My Theoretical Orientation

Theoretical Orientation to Counselling and Psychotherapy

The following is my Theoretical Approach to Counselling and Psychotherapy.

I feel that my life experience, education, counselling hours,  has prepared me well for this new shift. I have experienced 230 face to face hours with men who have been charged with Domestic Abuse. I have also had 32 hours of Group work with the same Clients. I also have another 200 hours of Multicultural Counselling. Currently I have 6,000 counselling hour to my credit.

I have currently devoted 6 years to my counslling profession, and 36 years of my life to the Helping Profession in Canada and overseas. This valuable experience has given me a multicultural approach to the human condition with it suffering and emotional pain. I am a trauma survivor having experienced emotional pain at a deep level. As a result I feel I understand mental illness and its effects acutely. I feel too as a Clinician, I am able to use my communication skills, experience, and multicultural training in helping individuals realize and discover the path to their own emotional wellbeing. Through my awareness of, and practiced intuition of others and their needs, I believe I am developing emerging skills in therapy. My educational background has enabled me to be contemporary with the best therapeutic models, applied to the situation and realities of the client.

My educational background has enabled me to be contemporary with the best therapeutic models, applied to the situation and realities of the client.

I am extremely passionate about people, and I hope this comes to the fore as I help the victims of trauma, depression, anxiety, fear, phobias, domestic abuse, and those with relational or even spiritual struggles, reach a place of emotional health. As a life-long student with a diverse educational portfolio,

I am dedicated to ongoing research and study concerning human suffering, and how we can better achieve wellness. My concern spreads to helping people achieve; a strong inner being, kind, loving, empathic relationships, moving towards emotional care.

I practice an integrated approach to therapy, with counselling models that are introduced to an individual in their context. I feel that the client is in part an expert of their condition, and that the clinician is the guide to emotional health. I believe in practicing a partnership approach with each client. I strongly believe in the power of relationships, that they can be uplifting, caring and compassionate. With this I endeavour to bring to therapy a strong values approach that integrates; curiosity, intuition, personal integrity, respect, non-judgmentalism, trust, confidentiality, compassion & empathy, listening skills, tolerance, and sensitivity. I further believe that each of us are a sacred composite of mind, body, soul, and spirit, necessitating an integration of all aspects for healing.

The following are the Clinical Modalities I integrate into my Counselling practice; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution Based Therapy, aspects of Gestalt Therapy, Attachment Theory, Talk Therapy, Mindfulness based approaches..

I believe that humans can achieve well chosen and realistic wellness goals with the guided help of an expert clinician. I feel that as humans we are uniquely complex, each with an individual story, who need to be cared for, treated respectfully, not simplistically. It is my practiced belief that emotional wholeness is within the reach of all of us as we are guided and helped by a trained psychotherapist.

Bryan F. Hagerman

bryanhagerman@belaliant.net

DMin., MEd., MA., MDiv., Bed, BA., DP Th. , RCT-C.