THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES
Dr. Upshaw draws from a number of evidence-based therapeutic approaches to tailor psychological treatment to each individual client's main concerns, goals, strengths, and preferences. Read on to learn more about some of the particular approaches Dr. Upshaw may incorporate.
Primary Approaches
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
CBT is a broad, practical form of psychotherapy designed to help people develop skills and strategies to change ways of thinking and behaving that might be unhelpful.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
ACT uses mindfulness- and acceptance-based strategies to help move people though difficult emotions, prevent dwelling on the negative, and promote flexible thinking.
Emotion-Focussed Therapy
EFT is a humanistic form of therapy to promote emotional awareness and help people to welcome, allow, and regulate emotions that might otherwise be avoided, and develop healthy coping strategies.
Areas of Expertise
ANXIETY DISORDERS
“Anxiety” can apply to several disorders that cause nervousness, fear, dread, and worrying. The occasional anxious moment is normal for everyone, but true anxiety disorders often involve intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. These feelings interfere with daily activities, are hard to control, and are disproportionate to the actual danger. Individuals may avoid certain places or situations to prevent these symptoms. Examples of anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, specific phobias, and separation anxiety disorder. Research has demonstrated that CBT is one of the most effective treatments for anxiety.
DEPRESSION
Depression (also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression) is a mood disorder that causes persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness and loss of interest in things that you used to enjoy. It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn’t worth living. Depression differs from “the blues” or “feeling down” when it begins to interfere with everyday activities such as work and school and impacts your personal relationships.
STRESS
Stress is a normal, physiological response that is produced when our body, mind, and environment interact to tell us that something is stressful. Stress itself is not a bad thing – we actually need a bit of stress in our lives to keep us alert and motivated! However, problems can occur when we experience too much stress and when stress is prolonged. Chronic, high levels of stress have been linked with some serious physical and psychological difficulties including insomnia, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, obesity, depression, and anxiety disorders. Research shows that CBT and Mindfulness techniques are particularly helpful in learning to manage stress. This may involve working to alter stress-invoking thoughts, learning strategies to calm the body and promote self-care, improving problem-solving skills, and developing helpful coping strategies.
STROKE AND BRAIN INJURY
An injury to the brain (e.g., stroke, concussion, TBI, etc.) can produce symptoms of pain, physical and cognitive difficulties, and changes to your social and emotional functioning. Adjusting to these challenges can be very difficult. Dr. Upshaw has experience in working with individuals with diverse brain injuries, as well as training in neuropsychology, allowing for comprehensive treatment of individuals with these challenges. This may involve psychoeducation regarding brain injury, psychological intervention for emotional challenges such as anxiety, depression, and adjustment difficulties, and techniques and tools to help improve or navigate cognitive impairment.
CHRONIC PAIN
Pain is often thought of as a purely physical sensation, but it also has other important biological, psychological and emotional factors. In addition to discomfort, chronic pain can cause feelings such as anger, hopelessness, sadness, and anxiety. From a psychological standpoint, Dr. Upshaw can help you to understand and manage the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that accompany chronic pain, and can help you cope more effectively with your discomfort—these strategies, in turn, can actually reduce the intensity of your pain!
SLEEP PROBLEMS
Sleep is crucial to our health, safety and overall well-being. In fact, poor sleep has been linked to a number of adverse health outcomes such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, and stroke. In some cases, people experience insomnia because they develop a pattern of behavior that interferes with good sleep habits. In others, sleeping difficulties are connected to underlying problems such as stress, depression, or anxiety. Dr. Upshaw will work with you to change any behaviors and manage any thoughts, feelings and emotions that might be interfering with a healthy night's sleep. This might include keeping a sleep diary, learning relaxation techniques, and improving sleep hygiene with a number of evidence-based tips and tricks for getting more rest.
GRIEF AND LOSS
Grief is the anguish experienced after significant loss, often following the death of a loved person. Grief often includes physiological distress, separation anxiety, confusion, yearning, dwelling on the past, and apprehension about the future. Intense grief can disrupt the immune system, cause a person to neglect self-care, or promote suicidal thinking. Grief may also take the form of regret for something lost, remorse for something done, or sorrow over a dissolved relationship or breakup. Dr. Upshaw can work with you to develop more adaptive grieving thoughts and behaviours, process your loss, and reclaim some happy memories of the past.
SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES
Self-esteem is made up of a variety of factors that are important in how we view ourselves. It may include physical self-image, views of our own accomplishments and capabilities, the way others view and respond to us, and how well or poorly we see ourselves measuring up to our values. High self-esteem is an important ingredient of mental health, while low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness can cause you to feel unsure of yourself or like you’re doomed to fail. Fluctuations in self-esteem are normal and expected across the lifespan, but chronically low self-esteem can lead to problematic and persistent negative thinking (e.g., fear of failure, focus on personal weaknesses, difficulty taking compliments, devaluing the self) or unhelpful behaviours (e.g., struggling to say no, avoiding conflict, fear of abandonment, avoiding situations or activities). Dr. Upshaw can work with you to identify sources of low self-esteem, improve thinking patterns regarding the self, develop self-compassion, and regain confidence using a variety of techniques tailored to your individual goals and challenges.
An important note...
Perhaps even more important than the specific treatment approach used in therapy, is the way that approach is implemented. Regardless of the particular techniques used, Dr. Upshaw delivers treatment in a caring and collaborative way. You’ll find yourself in a safe, secure, and compassionate environment – an ideal place to heal and make progress toward a happier, healthier version of you! Treatment will also be collaborative: YOU determine the issues you want to work on and the outcomes you wish to achieve. Dr. Upshaw may offer suggestions, but you will always decide together on what happens in therapy.
The length of time it will take for you to complete therapy really depends on the nature of your concerns and the goals you are setting for yourself. Progress will be reviewed often, providing a framework for the next steps you need to take. At the end of each session, Dr. Upshaw will typically assign practice exercises, and ask you whether and how the work done in the session was helpful.
If you work hard in between sessions and provide honest feedback about what is and what is not working, you’ll be more likely to see the changes that you’re yearning for!