Individual Therapy
"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
John Milton
Individual therapy, often called psychotherapy or talk therapy, is a collaborative process between a person and a trained professional. It provides a safe, confidential environment to explore feelings, beliefs, or behaviors, work through challenging memories, and identify aspects of life that you would like to change.
The primary goal of individual therapy is to increase self-awareness and encourage personal growth. By understanding the "why" behind certain patterns, you can develop healthier coping mechanisms.
When and why to start Therapy
You may have a strong, immediate reason to start therapy (a loss, a personality disorder, depression or escalating anxiety), but there is no “perscription” for when to go through Individual Therapy. You may want to start therapy as a process of self-discovery and self-improvement, which is also valid.
Typically, there are four main areas of benefits to therapy:
Self-Awareness and Pattern Recognition
The foundation of therapy, and why it requires intention and effort from clients, is a switch that might seem simple in abstract, but is quite hard in practice - a switch from auto-pilot to intentionality. All of us have been “programmed” by our life experiences to react to certain situations in certain ways - therapy aims to make you reflect on those automatic rules and, if required, change them.
Improved Relational Dynamics
No-one lives in a vaccuum (one could say, no-one is an island) - you belong to, respond to and shape a system around you - the insights about yourself acquired from therapy will change how you interact with this system, ultimately leading to healthier friendships and professional and romantic relationships.
Emotional Regulation and Resilience
Just because you’re in therapy, life doesn’t become “easy”. However, while in therapy, you will collect skills and tools that will help you deal with life’s adversities - ways to better cope with anxiety, anger, or grief, without letting yourself go with the emotion.
Integration and Meaning-Making
This is where therapy moves from “problem-solving” to “person-building”. It’s the process of taking fragmented, sometimes disjointed experiences of a person and weaving them into a story that makes sense to you - and allows you to grow into a powerful narrative of your own.
Therapeutic Approaches
You might have noticed that on our Team page we list the “Approaches” of each of our clinicians - this is because Psychology is a vast field where multiple “techniques” can be applied, depending on your needs.
The most common Therapeutic Approaches are:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Focuses on the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It is highly practical and goal-oriented.
Psychodynamic Therapy: Explores unconscious patterns and how early life experiences shape current behavior.
Humanistic/Person-Centered Therapy: Emphasizes self-acceptance and the individual's inherent capacity for self-healing.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Focuses on staying present and moving toward values, even in the face of difficult thoughts.
While not one of the most common, a specific approach that heavily influences our work at Peninsula is the Systemic Therapy - this approach views the individual always as part of a larger unit, as a piece in many different systems (family, work, friends), influencing and being influenced by those multiple systems. There is no “problem” with an individual - the pattern in the system is the problem.
The most important aspect of Therapy - The Therapist/Client Relationship
The therapeutic relationship between the therapist and the client (often called the “therapeutic alliance”) has been consistently identified by research as one of the most powerful predictors of success in therapy, frequently outweighing the Therapeutic Approach [1][2][3].
Due to this, at Peninsula we recommend that you do two things when starting Individual Therapy - don’t stay in a therapeutic relationship that you feel is not adequate, but do give the relationship time to grow.
[1] Horvath, A. O., & Symonds, B. D. (1991). Relation between working alliance and outcome in psychotherapy: A meta-analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38(2), 139–149.
[2] Lambert, M. J. (1992). Psychotherapy outcome research: Implications for integrative and eclectic therapists. In J. C. Norcross & M. R. Goldfried (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy integration (pp. 94–129). Basic Books.
[3] Wampold, B. E., & Imel, Z. E. (2015). The great psychotherapy debate: The evidence for what makes psychotherapy work. Routledge.
Therapists in Peninsula Offering Individual Therapy
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Rita Figueiredo
CDA LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST AND MANAGING DIRECTOR
“Think of us as partners in discovery - using science and heart to understand your story and create lasting change.”
Portuguese, English,Family Therapy,Individual Therapy,Couples Counseling,Adults (18+),In-Person,Online,Motivational Interviewing (MI),Constructivist Therapy,Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT),Narrative Therapy,Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT),Systemic Therapy,Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT),Anxiety,Panic Attacks,Depression,Burnout,Chronic Stress,Physical Intimacy Issues, Communication ISsues,Infidelity and Betrayal,Relationship Issues,Divorce and Separation,Post-Partum Depression,Perinatal Mental Health,Infertility,Phobias,Addictions,Sleep Problems,Perfectionism,Conflict in Relationships,Family Conflict,Identity Concerns,Life Transitions,Personality Disorders,Expat Adjustment and Relocation Stress
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Ailien Sy
CDA LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST
“I believe that each person’s story is unique, and therapy should reflect that.”
English,Filipino,Individual Therapy,Adolescents (13-17),Adults (18+),In-Person,Online,Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT),Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT),Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT),Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT),Anxiety,Depression,Burnout,Communication Issues,Infidelity and Betrayal,Relationship Issues,Attachment Difficulties,Divorce and Separation,Childhood Trauma,Low Self-Esteem,Trauma,Grief and Loss,Emotional Regulation Difficulties,Low Self-Esteem/Self-Worth,Conflict in Relationships,ADHD/Neurodiversity,Identity Concerns,Life Transitions,Career Dissatisfaction,Personality Disorders
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Lauren Rozario
CDA LICENSED COUNSELLOR
“Together, we will work toward a space where you feel confident and ready to step into your power.”
English,Couples Counseling,Adults(18+),In-Person,Online,Systemic Therapy,Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT),Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT),Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT),Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT),Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS),Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT),Communication Issues,Infidelity and Betrayal,Relationship Issues,Divorce and Separation,Grief and Loss,ADHD/Neurodiversity,Post-Partum Depression,Eating Disorders,Substance Abuse,Perinatal Mental Health,Emotional Regulation Difficulties,Conflict in Relationships,Parenting Challenges,Identity Concerns,Life Transitions,Expat Adjustment and Relocation Stress
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Shrav Shankar
CDA LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST
“It's important for me to offer you a supportive space, where you can bring anything you'd like to, so that we can figure it out together.”
English,Individual Therapy,Couples Counseling,Adults (18+),In-Person,Online,Psychodynamic Therapy,Neuropsychology,Person-Centered Therapy,Art Therapy,Anxiety,Depression,Chronic Stress,Communication Issues,Relationship Issues,Attachment Difficulties,Childhood Trauma,ADHD/Neurodiversity,Trauma,Low Self-Esteem/Self-Worth,Conflict in Relationships,Identity Concerns,Life Transitions,Expat Adjustment and Relocation Stress
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Rebecca Cobb
CDA LICENSED COUNSELLOR
“Together we can rebuild a genuine connection with yourself and rediscover your sense of fulfilment and joy.”
English,Individual Therapy,Adolescents (13-17),Adults(18+),Anxiety,Panic Attacks,Depression,Burnout,Chronic Stress,Communication Issues,Infidelity and Betrayal,Pre-Marital Counseling,Relationship Issues,Attachment Difficulties,Divorce and Separation,Childhood Trauma,Grief and Loss,ADHD/Neurodiversity,School Refusal,Bullying,Behavioral Issues,Post-Partum Depression,Eating Disorders,Addictions,Substance Abuse,Perinatal Mental Health,Infertility,Trauma,Emotional Regulation Difficulties,Anger Difficulties,Low Self-Esteem/Self-Worth,Perfectionism,Conflict in Relationships,Parenting Challenges,Family Conflict,Body Image Concerns,Identity Concerns,Life Transitions,Career Dissatisfaction,Expat Adjustment and Relocation Stress,Personality Disorders,Systemic Therapy,Psychodynamic Therapy,Somatic Experiencing (SE),Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT),Person-Centered Therapy,Schema Therapy,Interpersonal Therapy (IPT),Art Therapy
