Individual Therapy
Therapy is a very personal choice.
What Does Therapy Look Like?
I embrace a bio-psycho-social-spiritual and psychodynamic approach. I lean towards opening people up to their own authentic selves with awareness, acceptance, and curiosity. In person sessions are at Sojourn Psychotherapy, 401A-64 Hatt St. Dundas ON. Therapy sessions are offered virtually for those in Ontario Canada (and select provinces, such as BC, Yukon, Newfoundland). Walk-and-talk therapy is also an option for people who are in Hamilton, Dundas, Ancaster, Greensville, Georgetown, Brantford, Burlington, and Waterdown.
My approach to therapy is trauma informed, and I am trauma trained (CCTP-I, CCTP-II, AF-EMDR) This means client choice and safety are of upmost importance. I hold an inclusive, non-judgmental, safe and supportive space for you to explore issues and patterns in your life. Collaboratively, with a respectful therapeutic alliance we examine root causes which may hinder your authentic self and set goals with the use of therapeutic modalities that suit your uniqueness. Maybe all you know is that you are unhappy and need changes to occur, and someone to help you get there.
Who Do I Work With?
My typical clients are:
Kids (7+) and Teens (Mainly with Sandplay Therapy)
Young Adults
Adults and Seniors
Ranging from Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z. Mother’s, Fathers, First Responders, Teachers, Academics, Therapists, Artists and Creatives, Entrepreneurs. People who are strong willed, holding everything together, and who may want to start living with more ease.
Presenting concerns; trauma, PTSD, single incident trauma, grief and loss, anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), big life changes and transitions, mid-life crisis, relationship problems (marriage, intimacy issues, polyamory or open relationships, divorce, betrayal trauma, cheating and infidelity, co-dependency etc…), burn out and work stress, and who otherwise are seeking more fulfilling authentic lives.
Change can be scary, and I am here to support, validate, and challenge you! I am committed to an anti-oppressive model, with gender and neurodivergent inclusiveness.
Working with Children (7+) and Teens
Looking for a child therapist in Dundas (Hamilton) ON? Melissa White Registered Psychotherapist works primarily with Jungian Sandplay with kids and teens. Please visit the ‘Jungian Sandplay’ page under approaches for more details about the therapeutic process.
For a quick overview, Jungian Sandplay Therapy is a non-directive approach to therapy. There is a shelf of figurines and miniatures in the therapy room, and a tray of sand. Clients are invited to first ground themselves, touch and move the sand around. If desired, they may wet the sand and mold it or keep it dry. Throughout the session, I remain as the witness, taking note of the process. The child or client may have a title or story of what they created, or they may not. We take pictures of the sand picture documenting the experience. We continue to work session by session, sand picture by sand picture, until there are changes or acceptances, and the client feels that the process is complete.
Children and teens easily understand and work with this material, as they understand play and ‘right brain,’ approaches, that are intuitive, emotional, creative, and visual-spatial tasks. Melissa White RP also holds a Post-Graduate Certification in Adolescent Education (English and Visual Arts) and is an inactive member of Ontario College of Teachers (OCT).
Holistic Approach to Therapy
I am deeply committed to supporting people who want to forge their own paths in life and divert from societal standards and pressures. I work relationally and from a humanistic lens. Life satisfaction is derived from personal fulfillment, meaning accepting who you are, and knowing your purpose. I want you to embrace your uniqueness!
My approach is not psychopathological. Together, we uncover and examine bio-psycho-social elements in your life. Genetics can play a role in symptoms, but social environment is a huge influencer on how we develop and sometimes get stuck. Understanding attachment and attunement in early childhood can help bring awareness to issues like borderline personality disorder (BPD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and complex post traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). I often utilize Attachment Theory (Bowlby), Family Systems (Bowenian), and Jungian depth psychology (bringing the unconscious to the conscious) to uncover our patterns in life. Our mental health consists of so many factors. Mindfulness is a great tool to utilize within your toolkit for coping. Somatic therapy, or a ‘bottom-up’ approach looks at the physical body, and how the body can be addressed in terms of treating symptoms rather than a ‘top-down’ approach which focuses on cognition, ie) talk therapy or CBT.
