About
A helpful, trusting relationship with your therapist is built over time, but it can help to know some things about your therapist before you begin. So if you're curious about my philosophy, training, or areas of expertise, this page is for you.
Holistic
I view you as a whole person, and my therapy approach will consider emotional, mental, bodily, spiritual, social, relationship, and living-spaces dynamics.
Strengths based
You are so much more than the distress that is bringing you to therapy. In fact, I believe you are your own best news, and it's my job to highlight your strengths and help you access them more.
Trauma informed
Trauma changes things. My approach to therapy recognizes the potential impact of past traumatic experiences on present-day functioning. I prioritize safety, trust, and collaboration, and seek to empower clients to work through their trauma in supportive and compassionate ways.
Collaborative
While I am an expert in behavioural and psychological science, I believe that you are the expert in your own life. Together, we can uncover ways to help you help yourself. Through collaborative effort, we can discover a process of change that’s right for you.
Emotions focused
Emotions are an integral part of the human experience, and they play a vital role in the therapeutic process. By bringing awareness to your emotions, you can learn from them, and develop greater resilience and coping skills. Through this process, you can gain greater self-awareness and a deeper connection with your inner wisdom.
Balanced
I'm here to help you find immediate help, but also to develop lasting change.
Resetting with EMDR
I'm honoured to provide EMDR for my clients. While there is no one-size-fits-all therapy, EMDR offers a therapy process that for many can be very effective and long-lasting. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based psychotherapy protocol designed to help individuals reprocess mental templates and emotional distress.
EMDR guides clients in "bilateral stimulation"—side-to-side eye movements, tapping, or auditory tones—that facilitates adaptive information processing and experiences/memory integration. Unlike traditional talk-therapy approaches that sometimes risk reinforcing distressing reactions, EMDR’s structured eight-phase protocol ensures safe and targeted reprocessing, leading to durable stress reduction. Working with several parts of the brain, EMDR is effective with "implicit memory encoding" as well as "explicit memory," which is why it is the treatment of choice for those struggling with automatic patterns that they don't understand or know how to correct.
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EMDR’s robustness and adaptability makes it effective for a broad range of individuals—from military veterans with PTSD and survivors of abuse or accidents to individuals experiencing anxiety, chronic pain, irritability, addictions, phobias, complex grief, or depression. Clinical research and practice have documented significant improvements in sleep quality, emotional regulation, and overall well-being, with many clients reporting fewer intrusive symptoms and a greater sense of empowerment. By harnessing the brain’s innate capacity for self-healing, EMDR offers a promising pathway for anyone seeking to transform personal challenges into sources of resilience and growth.
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If you have heard of EMDR or are interested in finding a therapist who offers this therapy, it's important to ensure that your practitioner has received proper training. Standardized practice guidelines are maintained by the EMDR Institute and the EMDR International Association (EMDRIA), to support clinicians in delivering consistent, high-quality care. My training in this therapy was with a highly qualified and experienced EMDRIA-approved trainer, who has assisted thousands of individuals recover from complex forms of distress, using intuitive application of EMDR techniques. My continuous training, and consultation with other EMDR clinicians, helps to ensure the quality of care that I offer. Not only that, but I have been a client of EMDR myself, so I know first hand some of the aspects of what engaging in this therapy can be like.
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I invite you to reach out if you have questions about EMDR in general or about your situation specifically.
Let's be in touch
You can email me directly at alisa@alisadonaldson.com
to schedule a free 15-minute consultation call with me.
Talk with you soon!
