gordon dalziel RP
psychotherapist
Trauma, PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, Relationship challenges,
Addiction, Eating Disorders, Grief
Online or In Person
Above all, effective therapy requires an environment that feels safe, comfortable, receptive and trustworthy.
Therapy unfolds as a process of gentle exploration and self discovery, made possible by the experience of safe containment, mixed with curiosity, insight, and a compassionate invitation to explore and feel deeply.
Your Therapist
Gordon Dalziel holds a Doctorate of Education in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy (Ed.D.) from the University of Toronto, is a member of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO), and the Ontario Association of Mental Health Professionals (OAMHP), and is a registered mental health provider with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC).
His doctoral research considered the intersection of mindfulness, empathy, and psychotherapy. This work has been published, and is available on line at tspace.library.utoronto.ca.
Prior to his graduate studies, Gordon completed three years of specialized training in psychotherapy at a private institute. His training and 18 years of professional experience have focused on the delivery of a person-centered, process-experiential psychotherapy, informed by aspects of developmental and psychoanalytic theory. He has extensive experience in the treatment of early life trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, various forms of addiction, eating disorders, loss and grief.
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Services
Gordon offers online psychotherapy by phone or video platform, and in-person psychotherapy services in Port Carling, Muskoka Lakes Ontario, for individuals aged 16 and over, and for couples struggling with relationship challenges.
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Typically, appointments are made for one hour, though it is possible to reserve 90 minutes if this seems appropriate. Appointments may be made for either online therapy (telephone / video conference) or for in-person sessions.
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Please note that during the Covid-19 pandemic, strict protocols are in place to permit seeing a limited number of clients face to face, in the Port Carling office.
Individual Therapy
Psychotherapy that is person-centred and process-oriented, places you and your experience at the focal point of our shared attention. Your therapy is uniquely tailored to suit you and your particular concerns. Healing, transformation and change are possible when these concerns are met with compassion, curiosity, insight, and freedom from judgment.
Couples Therapy
Couples therapy invites you to explore points of conflict and difficulty, in a space that is neutral, and judgment free. Working together we gently investigate the territory of difference, noticing themes and patterns that seem to reoccur. What can these patterns tell us about ourselves and about each other? What themes, activated within the relationship, have a history that predates the relationship? What is it in each of us that is calling for our attention? These questions can form part of an exploration toward better understanding, a more compassionate view of the other, and a deepening sense of connection.
Coverage
With the regulation of psychotherapy in Ontario, and the establishment of a licensing body in 2015, psychotherapy has increasingly been recognized as an essential component of mental health services. A growing number of extended health plans include coverage for psychotherapy.
If you are considering therapy, check with your benefits provider. Examples of professions currently offering coverage for psychotherapy include: Veterans Affairs Canada, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), regional police services including Toronto, Peel, and York Region, Ontario public school teachers, and Ontario secondary school teachers.
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Practice Philosophy
There are many different things that bring people into therapy. Most often there is something in the present that feels intrusive, or chronically uncomfortable, distressing or preoccupying. There may be a clear connection between this distress and a particular life experience, but this is not always the case. It may take time, and an opportunity for patient, careful exploration, to connect the dots, and put some of these pieces together.
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Psychotherapy is the opportunity to turn our attention toward what is difficult, in an environment that feels supportive, compassionate, patient, and free of judgment. These conditions facilitate an unfolding process that moves us progressively toward resolution and self confidence, inspiring creativity and change along the way.
About Gordon
The study and practice of psychotherapy was a kind of homecoming for me. My father was a doctor, and early on I considered medicine, and even psychiatry. I was drawn by a deep interest in people, and in the many ways that we become injured and find our way toward healing. But…after high school, another passion took hold, and I went to university to study architecture! I spent two decades in the design and construction industry, but never lost my interest in people and in human relationships.
In my late 40’s, following a period of serious work-related stress that left me feeling restless, anxious and depressed, I entered therapy myself. Though this process was primarily about my own healing and renewal, it became as well a profound learning experience about the nature of psychological injury, and about the conditions that support and inspire the natural process of psychological healing. It reignited in me a passion for the helping professions, and ultimately led me to return to school, and to the formal study of psychology and psychotherapy.
Early in my graduate studies I discovered mindfulness, and took part in a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course. Since then mindfulness and meditation have been central features of my life personally, and core subjects of study. I have found much support and inspiration in the writings of Jon Kabat-Zinn, Pema Chodron, Jack Kornfield and John Welwood, among others. These teachers have deepened my appreciation for the miracle and mystery of being human, and for the healing power of kindness.