Glossary

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy – In this therapeutic framework, clients are not necessarily asked to actively alter their thought patterns like in CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), but rather are encouraged to accept these experiences, reducing the struggle to control intrusive thoughts, and commit to taking part in activities that bring forth alignment with their values. 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – A form of therapy whereby unrealistically negative or unhelpful thought patterns are identified, challenged and replaced by more realistic and objective ones. The goal is to change resulting emotions and behaviour choices by targeting the thoughts they stem from. CBT tends to be quite structured and instructional as opposed to a collaborative and free-flowing mode of therapy.

Certified Clinical Counsellor – This certification is a national service that identifies to the public those counsellors who CCPA recognizes as qualified to provide counselling services in Canada. Obtaining the status of Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) includes recognition of standards of professional preparation, continuing education, and a formal code of ethics. As a non-statutory self-regulating body, CCPA provides advice and discipline for members on matters of professional conduct.

Only counsellors who are certified by CCPA are permitted to use the trademarked title Canadian Certified Counsellor and/or the acronym ‘CCC’. Certified Professional Members also receive a certificate which their clients should expect to see displayed at the place of work.

Canadian Counselling & Psychotherapy Association – Established in 1965, CCPA (originally called the Canadian Guidance and Counselling Association or CGCA) provides leadership and promotion to counselling and psychotherapy professions.

CCPA policies and practices support the provision of accessible, competent, and accountable counselling and psychotherapy services throughout the human lifespan, and in a manner sensitive to the pluralistic nature of society.

https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/

Cognitive Processing Therapy – This is a form of CBT that focuses on helping folks that are stuck in their thoughts of a certain traumatic memory. The focus is the conflict between beliefs about the world and self from before the traumatic event and information after the traumatic event. In its pure form, this therapy is highly structured. 

Dialectical Behavioural Therapy – This is a modified form of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) that focuses on teaching folks how to manage stress, regulate emotions and improve their relationships. An important part of DBT is mindfulness, which helps keep folks in the moment and observe their reactions without judgement. 

Emotion Focused Therapy – A modality that focuses on the acceptance, expression, regulation, making sense of, and transforming of emotions. The EFT approach focuses on developing emotional intelligence and the importance of secure relationships.   

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing – Rather than changing thoughts, emotions or behaviours that result from a significant (often traumatizing) experience, EMDR seeks to change the way the memory is stored so it loses its traumatic charge. Often coupled with eye movement, sounds or tapping, these tools for bilateral stimulation are associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion of traumatic memories. 

Attempts to break the cycle of fear and avoidance of certain fear-inducing activities or objects (phobias like spiders would be a great example). This therapy involves a gradual exposure to the fear-inducing stimuli in a safe environment that doesn’t cause stress and anxiety, which allows you to process the fear in a new and supported way.  

A highly researched form of couples therapy, The Gottman Method was developed through longitudinal research into more than 3,000 couples. They discovered that how a couple navigates conflict and the emotions they express are predictors of future relationship success. The techniques within this highly structured form of couples therapy are born out of this research. 

Marriage & Family Therapist / Registered Family Therapist – Marriage and Family Therapists are mental health professionals who use a systemic lens when working with individuals, couples, and families. MMFT is a master’s in marriage and family therapy; and an RMFT is a therapists who has completed post-graduate clinical hours and supervision to become a registered marriage and family therapist.

Internal Family Systems – A modality that sees individuals as having a core-self surrounded by multiple parts, or ‘internal families’. IFS was developed to teach people how to heal and integrate their separate and sometimes conflicting parts.

Registered Social Worker – The practice of the profession of social work means the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of individual, interpersonal and societal problems through the use of social work knowledge, skills, interventions and strategies, to assist individuals, dyads, families, groups, organizations and communities to achieve optimum psychosocial and social functioning.

SFBT or Solution-Focused Brief Therapy – A constructivist approach to psychotherapy, meaning that people naturally construct their own lives from the meaning they derive from events and experiences. In this therapy, the focus is not the problem or the issue at hand but the solution and strength of each client. Each client is urged to look at how they have constructed solutions in the past and continue to do so moving forward.