Psychological Services

Individual Therapy

At Sandham Psychological Services, we offer individual therapy to adults residing in Alberta. Individual therapy sessions are 50 minutes in length and offered through an online platform that meets the privacy requirements of Alberta.

Therapeutic Approaches

At Sandham Psychological Services we use evidence-based approaches that are based on current research on attachment, emotion, and trauma. Our areas of interest are depression, anxiety, and trauma.

Emotion-Focused Therapy

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that places focus on emotions as central to our personal functioning.

. . . emotions give us information about how to think and act in certain situations.

Specifically, emotions give us information about how to think and act in certain situations. Emotions play such an important role as they are connected to our most essential needs and help us get these needs met. For example, fear is associated with our need for safety and signals us to flee when faced with a dangerous situation. Getting our needs met promotes our overall well-being.

Growing up many of us were taught to avoid emotions, which makes getting our needs met in adulthood difficult. There are also times when our emotions are not helpful for us. For instance, when emotions bring up memories of past negative experiences, such as childhood trauma. These unpleasant emotions can endure long after the situation has ended and be so intense and overwhelming that it can make daily functioning difficult in adulthood.

EFT helps us make sense of our emotions by promoting awareness and teaching emotion regulation skills . . . 

We are constantly trying to make sense of our emotions. EFT helps us with this sense making by promoting awareness of emotions, teaching emotion regulation skills, transforming emotions from unhelpful to helpful, and promoting self-reflection.

Research has shown that EFT is effective in a variety of struggles faced by individuals such as:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Trauma
  • Eating disorders
  • Relationship difficulties

EFT Video

Watch this video to learn more about EFT

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that is based on the premise that emotionally charged experiences from our past negatively impact our present emotions, thoughts, and behaviours. EMDR helps to process these memories, taking away the distressing emotions associated with these events. In essence, EMDR changes our relationship with past experiences.

EMDR was originally developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder . . . 

EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, tapping, or sounds, to process and decrease the emotional charge of our past distressing memories. This concept replicates rapid eye movements that occur during REM sleep. REM sleep is the stage when our brain is most active and when dreams and processing of information occur. EMDR incorporates bilateral stimulation with short reports of what you are noticing (e.g., thoughts, bodily sensations).

EMDR was originally developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

EMDR was originally developed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, however, this approach has been used with a variety of concerns including:

  • Panic attacks
  • Complicated grief
  • Distressing memories
  • Phobias
  • Chronic pain
  • Performance anxiety
  • Stress
  • Addictions
  • Depression

EMDR Video

Watch this video to learn more about EMDR.