Work with Julia Kristina
Life is too short to be struggling with your mind and emotions day in and day out. I know it can sometimes feel like there’s no way out and this is just the way you are, but I’m here to tell you, it’s not and there is.
Yes, life is hard sometimes. Yes things don’t always go our way, or according to our plan. Yes life can feel like a big struggle more often than we want it to, but there is a lot more we can do to make things a whole lot better than you realize.
You can heal from your emotional pain. You can overcome the battles you’re having with your mind. You can feel grounded at in charge of your life. You can feel good about yourself. You can have close, meaningful and fulfilling relationships.
We all have an inner critic who often likes to set up camp in our thoughts and tell us all kinds of negative to make us feel down, discouraged, anxious, overwhelmed, insecure, uncertain, weak, small, unimportant, insignificant and sometimes even worthless.
But that inner critic doesn’t have to have the final say. We can learn how to silence that inner critic and keep it from taking over our lives and keeping us in struggle.
Together we are going to work to breakthrough the biggest things that have been bringing you down, getting in your way, and holding you back – And I’m going to teach you how to make those positive changes last.
But what if you don’t know what the problem is? What if you can’t put your finger on the exact issue?
You don’t have to know the specific reason you’re struggling – you just have to know that you want to feel better, and then we can work together to uncover what’s really going on and what to do about it.
I always knew I wanted to become a therapist, but I didn’t actually know that I knew until one summer evening several years ago while at my cousins wedding.
During a conversation with some distant relatives I found out their eldest daughter – whom I hadn’t seen since we were little girls – was in school to become a chiropractor. Now up until then I had been thinking about becoming a therapist, but was overwhelmed by how much work it was going to be, and I didn’t know if I had the courage or strength to do what it took to get there… Until this life changing conversation.
Until I found out that little doe-eyed, curly haired Sarah Brown was training to become a doctor of chiropractic medicine.
And that’s all it took.
I immediately came to my senses and thought “If Sarah can do that, there’s no reason I can’t do this.” And from that point forward there was no turning back.
I can’t express how much I love what I do. And my experience as a counsellor has shown me time and time again that within each individual lies courage, strength, resiliency, beauty, and the desire to love and be loved and connected to both themselves and others.
Sometimes, though we find ourselves lost in the fog and need to be supported, encouraged, and challenged to get our lives either back on track, or onto a new and more fulfilling, rewarding, and meaningful track.
I work from a person-centered, strength based, solution focused, mindfulness and cognitive behavioural (CBT) approach.
What this means is that I work alongside my clients and help support them to uncover or re-discover their inner strengths, their inner resources, and their inner courage as they work through the things in their lives that are getting in the way of feeling fulfilled, connected, happy and a deep sense of inner calm and contentment.
In my practice the clients I work with often start to feel better and notice positive changes in their mood and outlook on life, themselves, and their relationships quite quickly.
My goal as your therapist is to help you to achieve lasting and meaningful changes for the better, and we’ll do exactly what we need to do to get you there.
I work with my clients from a person-centered, strength-based, solution focused, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioural (CBT) perspective. What does all this mean? Let’s break it down.
Person Centered: Our work together is about you and what you want for yourself and your life. Our relationship will be genuine, empathic, warm, caring, and non-judgemental.
Strength Based: This means that we will work together to uncover, discover, or rediscover your unique and particular strengths and use them to empower and strengthen you on your life journey.
Solution Focused: This involves looking at what you want to be different right now, exploring and discovering what you want for yourself in the future, and what steps we will take to make this happen. It also entails looking at the things in your life that you want to continue to have happen and how to have more of what you do want, and thus less of what you don’t want.
Mindfulness: Mindfulness is a big buzzword right now and most people get a little scared when they hear it because they think they are going to be expected to sit and meditate in full lotus position for hours on end everyday until they reach enlightenment. That’s not the case. Practicing mindfulness can be much simpler than that. Mindfulness is really just about learning to be present. To notice and experience what’s happening right now – not getting stuck in regretting the past, or fearing the future.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This involves looking at and often challenging and restructuring those beliefs, thoughts, and choices we make that are keeping us ‘stuck’ where we don’t want to be stuck. This results in the creation of new perspectives, and understandings, and the strength to make choices that lead to greater happiness, peace, joy, and emotional freedom.
I know that each individual is unique and because our time together is about you, my role is to meet you where you are at and come alongside you on your journey toward discovering, creating, and working toward what you want for yourself and for your life.
Our work together can be to help and support you in working through a specific concern or challenge, or we can work more in-depth if you would like to focus on deeper exploration, healing, and breakthroughs.
This deeper work will focus on shifting the thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours that are holding you back or preventing you from living how you want to live and feeling how you want to feel.
Sometimes people come for counselling or coaching and they’re not just sure of the precise reason or specific problem – they just know that things don’t feel quite right, or they want more for themselves and for their lives.
You don’t have to have a reason, or a major problem to meet. Coming to figure out what’s off and working together to get things on is reason enough.
I know that it takes a lot of strength and courage to reach out of help and support, and here you are making the choice to take the first step.
I hold a Master’s Degree in Counselling psychology, have done extensive specialization education and training and over the past 10 years with some of the top psychologists in the world including Dr. David Burns and Dr. Don Meichenbaum. I’ve helped hundreds of men and women breakthrough their biggest struggles with anxiety, worry, low self-esteem, self-doubt, perfectionism, and chronic stress, I also work with those who want to improve their communication skills, or their boundary setting abilities in their relationships.
In other words, I help both men and women get through the craps that’s holding them back so they can like themselves and their lives more everyday.
Through our one to one counselling sessions we will go deep and figure out what’s off, what’s not working, what’s getting in your way and what’s preventing you from feeling how you know you want to be feeling both within yourself and within your most important relationships.
We will spend some time working through and healing old wounds from the past and from there we will work to get you the tools, skills and mindset shifts necessary so you can start enjoying your life the way you’ve always wanted to.
I offer both in-person and telephone or web counselling.
Whether virtual or in person, the format is basically the same. The main difference is you will have to sit on your comfy couch instead of mine.
Coaching is a great option for people who feel like they may not be in enough distress for therapy, but still feel like they need some extra help, guidance or the necessary steps to help them get unstuck in one or more areas of their lives.
The focus of coaching is to work together to find effective strategies to help you work toward and reach any personal, career or relationship goals you may have.
Coaching uses personal strategic planning, values clarification, brainstorming, motivational counselling, and other counselling techniques, and although the work we do may feel therapeutic, coaching is not for working through deeper issues such as trauma or mental illness.
As your coach, you can count on me to be honest and straightforward, asking powerful questions and using challenging techniques to move you forward. You are expected to evaluate progress and when coaching is not working as you wish, you should immediately inform me so we can both take steps to correct the problem.
As with counselling, coaching can be short term and focus on 1 specific issue, or it can be longer term to really help you reach your bigger life goals.
I offer both in-person and telephone or web coaching.
Whether virtual or in person, the format is basically the same. The main difference is you will have to sit on your comfy couch instead of mine.
Work with Brandy Wilkinson
Brandy has a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and is a Canadian Certified Counsellor.
Brandy has been trained thoroughly on the counselling and therapeutic coaching methods Julia uses to get her clients faster, more effective, and lasting results.
When you choose to work with Brandy, you are in excellent hands at a fraction of the cost.
This is a very accessible option if you don’t have benefits coverage for counselling or coaching.
You’re feeling disconnected, depressed, or anxious and like life is passing you by and you can’t really enjoy it – but you desperately want to.
In exploring your issues, we can work through your feelings, thoughts and experiences so that we can create goals and solutions together for your future. In finding a new plan of action in therapy, you can find new ways to imagine the future as a more manageable place, and in turn, be armed with the knowledge of your strengths and a plan for success.
I know that at times it feels like there’s something broken about you, and having a life that feels happy, connected and with a deep inner peace is just for other people.
Instead of focusing on the past or being anxious about the future I will help you to use mindfulness techniques that help those who practice them to get into the present moment and calm the nervous system. This will put you in the driver’s seat and take control of your thoughts and feelings, taking away the power of negativity.
If you’ve been struggling more than you want to with any of the following, I am here and I can help you learn how to effectively deal with and heal from:
- Overwhelm
- Relationship Conflict
- Family Conflict
- Stress
- Lack of Motivation
- Feeling Stuck
- Grief and Loss
- Anxiety and Fear
- Attachment Issues
- Low Self-Confidence
- Trauma
With my help and support you will feel:
- Ready to Use Your Strengths
- Like a Burden is Lifted
- Connected to Your Inherent Value
- Goal Oriented
- Insightful
- Positive
- Confident
- Healed
- Validated
Book your first appointment through the online booking calendar here and let’s get you feeling and living better.
If life’s changes and challenges are overwhelming you and have you searching for a better life, I can empower you with client-centred therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy where you discover your strengths. I will guide you through exploring the issues while enhancing your self-awareness.
In tackling the tough situations in your life, as well as carefully unravelling your fears and sorrows, you will see a new perspective taking shape.
Turning a new leaf, old patterns will fall away and new skills and patterns will lead the way. New patterns such as validating your own thoughts and feelings, choosing to be non-judgmental with yourself, and having self-compassion so that you can be unapologetically you, everyday.
I take an integrative approach to counselling, incorporating elements of:
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy– Using guided discovery and questioning, we will find problem scenarios in which cause anguish, regret, sadness, anger and more. Discussing the thoughts, feelings and behaviors around the situations, you will be drawn back into the situation through conversation, shining light on the issue. Once we can find the commentary that you used in your thoughts at that time, we can create new perspectives and thoughts, as well as make an action plan for the future. New behaviors can be explored as well as new feelings, creating a different positive view and situation.
- Self-Compassion Therapy– In therapy we will pinpoint the times when your self-criticism and negative self talk judged you. Then in the future, instead of having the immediate negative thoughts, you will be able to analyze the thoughts and validate the reasons for them. This in turn will be the beginning of positive and nonjudgmental self talk where you begin to treat yourself better, and begin to form a trusting, positive relationship with yourself.
I hold a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology and am a proud Canadian Certified Counsellor.
I have extensive knowledge of over 50 psychotherapy interventions and have practiced a variety of approaches, including humanistic therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), solution-focused therapy, motivational interviewing, strength-based therapy, client-centered therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), exposure therapy, existential therapy, and more.
I am passionate about using my own experiences—both the challenges and triumphs—as a tool to foster a deep connection with my clients. By empathizing with their pain and drawing on shared strengths, I aim to empower them to create a brighter and more fulfilling future.