Psychology & Counselling Therapy

We are very fortunate to have Alison practicing at ABHC. As with all our practitioners, we invite you to book a complimentary Meet & Greet to see if she is the right fit for you.  Here is a bit about her counselling therapy, education and experience.

Conditions treated:

Alison specializes in providing client-centered, collaborative, empathetic, and effective treatment approaches for individuals facing a variety of mental health challenges.  These include:

  • ADHD
  • Addiction
  • Agricultural Mental Health
  • Anger
  • Anxiety
  • Attachment
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Child Development
  • Comorbid conditions – developmental disabilities and mental health and/or developmental disabilities and addiction and/or mental health and addictions.
  • Crisis
  • Depression
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Grief and Loss
  • Harm Reduction
  • Infant Loss
  • Intrusive Thoughts
  • Life Stress
  • Perinatal Mental Health
  • Personality Disorders and Cluster B Personality Traits
  • Post-Partum Depression/Post-Partum Psychosis
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Substance Use
  • Suicide
  • Stress
  • Trauma

Areas of Specialization and Advanced Training:

  • DBT, CBT, Trauma Informed, Solution Focussed, Harm Reduction, Mindfulness, Narrative, Family Systems
  • Perinatal Mental Health
  • Investigative Interviewing
  • Motivational Interviewing
  • Grief and Loss
  • Working with Mentally Ill Offenders

Who benefits from counselling:

Alison has experience working with children, adolescents, and adults, primarily focusing on individual counselling.  Anyone can benefit from counselling ranging from someone who is having some intrusive thoughts that interfere with living a true, happy life, to someone diagnosed with a Mental Illness(es). Utilizing a number of treatment modalities, each approach is catered to the individual’s needs and focuses on supporting a variety of problems and diagnoses that people may be experiencing.

What to expect assessment/treatment:

Warm, supportive, welcoming, and non-judgmental environment that focusses on maintaining confidentiality and trust throughout the therapeutic relationship.

Training and education:

Alison holds a master’s degree in counselling psychology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Sociology. She has experience working in various mental health settings for over 15 years within Canada and internationally.  Alison is a registered Canadian Certified Counsellor, Counselling Therapist, and Provisional Psychologist.

Alison utilizes an eclectic, client-centred approach.  She has practiced in various clinical settings, homeless sector, and in private practice (online/in person).

Alison also offers In The Know training which is a mental health literacy program designed to help farmers understand mental wellness and how to have conversations about distress, anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, and suicide.

Professional Development:

  • Solution Focussed Strategies
  • Family Centred Approaches to Treatment
  • Adolescent Depression in Community Health Care Settings.
  • Working with Offenders Post-Release (University of Sydney – Criminology & Law)
  • Beyond Punishment: Actuarial Risk Assessment (University of Sydney – Criminology & Law)
  • Psychology of Crime  (University of Sydney – Criminology & Law)
  • Working with clients diagnosed with ADHD
  • Administrative Investigation Procedures and Conflict Resolution (NSW Department of Justice and Attorney General – Sydney, Australia)
  • Alternatives to Prison and the Truth about Juvenile Offending (University of Sydney)
  • Restricted Practices (NSW Department of Justice and Attorney General – Sydney, Australia)
  • Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia (NSW Department of Justice and Attorney General – Sydney, Australia)
  • Improving Service Delivery to Indigenous Clients (NSW Department of Justice and Attorney General – Sydney, Australia)
  • Women and Homelessness (Canadian Continuing Education)
  • Drugs and How They Work (AADAC)

Research:

–          Master’s Thesis – Substitute decision-making for individuals under public guardianship involved with the criminal justice system in New South Wales, Australia (Digital Thesis Room: Substitute decision-making for individuals under public guardianship involved with the criminal justice system in New South Wales, Australia (athabascau.ca))

–          Harm Reduction and Developmental Disabilities Working Group

–          Collaborated with the NSW Public Guardian for the Sydney Law Reform Commission for the consultation paper on the law, practice and policy applying to people with mental health and cognitive impairments who are caught up in the Criminal Justice System (Review of mental health in the criminal justice system (29 March 2010) (nsw.gov.au))

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To book with our Registered Provisional Psychologist & Counselling Therapist, Alison Varga, please click HERE.