What type of Services do we offer?
Frequently Asked Questions
Traditional Services
We take a very holistic, trauma informed and decolonised approach with our clients offering emotional support sessions, PTSD counselling, emotional freedom technique (EFT or Tapping), while teaching meditation, emotional intelligence, and mindfulness as appropriate for each client. We take the time to teach each client what trauma is, where it hides in the body and mind and how to work toward healing from it; while teaching how to reframe and reprogram the mind from harmful self-talk, limiting belief systems and move towards self empowering habits. Each client receives their very own outline, according to their needs and what aligns with their feelings of security.
What does Trauma Informed Care mean?
Trauma-Informed Care follows five Guiding Values/Principles that serve as a framework for how service providers and systems of care can work to reduce the likelihood of re-traumatization. The Five Guiding Principles are; safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness and empowerment. Ensuring that the physical and emotional safety of an individual is addressed is the first important step to providing Trauma-Informed Care. Next, the individual needs to know that the provider is trustworthy. Trustworthiness can be evident in the establishment and consistency of boundaries and the clarity of what is expected in regards to tasks. Additionally, the more choice an individual has and the more control they have over their service experience through a collaborative effort with service providers, the more likely the individual will participate in services and the more effective the services may be. Finally, focusing on an individual's strengths and empowering them to build on those strengths while developing stronger coping skills provides a healthy foundation for individuals to fall back on if and when they stop receiving services.
What is Decolonised or Indigenous Psychology?
Much of the narrative around the history of Psychology begins with European and American men who claim the invention or discovery of the field. Decolonized psychology is the study of psychology that moves beyond western, colonial narratives which largely ignore studies on psychotherapy and its adaptations from non-Western cultures that emerged separately, had their own systems and did not focus on Western middle-class experience and values. The use of the words “invention” and “discovery” within Western psychology teachings denies the existence of any indigenous entity that pre-existed these western definitions. Western ways of practicing psychology emanate from settler-colonial views, in which indigenous peoples “did not exist”, thus justifying colonisation. In similar ways, the field of psychology participates in settler-colonialism by denying its relationship to harm, segregation and oppression. Decolonised psychology means moving away from the assumption that the individual is the central unit of analysis in ways that overlook people in social, economic and political contexts, in order to understand the root cause of very natural human reactions - which have been labeled "Mental Illness"- which are more often than not - healable traumatic injuries. This includes removing sexism, racism, ableism, ageism and classism from the methodology used in treatment. Instead, taking into account and focusing on an individual's lived experience.
Non-Traditional Services
What is Reiki?
REIKI is hands-on natural healing using the universal life force energy of nature. The term comes from the Japanese words "rei" meaning universal, and "ki" meaning vital life force energy that flows through all living things. Reiki, an abundant, gentle spiritual energy is not tied to any specific religion or nationality. It was developed by a Japanese Doctor named Mikao Usui. It aides in healing by helping people become energetically balanced and is used all over the world in places including hospitals and hospices. How does Reiki work? The practitioner is the conduit between the patient and the source of universal life force energy. This energy flows through the practitioners energy field and through their hands to the patient. Reiki treatments typically last about an hour. During the treatment the patient lies on a massage table, fully clothed. The practitioner gently places their hands palms down on or just above the patients body, in specific energy locations and uses a series of 12-15 different hand positions. There is no pressure, massage, or manipulation. The patient can experience the energy as sensations such as heat, tingling, or pulsing. Sometimes the sensations are felt moving through the body, and some people do not experience any sensations at all. Most people feel very relaxed and many fall asleep during the treatment.
What are the benefits of receiving Reiki?
According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a Reiki treatment may do the following:
- regulating the nervous system, bringing about a peaceful, deep state of relaxation
- dissolve energy blockages and tension
- detoxify the body
- assist in deconstructing from outliers that create anxiety and depression
- support the well being of a person receiving traditional medicine treatment that are normally debilitating (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, kidney dialysis)
- stimulate the body's immune system
- help relieve pain
- stimulate tissue and bone healing
- increase the vibrational frequency on physical, mental, emotional levels.
Can Reiki replace traditional medical or therapeutic treatments.
No. Reiki complements all other type of medical and therapeutic treatment. Reiki treatment would not be used as a substitute for consultation with a physician or psychotherapist. Reiki can increase the efficacy of other type of healing.
What conditions can be treated by Reiki?
Reiki is not specific to any particular type of disease or condition. Because it works on the entire self – mind, body and emotions – and because it is universal life force energy, it may be successful in all types of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual healing. Pets and other animals respond positively to reiki healing as well. Reiki practitioners help patients to prepare for surgery, and has been shown to boost recovery afterward. Our reiki practitioners see patients for the following conditions, among others: cancer, infertility, Parkinson’s disease, psychological illnesses, chronic pain, digestive problems, and inflammatory or stress-related diseases. Reiki is an excellent form of preventive medicine. If you are in good health already, regularly applied reiki treatments (about once a month) enhance your ability to respond to unhealthy elements in your environment and help you handle stress.
What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is an indigenous practice found in cultures around the world from ancient times up to the present day. First and foremost, shamans' practices are practical and adaptable. Shamanism itself is not a formalized system of beliefs or an ideology. Rather, it is a group of activities and experiences shared by shamans in cultures around the world. These practices are adaptable and coexist with different cultures, systems of government, and organised religious practices. Following a shamanistic perspective, individuals seek to be in relationship with the spirit in all things. This perspective is not inherently contradictory of any religious practice that allows a person to be in direct relationship with whatever they perceive as a higher power.