive, challenging, empowering, existential, humanistic, experiential and common-sense approach to being comfortable with who you really are and getting the most from life.

How it Works: In a nutshell, it is the creative application of humanity to bring out the humanity in others.

Through our therapeutic relationship, we can nurture in you a more fully functioning whole human being (Gestalt is German for whole). By which I mean make you adept at drawing upon your mind, body and emotions in a balanced way in order that you may live a more genuine and fulfilling life.

We achieve this by working with your awareness and through the experience of having genuine human contact in the ‘safe’ environment of the therapy sessions. This builds self-confidence, self-esteem and relational ability. You gain experience of being who you really are with another human being (me) so that you can choose to do this, as and when you wish, in the rest of your life, i.e. become better at relating, capable of intimacy, and gradually learn, from experience, how you can tolerate and be comfortable expressing and being your true self in the presence of another. You begin with me and then, when you no longer have need of me the world is your oyster. It is as important to end therapy as it is to start.  

Issues Dealt With: Since Gestalt is spontaneous and creative, it can be applied to virtually any issue you have. However, it is not suitable for people with a history of psychotic episodes or schizophrenia.