Ms Elizabeth Alphonsus, MA

My role is not to tell you how to think or what to do. Instead, I help you understand what you are going through and explore useful ways of moving forward after a crisis. We work together to set goals that are important and meaningful to you. You are the driver of your change. As the artist Monet said, "to see, must forget the name of what we are looking at." In that spirit, I aim to provide a listening space to share your experiences, without assumptions and labels. Active listening and empathy can create a space to freely explore your thoughts and emotions without a fear of judgment, so you can realize your full potential. We live in a web of relationships (family, friends, community) which can be a source of strength, but also of pain or dissatisfaction. Patterns that emerge in our family across generations also influence us. As Stephi Wagner said "“pain travels through families until someone is willing to feel it." We learn to build our own families by following the examples of our own parents.Exploring these intergenerational patterns can help you understand your day-to-day experiences in the present, and find new pathways and better ways of coping and connecting to others. Carefully reflecting on the role of family in your life can allow greater awareness and freedom in making personal and career choices. The complexity and the uniqueness of every human is very important to me. So, I focus on you as a person and don't believe in a “one size fits all” approach. On this journey, we can see how your past experiences shape deeply held beliefs you may have about yourself, others and the world. Culture, traumatic experiences and other unique life experiences may impact the way you handle distress in the present and I provide a space to hear and process some of these experiences. Sometimes it is the simple techniques that help us manage strong emotions in the present. I also utilize self-soothing techniques that you can practice in session and or at home. I trained at the European Institute for Systemic Psychotherapies and primarily utilize a systemic lens meaning I focus on family relationships and dynamics. I am also in training for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) a therapy that helps clients heal from traumatic events. I am regularly supervised by a senior clinical psychologist and trainer.