Services for individual/couple/family

Crime Victim Assistance Program

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I help children and families/couples

-          blended families difficulties  e.g. parenting step-children

-          marital/couple relationships

-          parent and child/teenager conflicts

-          parenting effectively

-          sibling rivalry

-          children behavioural problems - ADHD, sensory processing, anxiety

-          children issues - bed wetting, fear of eating

-          managing family financial stress

-          separation/divorce

-          extramarital issues - how to repair the marriage

-          sexuality - lack of intimacy

-          spousal substance/alcohol use

-          violence - physical/verbal/psychological

-          difficulty trusting

In my treatment of a families and couples, individual work may sometimes become necessary. 

-          stress- work/home

-          anxiety - constantly worry about everything ;  

                      - phobia: fear of specific thing such as afraid of driving, fire, wind, swallowing food, etc; 

                      - obsessive compulsive behaviour: counting, checking door is locked repeatedly, etc

                      - panic attack

-           Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - experienced trauma from :

                                                                 - car accident ;

                                                                -  sudden death of loved ones ;

                                                                - assault and others

-          feeling depressed

-          anger/rage

-          Bipolar, Psychosis

-          eating disorder/food addiction/eating problems/food power struggle

-          self esteem/self-image

-          sexual abuse

-          relational issues

-          frequent nightmares/stomachache/headache

-          bedwetting

The reasons my service, Gracey Psychotherapy is unique :

We all carry past experiences with us and some of these experiences may have adverse effects on how we function today.  We know that there are services out there that can help us to work on these past issues but finding the right service can be a frustrating experience.  It is so easy to feel discouraged and give up seeking help when the treatment process is slow and cannot feel any progress.

As a therapist, I had gone through the similar experience when I was seeking help.  We all want to get the right service so that we can move pass our stuck points within a short time and get on with our lives. 

I want to help clients to see the end result very quickly.  It gives me joy to see clients showing a smile when they feel an instant shift in their sense of well being.  The reason I am able to provide this unique help to my clients is because the special therapeutic tools I use.  I use various forms of talking therapy as well as body psychotherapy.   The form of body psychotherapy I call Self-Cleansing.  This body psychotherapy is a somatic approach that is mindful and non-directive, it effectively shortens a psychological treatment process.  Self-Cleansing is a natural process of regulating voluntary movements of the body.  A technique that activates the regulation of the nervous system.  During the mindful process  the body becomes aware of blockages, physical sensations and the blockages diminish during the regulation.  The physical blockages are psychological residues that we carry in our body as we experience life in various forms since early childhood over the years growing up and through out adulthood.  Many of my clients with trauma from car accident; past sexual abuse issue; childhood abuse; attachment issue; eating disorder, addiction, just to name a few, had benefited from this natural self regulating process.

I obtained a Bachelor's degree in Family Studies and a Master's degree in Counselling Psychology.  A degree in Family Studies provides me the knowledge of family structure, intergenerational relations, financial management for family, whole life span development, sexuality, effective parenting, children with development disorder and counselling.  The MA Counselling Psychology program, I studied various forms psychotherapies including individual, group and family/couple; psychiatric pharmacology; mental health assessment, diagnosis and treatment.

I have done extensive learning in children with autism and also had the opportunity to work as a behaviour interventionist to help children with autism. I also have strong interest in the area of sensory processing issues.  Children with sensory processing issues often appear to be, just to name a few, not listening, distractive, reactive, inactive, inconsistent level of functioning.  Several other mental health trainings such as cognitive-behaviour therapy for children and youth, early psychosis intervention and Positive Parenting Program (effective parenting to manage children with behavioural issues), provided me the knowledge and skills to help children of all ages and their parents/caregivers. Several years of working with children in a mental health setting also added to my knowledge and skills in assessment and treatment.

In order to help parents/caregivers/couples, I am also trained in Gottman Marital Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples.  For individual therapeutic work, I have several therapeutic tools that I apply, including Emotional Freedom Technique for instant stress/anxiety reduction; Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for anxiety, depression, eating disorder, anger and addictions; Self-cleansing body psychotherapy for healing past issues such as trauma, abuse, stress; One Eye Integration; Solution-Focused Therapy for various issues.  My approach is an integration of these various techniques based on the needs of each individual client.  

. . . .     Grace Yong, MA, RCC, RMFT