ABOUT BRENDA
As a psychoanalyst/psychotherapist
I offer a heart-felt, calming, embodied presence, that allows you to get in touch with, and express, your true thoughts and feelings. I am passionate about my role of creating a time, and a relationship, in which you can begin to unfold your heart and gather your essential self.
I value diversity and it delights me when those I work with become more fully themselves. If you and I are a fit, it would be a privilege to walk with you on this part of your life's journey.
As a supervisor
I will discuss with you the direction of the therapy and the therapeutic relationship, enhance your safe and effective use of self in the therapeutic relationship, and safeguard the well being of your client.
I will try to promote your professional growth as a future colleague through developing your analytical capacities (i.e., your psychological orientation, your understanding of transference/countertransference, and your analytic skills in working with your client's dreams and other material).
TRAINING AND REGISTRATION IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
- 1993 - Diploma, Toronto Art Therapy Institute (DTATI)
- 2010 - Foundations in Expressive Arts Therapy, CREATE Toronto
- 2012 - Masters in Counselling Psychology, Yorkville University
- 2015 - Registered Psychotherapist, Ontario (#1007)
- 2020 - Diplomate, Jungian Analyst, Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts
MEMBERSHIP
In addition to being registered with the College of Psychotherapists in Ontario, I am a member of the
- Ontario Association of Jungian Analysts (OAJA)
- Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts (IRSJA)
- International Association of Analytical Psychologists (IAAP)
- Canadian Association of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (CAPT)
I am a senior training analyst with the Ontario Society of Jungian Analysts Training Program and the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. I am on the Board of OAJA as VP, and am the immediate past-Treasurer of the IRSJA.
PRESENTATIONS
In the Vicinity of Death: Jung’s Late Life Concepts - April 19, 2021 - Pittsburgh Seminar of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts
In the Vicinity of Death: Jung’s Late Life Concepts - September 17, 2021 - Ontario Association of Jungian Analysts Training Program
Alternative Therapies: Art Therapy - March 19, 2022- Ontario Association of Jungian Analysts Training Program
Exploring C.G. Jung’s Concept of the “Big” Dream - April 26, 2024 - C.G. Jung Foundation Public Education Programme
Michael Fordham: Individuation in Early Life - September 21, 2024 - Ontario Association of Jungian Analysts Training Program
Exploring C.G. Jung’s Concept of the “Big” Dream - January 17, 2025 - Calgary Jung Society
Basics of Alchemy: The Colours of the Alchemical Process - March 8, 2026 - C.G. Jung Foundation Public Education Programme.
MY BACKGROUND
In midlife, after a brush with mortality and some soul searching, I felt a strong call to pursue advanced studies in psychotherapy. In 2020 I completed eight years of study with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts (IRSJA).
But my long journey to becoming a psychotherapist began with sitting in the client's chair myself as a young woman. After doing a degree in English, which I loved, I started training to be a chartered accountant (despite my math anxiety!). Needless to say, my accounting career was not a success. But after becoming a mother, and some psychotherapy, I got back on track and earned a graduate-level Diploma from the Toronto Art Therapy Institute (DTATI) in 1993, doing internships at the Hospital for Sick Children, Humber River Regional Hospital, and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, among others.
Starting in 1995, I worked for many years with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Toronto Branch in various capacities. For the last six years I was the Manager of Mental Health Promotion. I also peer facilitated an education program for family members of persons living with mental illness, and was a corporate trainer for CMHA Ontario’s Mental Health Works, training managers about mental health in the workplace.
I worked at CMHA for over 13 years before eventually returning to studying to be a Jungian analyst, which I had wanted to do earlier in my life when I became an art therapist. My whole journey, from sitting in the client's chair until now, informs my work. I am continuously learning, especially from the people with whom I work.
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