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Frequently Asked Questions
What can I expect of you as a therapist?
Are sessions covered by insurance?
How many sessions will I require?
Do you work with children?
Will you make house calls?
Do I have to move, dance or make art?
Do I have to be a dancer to do dance therapy?
What is dance-movement therapy?
What is sandplay therapy?
What are expressive arts?
How and where do we begin?
What are the benefits of counselling?
What can I expect of you as a therapist?
Integrity. Safety. Honesty. Care. Compassion. Communication. These are the values I cultivate. I understand the vulnerability, courage, perseverance and patience that being in therapy require. I create a safe space in which to explore difficult feelings and thoughts. I honour diverse ways of thinking, being and believing. I offer a space in which you can be yourself with no need to hide, and in which you can practice and play at building new communication skills, trying on new behaviors, and discovering what heals
I believe in a person’s innate ability to transform themselves, with guidance and support from a therapist simply speeding up the process to achieve lasting results. I offer my training and experience in knowing how and when to offer useful support and challenge. It is you yourself who makes a commitment to heal and grow, and who decides what is important and of value in your life and relationships. I see my role as that of partner on your journey toward wholeness.
My sessions start and finish on time. I value therapeutic space that is clean and uncluttered, warm and confidential.
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Are sessions covered by insurance?
Your Extended Health Benefits package or private insurance may cover some or all of the cost of counselling provided by a Registered Clinical Counsellor or Registered Dance-Movement Therapist. Please consult with your workplace Human Resources Dept or insurance company to confirm coverage. Receipts not submitted for insurance may be deductible under medical expenses. Check with your accountant to confirm. Trainings and workshops can also be tax deductible as educational and professional development expenses.
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How many sessions will I require?
This will depend on what brings you to therapy. A normal assessment period length spans between two and four sessions. After that time, I can offer some impressions of what our work together could include, and can likely give you a general sense of duration of treatment. Duration can vary greatly depending on the goals of therapy.
Some people begin therapy with concrete short-term goals. Others come not knowing fully “what the problem is”, just knowing they want to feel better or different. If you know you have a certain budget or time-frame in mind, this is helpful to share with me as we begin.
Psychotherapy normally works best with regular weekly sessions, and for some, twice weekly sessions are most helpful.
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Do you work with children?
Yes, I love working with children and have seven years therapeutic experience with children of all abilities and ages. Expressive arts and play therapy, in which I am trained, are excellent modalities for reaching and communicating with children challenged by developmental issues, whether physical, emotional or mental. I currently consult for preschools and elementary schools, and work with teens on contract through Vancouver Coastal Health. I am happy to provide references from parents of child clients.
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Will you make house calls?
Rarely. I will sometimes make house-calls for those convalescing from surgery or accidents, and those too ill to travel. Sometimes I visit schools and homes of children in order to make observations of their behavior in different environments. I charge at half my hourly rate for travel-time if doing a home visit. Please inquire.
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Do I have to move, dance or make art?
No! There is no expectation that you express yourself in any particular way while in therapy. Art materials, movement props, music, and room to move are simply available should you wish to explore your creativity and new possibilities for self- awareness and verbal/nonverbal expression.
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Do I have to be a dancer to do dance therapy?
No! There is no dance or movement ability required. And Dance Therapy is not about learning how to dance, though gaining more physical confidence may be a therapeutic goal for some people. Professional dancers, however, can be greatly assisted by dance therapy to explore body image concerns, and develop their sense of self in moving beyond dancing for others as performers, to moving purely for their own enjoyment and self-exploration…returning to the essence of movement in and of itself.
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What is dance-movement therapy?
Dance-Movement Therapy is the psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the psychological, emotional, social and mental integration of an individual.
Please see Therapy Services section of this website for more information.
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What is sandplay therapy?
In sandplay therapy, a person works with a tray full of sand and small figurines (animals, people, nature objects, things), and “makes a world”. The figurines can represent whatever you choose. Often a child or adult is invited to tell the story of his or her world after completing the creation, and for many there may be action and dialogue that emerges between sandplay figurines. In the process of both making and then noting what one has made in the sandtray, insights and self-awareness can deepen. For children, this method allows them to process feelings, thoughts, memories and experiences in a way that is symbolic; one step removed from direct thinking and talking. For adults, often imagery and thoughts will surface, often as playful surprises, that can help them see what lies more unconscious in their psyche and can then be worked with in a more conscious way to bring faster progress in therapy. When words are not enough in therapy, we can shift awareness and expression through creative arts therapies such as sandplay.
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What are expressive arts?
The family of expressive arts therapies includes dance-movement, music, visual/tactile art, poetry, and drama therapy. There are many methods and ways of working with expressive arts, depending on the issues being addressed in therapy, the age of the participant and his or her unique needs. In my practice, I use these methods with great care and attention to individual treatment needs and goals. Participation in an expressive art method is always voluntary. Most clients find help from expressive arts in discovering and practicing new ways of being, communicating and thinking. There are many articles in journals and many books about the use of expressive arts for individual and group therapy, please inquire if you would like references.
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How and where do we begin?
I offer a 20 minute complimentary consultation (by phone or in person) so you can ask questions and have a sense of how I work. This consultation also allows me to begin to determine whether, given my skills, training and knowledge, I feel I am the right match for you.
We normally begin with talking about why you are coming for therapy, what you are wanting in your life and anything else you feel to talk about. Sometimes you may come to a therapy session not knowing what there is to work with, what you want to focus on that day, and we can engage in a verbal or expressive arts process in order to bring more clarity. Or you may find that by doing a “body scan” or quieting the mind in a brief meditation, that something of deep importance emerges to be spoken, moved or simply witnessed by the mind. Know that you can arrive to your therapy session just as you are.
You start by contacting me at 604 781 6040, or by email at anna@annakemble.com.
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What are the benefits of counselling?
- Greater confidence in yourself and your own ability to engage desired changes in your life and relationships.
- Feeling comfortable with who you are and allowing yourself to experience and express a full range of emotional intelligence.
- Transforming symptoms of depression, anxiety, fear, loneliness, and mental or physical illness, into greater love, joy, connection and health .
- Recovering your innate capacity for a life lived to your fullest potential.
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