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Psychotherapy
RN, MScN, RP
Psychotherapy fosters growth and resilience through a trusted bond with a skilled psychotherapist.
Psychotherapy is a collaborative process where clients engage with a trained therapist in a safe, empathetic, and confidential setting to address various life concerns. This involves exploring emotions, beliefs, and behaviors, processing influential memories, identifying areas for change, enhancing self-understanding, setting personal goals, and working towards desired transformations.
People seek psychotherapy for diverse reasons, such as coping with trauma, managing depression or anxiety, or pursuing personal growth. Therapy duration varies based on individual needs and goals, ranging from short-term to long-term engagements spanning several years. The approach may lean towards practical guidance and advice ("counseling") or delve into deeper, unconscious patterns ("psychotherapy").
Alexandra Peterson, RN, MScN, RP:
Fostering present-moment awareness is key in my approach to helping patients manage their anxiety and depression.
Alexandra reminds us that mindfulness can be challenging for some individuals. However, she emphasizes that there are alternative techniques beyond meditation to cultivate mindfulness skills that are often overlooked.
Alexandra offers diverse psychotherapeutic avenues for students and patients seeking personal growth and support.
Her approach fosters resilience by encouraging individuals to live authentically and delve into their unconscious truths.
She prioritizes facing uncomfortable realities over seeking superficial validation.
- Registrations: Registered Psychotherapist & Registered Nurse
- Works With: Adults (individual therapy/sex therapy; co-therapist in Dr. Treyvaud’s group)
- Approaches: Psychodynamic, Internal Family Systems (IFS), ACT, Mindfulness (informal), CBT, Solution-focused.
- Cost: $160.00/session
Professional Journey:
Alexandra began working with Dr. Treyvaud in 2015 as a nurse-psychotherapist in psychodynamic groups, and individual psychotherapy sessions. She also co-facilitated a Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy program through The Mindfulness Centre for women with low sexual desire (MBCT-W).
Before becoming a Registered Psychotherapist, Alexandra began her professional career over 40 years ago as an RN at a Toronto teaching hospital, first on the thoracic surgery/step-down unit, and later in the operating room where she was a member of an internationally-recognized thoracic surgical team. Over time, her interests gradually shifted and she began exploring pursuits related to the human psyche and how the mind works. This shift led to many years of further study and clinical training.
She now provides counseling and psychotherapy to adult clients over the age of 18 and is accountable to both the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and the College of Nurses of Ontario. She is also a member of the OAMHP and the RNAO.
Alexandra holds a BScN from McMaster University, an MScN from the University of Western Ontario, and a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Behavioural Science from McMaster University. She has extensively trained in a number of treatment approaches for a variety of issues including sexual concerns. To see Alexandra’s professional credentials, you can visit her LinkedIn profile.
Alexandra draws primarily from three main evidence-based approaches: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and more recently the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model.
At the core of all her work is teaching the importance of present-moment awareness, and she usually begins to interweave various principles of informal mindfulness skills into her very first session with new clients. She believes strongly in the importance of striking a healthy work/life balance, and the foundation of her private practice is based on this principle. Her caseload is kept to an optimal size so that appointment wait times are shorter.
Alexandra’s unique professional background, along with her personal life experience have served to enhance her psychotherapeutic skills, affording her a greater understanding of the complex challenges her clients face. She emphasizes creating a strong therapeutic alliance and is deeply invested in the ongoing well-being of everyone under her care.
Therapy sessions with Alexandra are conducted online, or by telephone.
You can reach her at 289-207-0144 or through Psychology Today.
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