Psychotherapy and Counselling for Adults
Welcome to my Website and Psychotherapy Practice based in Kitsilano Vancouver, British Columbia. My name is Judith Beale and I’m a registered Psychologist licensed by the College of Psychologists in B.C. I work with clients throughout the Vancouver lower mainland, and have recently expanded my services from in person to include Telepsychology.
My approach to working with individuals across a range of issues and presenting concerns draws from well established theory and practice. While in private practice for over 15 years, I have developed my expertise with evolving and contemporary advances in clinical thinking from Psychodynamic, Analytical, Relational and Cognitive psychotherapy approaches.
I bring to my practice decades of experience and expertise as a mental health professional and I invite you to take a look at my training and experience in the Bio & Credentials page.
A therapist’s training and competence are essential components of her effectiveness with complex issues. It is also very important to feel a good connection – defined in part by mutual trust and respect felt early on in the client therapist relationship. The nature of the work of exploring intimate and difficult experiences requires a feeling or milieu of safety and confidence and finding the right therapist for you personally, is a very important step. You may need to explore and ask lots of questions in your search for a psychotherapist and I encourage you to do so.
Services Provided
The recent COVID-19 health crisis has placed a temporary halt by Health Authorities on in person contact with most patients and clients. As a result, I now only provide video psychotherapy or phone sessions to clients until such time as contact rules are lifted.
Support During COVID-19 Pandemic
Currently, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, I only offer Telepsychology, using a Secure Video Platform or therapy by telephone.
I welcome to my practice, those individuals who are feeling the stressful effects of daily living throughout all phases of the current COVID-19 Pandemic. I am accepting new clients who are working in the frontlines of our community services and will prioritize appointments in these cases for non crisis oriented psychotherapy at my regular fee.
If you are working as a healthcare professional and are in need of urgent or crisis counselling at no cost, please access help through the link below:
https://www.psychologists.bc.ca/covid-19-resources
FOR ALL PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT I DO NOT PROVIDE CRISIS SERVICES NOR ASSESSMENTS FOR LEGAL OR RETURN TO WORK PURPOSES .
I also do not work with individuals who are currently drug addicted or in a physically assaultive relationship. These issues are outside my scope of practice.
Individual Psychotherapy and Counselling for Adults
Telepsychology
The ease and effectiveness of using audio or video Telepsychology for psychotherapy is an unexpected positive benefit in my work with clients due to the recent COVID requirements.
There are advantages and disadvantages which need to be considered for each individual interested in using this technology over in person contact. I am therefore providing Telepsychology ongoing to those who are interested and for whom I assess as appropriate. Of course I look forward to also offering in person psychotherapy when social distancing is no longer required.
Office Based In Person, Individual Psychotherapy
My goal as a psychotherapist is to provide a safe, structured setting with the necessary resources and expertise to assist my client’s exploration of their internal self experience in tandem with their external world of events and relationships. These two realms, the internal and external are constantly acting upon, effecting and influencing each other and often without conscious awareness. Deeply held beliefs and feeling structures motivate behaviour and aren’t easily altered by positive thinking or intellectual learning alone.
There are countless clinical examples of this- summarized by statements such as:
I know what I should do, I understand it in theory, but I just can’t. It’s like my emotional self and my rational thinking self aren’t working together.
My practise employs a longer term therapy treatment approach to working through problems rather than a brief approach. I define brief therapy as less than 4 sessions where the focus is typically on the immediate here and now, is directive or problem solving with a specific goal setting objective and end point.
Employing a longer term approach presumes that insight oriented change isn’t only an intellectual learning experience but rather an emotional, meaning making event or development. I welcome inquiries from interested prospective clients to discuss this process in more depth.
A Sample of Problems Individuals Present
- Low Self-esteem poor self image
- Depression
- Grief or bereavement
- Anxiety
- Guilt
- Anger Issues
- Intimacy Problems and Infidelity
- Relationship Conflict
- Life Transitions; career, retirement
- Illness or heath issues
Please refer to Problems Addressed page for more details in the three sub categories of 1) Mood States and Personality Related Problems; 2) Personal Growth and Development; 3) Life Events, Illness or Transitions.
Therapeutic Change – A Journey
Many clients leave therapy with an experience of coherence and a greater tolerance for disruptions in life. Therapy doesn’t necessarily make everything easier – in fact the process may be challenging and painful at times. What can develop in therapy and beyond, is an ever-increasing capacity to tolerate feelings and conflicts across a wider range of life experiences and to be able to think about what these mean to you before acting. This also opens space to explore more deeply life experiences and how they are affecting you. Without being able to do this we fall into long standing problem patterns such as avoidance strategies, self-numbing, self-medicating of feelings; or knee jerk reactions and decisions. There are no guarantees of a particular outcome but I am dedicated to working honestly, professionally and collaboratively with each individual that comes to therapy practice.
I invite you to contact me for an appointment or further discussion by phoning 604-224-6236 Monday through Thursday.