I am 33 years old and was recently diagnosed with OCD! After my diagnosis, I felt really overwhelmed with where to go and what this meant for me! I had done therapy before and I honestly felt like it made things harder for me (now I know this is because I have OCD lol). I’ve suffered from mental compulsions and intrusive thoughts for my entire life, not to mention the other million things I’m just finding out are part of OCD, lol! Working with Donna has been life changing. In such a short amount of time I have been able to understand my brain more and why I do things. She has made me feel so safe and understood with things I’ve felt so ashamed and confused of in the past. I can’t recommend State of Mind enough. Book the session! YOU WILL THANK YOURSELF!!!!
Alexandria M.
Words cannot adequately describe how positive and transformational my experience has been with Donna and the team at State of Mind. I have cycled through various counselling and therapy programs from a very young age, and at a certain point had begun to lose hope. Upon starting my counselling journey with Donna, I saw myself making more progress than ever before. I have never experienced such care, compassion, and a true desire from a counsellor to see me succeed. Donna has helped me make numerous breakthroughs in minimizing the OCD related compulsions which have ruled over my life for years. Not only this, but through introducing me to other therapeutic modalities such as EMDR, she has helped me overcome negative thought patterns and develop a more positive outlook on both the world and myself. I am so very grateful to have found State of Mind. I have learned and grown so much during my time seeing Donna. For the first time in memory I am able to excitedly look forward to the future and what life has in store for me. She and the team have truly given me the greatest gift of all: hope.
Jordan R.
When I arrived at State of Mind my travel anxiety was at it’s peak and was negatively affecting multiple aspects of my life; especially my marriage. Originally I was supposed to see a different therapist but when that couldn’t happen, Donna graciously took me on and I am forever grateful she did. In less than 1 year, Donna had me not only in an airport but actually on a plane flying! Her approach is very logical and practical which spurred such quick results. In the 20 years i have attended therapy i have constantly felt like just another “client” or “patient”. That was until I found State of Mind. Here, I feel like a friend. I could write a book about how State of Mind has impacted my life but if i could summarize in 1 sentence; If you want meaningful change in your life, walk through the doors at State of Mind.
Lincoln K.
My husband and I have been seeing Donna for several months, and we truly have nothing but positive things to say. It began with my husband’s individual counselling, then couples counselling, and now I also see her for my own individual sessions. After working with a few other couples counsellors in the past, I am incredibly grateful to have found Donna. She is not only an excellent listener, but she also offers insightful guidance and fresh perspectives that I hadn’t been able to see before. She always remains neutral and never makes either of us feel that she is taking sides. I’m excited to continue growing and improving through this process, as I truly believe counselling can be life-changing. And getting to see Mateo, Olie, and Otis is such a fun little bonus each time! I couldn’t recommend Donna and the State of Mind team more highly to others. Regards,
Anonymous.
What do you wish you had known when you started reaching out trying to find answers for your child’s symptoms?
- You don’t have to diagnose every behavior. Look within your own family/lifestyle and take a step back. Working with Donna and the CPRT course helped to take the step back and observe my child from a different perspective
What advice or information could you share with other parents or professionals about your experience with CPRT?
- To understand the effect CPRT has on you, your child and family, you must put it into action. Don’t give up, the results are evident when you put each lesson into action.
What would have been helpful for you to know before you started working with us?
- I feel it would be helpful for parents to know there is a course that can give you a different perspective on learning about your child and how you can help them thrive. Nowadays, so many behavioural diagnosis are made without the thought that there are alternatives to medications. I feel that more medical professionals should offer this before other treatments.
Comment on observed growth and change in both yourself and child.
- Open mindedness became evident, and a newfound patience for watching my child interact with objects and her environment before jumping in with reactions and help. My child quickly understood limits where needed and found freedom in exploration.
What part of the training was most helpful?
- Once a few play sessions were in place, the whole idea behind CPRT became evident. The videos and discussions along the way helped tie it all together.
What was the hardest for you?
- Holding back and watching my child explore – sometimes I get carried away having to answer and ask my child when this course helped me to instead, wonder what my child was thinking and feeling at that very moment by her cues and facial expressions rather than me coming up with how I thought she felt.
Share your most significant learnings.
- Being on the same page as your partner and agreeing on the limits set out for your child is crucial for results.
- “Bad kid” is mislabeling a child’s cry for help in most cases, if not all. Think about your own actions when upset.
- “What’s most important may not be what you do, but what you do after what you have done!”
How do you perceive your children now compared to 10 weeks ago.
- I see the strength and determination she has and the beauty behind the mistakes and mishaps because she is continuously learning to navigate life.
What positive changes do you see in yourself and your child.
- continued patience
- By not reacting to certain behaviours, those behaviours came to a stop and a new understanding of why they began in the first place was learned
Has your child really changed that much or has your perception changed?
- While certain behaviours had been put to rest, a lot of the change was in perspective – a new way to observe my child’s behaviour was key in this learning.
How would you describe your overall experience in working with Donna at State of Mind Counselling?
- Donna was very helpful in this experience – I felt challenged as a parent to keep going and see the results firsthand. I enjoyed her help when I wasn’t finding the right words in how to respond to certain real – life and in-play scenarios.
- I felt her passion for helping throughout the course and she was present with reflection and guidance throughout our sessions.
- Thank you for this journey Donna – from our first phone call to our last play session review!
How has this experience impacted your family and your relationships?
- The best way to describe the impact is by knowing you are not only learning about your child, but also about yourself from another perspective – because you learn how your responses impact your child. You then see interactions differently with your child and family/friends.
- Some favourite quotes I keep in mind that have helped with perspective are:
“Be a thermostat, not a thermometer!”
“When a child is drowning, don’t try to teach her to swim.”
“Don’t try to change everything at once!”
Jessica C.