The Therapy Centre

A centre for excellence in cognitive behavioural and emotion focused therapy. Supporting children, adolescents, adults, families and couples.

About us:

Approximately eight years ago, Dr. Maria Antoniou, Mary Cook, Dr. Marla McGregor and Jackie Tapper-Atkinson recognized that they shared a common vision for a centre of excellence in Emotion-Focused and Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy.

In the fall of 2011, bringing all their special skills, experience and strengths together, they made that vision a reality and The Therapy Centre was born. Thanks to a strong foundation of clients and physicians who had confidence in their services, The Therapy Centre continued to grow from being a small but busy centre on Sheddon Avenue to the thriving practice it is today.

More recently, Dr. Antoniou and Dr. McGregor have expanded The Therapy Centre to include additional offices in both Hamilton and Oakville, welcoming new clinicians and administrative staff who share in the TTC philosophy!

We look forward to continuing to walk with you on your journey towards wellness.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy:

The central principle of CBT is that our thoughts, emotions, physical reactions and behaviours are part of a unified system. In CBT, the therapist and client work together, to explore, explain and modify unhelpful patterns of thoughts and behaviours that are the basis of psychological problems.

CBT is a goal oriented, client-centred approach to an individual’s personal circumstances and experiences. Once the various skills are taught, they can be easily applied to many aspects of a client’s life. Study results have indicated that as few as 3-6 sessions of CBT will have a significant impact on issues such as depression and anxiety.

CBT has shown to be effective with a number of psychological problems including, but not limited to:

Depression

Insomnia

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Panic Disorder

Chronic Pain

Self-Esteem

Worry

Fears

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Separation Anxiety

Social Phobia

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Eating Disorders

CBT is a well validated treatment modality and one of the most extensively utilized and researched forms of therapy. Given the emphasis in empiricism, CBT approaches to treatment are continually evolving to respond to new developments in research and clinical practice.

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT):

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) is a structured and empirically validated approach to individual, couples and family therapy. It is based on clear, explicit conceptualizations of emotional distress, and is collaborative and respectful of the client’s own experience of emotion.

EFT helps clients develop their emotional intelligence so that they can deal with their problems and live in better harmony with themselves and others. Emotions are adaptive but can become problematic due to past trauma or because people are taught to ignore or dismiss their emotions. Emotions tell us what is important in a situation and guide us to what we need or want or to figure out what actions are appropriate.

Clients are encouraged to experience their emotions within the safety of the therapy session so they can discover for themselves the value of greater awareness, more flexible management of and more productive use of emotions.