Psychotherapy And Counselling

Andrea Laznik Amit, M.A. Registered Psychotherapists/Counsellor. I am currently working in Burlington, Ontario, and also associated with Clinic Dr. Bita (Toronto) .

My Beliefs:

There are many changes in life. Sometimes we need someone to accompany us through those changes because we feel blocked, stuck, tired, sad, angry or just not “ourselves”. Psychodynamic treatment (also called psychoanalytic oriented treatment) is an empathic dialogue meant to explore our inner experience and to understand how life changes and inner conflicts resonate and make us feel and act. Stories people “tell” themselves about life, about others and about themselves, partly knowningly and mostly unknowningly, are strong motivators. In therapy, we could explore them together so that they can be modified or more fully accepted. You can obtain relief from psychical pain and thus fulfill your potential and make sense of things that are troubling you. I believe every person can turn his pain to a growth process, thus having a better and more meaningful life.

Being an immigrant myself made me more aware of the impact of cultural change on mental life and also more sensitive to different ethnic and cultural diversity issues.

I offer psychotherapy services in English, Spanish, Hebrew and French.

for adolescents, adults, seniors, and parents.

About me:

I have 15 year experience in assessment and psychotherapy in diverse clinical settings: day hospitals, outpatient clinics and private practice working with adolescents, adults, parents, groups and children.

In all those settings I gained significant experience treating people with depression, anxiety, post-trauma, relationship problems, parents-children problems, adjustment problems etc. However, beyond symptoms, there is the person in his integrity. My main goal is to create effective therapeutic communication with patients. This is achieved by developing working relationship through empathy and understanding.

My treatments are usually psychodynamic oriented but I have vast experience in CBT (cognitive –behavioral treatments) and focused parent counseling. For each patient, I tailor the most adequate therapy plan.

Education & Training:

1. Undergraduate studies in Psychology and Comparative Literature (1991-1995). Hebrew university of Jerusalem, Israel.

2. MA Degree (1996-1998) in Clinical and Educational Child Psychology. Hebrew university of Jerusalem.

3. Supervised practice (1999-2003): for a therapist to gain experience and guidance, during my early career, I used supervision to learn from experienced senior therapists. This learning process is achieved by presenting and discussing cases (anonymously) on a regular basis and engaging in continued education. I spent 4 years in supervised practice: 2 years working in psychotherapy and assessment with adolescents and parents in an outpatient clinic and 2 more years of working in a day hospital with people who suffered severe mental crisis and illness.

4. Continued education in the Psychoanalytic Institute of Cleveland, Ohio( 2006-2008). In this program new, as well as classical theories were thoroughly taught , anonymous cases’ presentations and practical psychotherapeutic work at the Cleveland “Free Clinic” helped further deepen my knowledge of psychodynamic psychotherapy and assessment.

Clinical Experience:

1. Continued education in CBT- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (2004-2006): while working in an adult outpatient anxiety unit, I was trained to provide this kind of therapy. I participated in a weekly seminar for 2 years, anonymous cases’ presentation and supervised diverse anxiety cases with a senior psychologist. I think a psychotherapist should know and practice more than one therapeutic method in order to help diverse population of clients.

2. Psychodynamic therapy in private practice since 2004 treating adolescents, children, parents, adults and seniors with diverse mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, relationship problems, trauma, parent-children relationships, behavioral problems etc. My patients, who were going through a therapeutic process and emerging from difficult moments in their life, helped me be attuned and empathic using psychotherapeutic communication effectively. I’m very thankful to them for sharing with me their most intimate thoughts and feelings and helping me develop professionally to the therapist I am today.

3. Supervising psychotherapist since 2008: supervising young and unexperienced psychotherapists in an outpatient clinic. This includes helping them diagnose and assess patients, planning treatments and guiding them in establishing empathic, professional and ethical relationships with their patients. I also taught a weekly seminar on psychodynamic theories.