“It is never too late to be who you might have been.”
— George Eliot
Tamara Junkin
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) MACP (Q)
Maternal and Menopause Mental Health Provider
tamara@fullglasstherapy.com
(437) 580-3761
Toronto, ON Canada
There are many corridors and paths that we can take to get where we are going, yet often, we tend to choose those most familiar to us even if they are filled with snares, and leviathans. It can be difficult to navigate another way, so rather than reroute we simply anticipate and brace ourselves just to keep going. We are not meant to do it alone. I am here to offer you a looking glass, a fresh perspective on the things that you have seen a thousand times. My role is to support you in finding fresh, accessible ways of thinking, feeling, and doing that align with your beliefs. I believe in an empathetic yet direct approach to therapy that does not shy away from challenging behaviors and ideas.
About
My name is Tamara, I am a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying). I see psychological wholeness through a BioPsychoSocial lens and I work with all three of these facets in my practice. I offer scientifically proven approaches such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Rational Emotive Therapy, and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) as well as talk therapy informed by Adlerian and existential philosophies and Motivational Interviewing. I value and encourage humour in my exchanges with clients.
For those interested, I engage walk and talk therapy as well as breathing and Vagus Nerve reset exercises to open the session. These alternative approaches are both designed to optimize clarity for the session and are used as an element of psychoeducation.
What to Expect
Just like any relationship, we will take some time to get to know one another to build rapport and trust. The quality of the therapeutic relationship is shown to be one of the highest predictors of success in treatment.
A comprehensive evaluation of your history and goals. This doesn’t need to feel overwhelming; you decide what you are ready to share.
Collaborative goal setting.
A safe space to talk.
Scientifically Proven Interventions such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Rational Emotive Therapy (RET), Motivational Interviewing breathwork and Vagus nerve strategies. These are tailored to your needs, interests, and sensibilities.
Psychoeducation, take your therapy on the road. Understanding the way the mind works, and effective tools empower you to make change in your everyday life.
Therapy
Maternal Therapy
Becoming a mother is both an individual and collective experience — and experiment. It is a highly intense endeavor with big emotional stakes and no instruction manual that amounts to anything more than opinion. Every stage comes with different kinds of challenges. We all think, work, and dream in our own way, why would motherhood be any different? How do you find your groove and be the best mom and individual you can be?
If you want to milk your own ethically sourced giraffes for home-made kefir…. Cool! But if you don’t but you are doing it anyways it can be to your own detriment. The good news is you can set yourself and your giraffe free and you can both go off into the world and still be your best selves and moms.
Whether you are a new mom, are in the thick if it all, or re-inventing as an empty nester we can work together to navigate how to balance your needs with your role as a member of your family, community, and society.
Social Media Balance Therapy
Social media can be a fun, and in many cases useful tool. It can connect us with people, help us solve problems, and gives us the gift of watching a quite frankly shocking number of dogs and ducks forge lifetime friendships when we need a little pick-me-up. Like many pleasant things a little bit of it can enrich our lives. However, social media misuse has become a common problem leading to mental health concerns for both individuals and society at large.
Social media is a labyrinth of mental health boobie traps made up of addictive dopamine feedback loops that can steal your time leading to stretches of life that seem to evaporate into the ether. These long procrastinations can leave you feeling overwhelmed in your real life as your to-do list grows. Ironically, excessive social media use contributes to distress intolerance leading you to return to its insidious comforts to help manage your emotions.
The pitfalls of social media extend into increases in isolation, depression, and anxiety. Factors such as social comparison, the bombardment of information, trolling, and siloed thinking can be very harmful to our mental well- being as we struggle to make sense of it.
For most of us, going back to the quaint days of T9 texting and the satisfying clap of closing a flip phone is not a realistic option. Like many, you may find yourself wanting to pull away, but you don’t know how. We can work together to better understand the role social media plays in your life and how to execute the changes that will improve your well-being in a chronically online world.
Menopause Therapy
You survived the wild epoch that was puberty. The erratic mood swings and periods that seemed to come from nowhere. The reconning of becoming a ‘woman’ even if you didn’t feel ready for it. Eventually, for most but not all of us we settled into ladydom with a few expected monthly bumps in the road but thankful that awkward period (pun very intended) is over.
Well, guess what… it’s back! Kind of…Perimenopause offers the same hormonal fluctuations as puberty but with more aches, pains, responsibilities, and new kinds of existential dilemmas. Conversely, you also have more wisdom, confidence, and experience which can be harnessed as protective factors.
This time your gym teacher isn’t pulling you and a bunch of girls aside to explain what is happening. In fact, you may have had the experience of your concerns being ignored or dismissed. Navigating perimenopause and menopause can feel daunting and sometimes hopeless but understanding your journey and framing your own narrative can help you accept and improve your experience into this phase making it a fulfilling and enriching chapter. We will work together to make menopause work for you.
General Therapy
There is no profile or prototype of someone who is participating in therapy or the reasons for why they partake in this endeavor. Psychotherapy is a relationship that is designed to improve mental well-being. In most cases it is an exploration and disruption of behavioral patterns that do not serve a person in their daily life. There are a variety of methods and philosophies that can be engaged to work toward achieving this growth.
In some cases, people have a specific issue that they want to work on such as a phobia or navigating a difficult time and therapy can be a short-term endeavor. Sometimes people suffer with depression or anxiety and evolve toward finding ways to cope and function better. Others are seeking a more long-term exploration and evaluation of their lives. Whatever a person’s experience and individualized concerns are therapy is an opportunity to focus on those needs.
If you feel like you are struggling with mental health issues or are seeking a better understanding about yourself and your place in the world, we can work together to focus on the path ahead. Using your personal expertise and insight about your own life along with techniques that are both scientific and intuitive we will endeavor to unfurl the stagnation that is holding you back.
Rates
My fee is $120 for a 50 minute session. I offer online and in person meetings.
I also have limited space for pro bono clients. Contact for pro bono waitlist.
