online or virtual counselling individual, couple and discernment
Online or phone counselling throughout Ontario
About online/virtual Counselling
Counselling is for those who are seeking a greater understanding and resolution of problems causing personal distress.
Benefits of Online Counselling:
• Access in the privacy and comfort of your own home.
• Eliminates stress associated with securing childcare.
• Avoids hassles of traffic and parking fees.
Common Myths about Pursuing Counselling
• the belief that the problem is “not that serious” or
• secretly hoping that it will resolve itself if given enough time
• cultural or familial belief that it is a personal weakness, failure, or an embarrassment if we cannot resolve problems on our own or with the help of family or friends
• mistaken belief that professional counselling is for people who suffer from mental illness
• seeing a professional counsellor might lead to a diagnosis of mental illness
Reality
Counselling provides a confidential and supportive environment to increase self-awareness, and assist people with life’s problems.
Wendy will provide you a safe and non-judgmental environment in which to explore solutions that build on your existing strengths, skills and resilience. She utilizes only research based therapeutic approaches to achieve positive, life-enhancing results.
You are the expert in your own life and counselling can unlock the solutions that are lying deep within.
The Difference Between Couple & Discernment Counselling
Wendy provides both Couple and Discernment Counselling. Please see the information below outlining the differences in focus between Couple's Counselling and Discernment Counselling so you can make an informed decision about which service would be most appropriate to your situation.
Couple’s Counselling assumes both partners are ready and willing to work on improving their relationship. It is designed for couples who have an interest in staying together. It is about changing and improving the relationship, resolving conflicts and getting closer.
Discernment Counselling has a different clinical focus. It is focused on working with “mixed agenda” couples, where one partner is leaning out of the relationship (considering divorce and ambivalent about couple's counselling) and the other is leaning in (wants to preserve the relationship and try couple's counselling). Each perspective is honored.
If you or your spouse are considering divorce but are not completely sure that is the best path, Discernment Counselling is designed for you. It’s a chance to slowdown, take a breath, and look at your options for your marriage.
Discernment Counselling will help you decide whether to try to restore your marriage to health, move toward separation or divorce, or take a time out and decide later.
The goal of Discernment Counselling is for you to gain clarity and confidence about a direction or future for your relationship, based on a deeper understanding of your relationship history and each partner's contributions to the problems. This will be useful in future relationships even if this one ends. You will each be treated with compassion and respect no matter how you are feeling about your marriage at the moment.
You will come in as a couple but the most important work occurs in the one-to-one conversations with the counsellor. Why? Because you are starting out in different places.
The counsellor respects your reasons for divorce while remaining open to the possibility of restoring the marriage to health.
Number of Sessions for Discernment Counselling: Up to five counselling sessions maximum. The first session is usually two hours and any subsequent sessions are 1.5 hours.
Discernment Counselling is not suited for these situations:
- When one spouse has already made a final decision to divorce
- When one spouse is coercing the other to participate
- When there is danger of domestic violence
Biography
Career
Education
Education
Wendy has counselled with families, couples and individuals in the Windsor/Essex area for over 18 years. Her expertise includes working with persons who have:
- depression
- anxiety
- experienced trauma
- grief/loss
- stress related issues
- low self-esteem
- change of life issues
- parenting and relationship issues
Wendy has been a member of the
Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW) since 2005. She is a registered social worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers
and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW).
Education
Education
Education
Wendy earned her Masters of Social Work degree in 2006. She has also been trained in:
- Addictions & Mental Health Issues
- Grief/Bereavement
- Maternal Mental Health
- Couples Counselling
- Level III Gottman Trained
- 7 Principles Gottman Program Educator
- Discernment Counselling for marriages on the brink of divorce
- Intensive Sex Therapy
- First Responder Training
- Traumatic Incident Reduction
- Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy
- Interpersonal Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Advanced Mindfulness
Personal
Education
Personal
Wendy has been happily married for over 40 years. She and her husband enjoy their empty nest and are proud of their adult sons and families.
Wendy enjoys her family, friends, reading, exercise, music, socializing and fine dining. Her own life experiences have produced within her a passion for learning, living life fully and making a difference in other people's lives.