TOUGH, Alicia
I am a registered psychotherapist and occupational therapist from Ontario, Canada, practicing since 2009. I use a gestalt relational approach as a framework to support myself and clients with connecting in the here and now. I have additional training in psychotherapy supervision, cognitive behavioural therapy, emotion-focused therapy, developmental somatic therapy, brief and narrative therapy and motivational interviewing, which I draw on when appropriate.
My training at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto (GIT) began with doing my own psychotherapy work, where I learned what I need from a therapist, and what I hope to provide my clients. At the GIT, I experienced the human tendency to enact traumatic patterns as a way to avoid pain and disconnection, and how that played out in my own life. I have learned that my mental and physical health are interconnected, and the less alone and ashamed I feel, the more support I have to find my own agency, creativity and ability to live a responsible and satisfying life. I learned to view “trauma”, no matter how “big” or how “small”, as experiences of violation to safety, security and belonging, where there was not enough support to allow the whole person to process the experience to move on. I believe that unsupported traumas can stay “stuck” within us, attempting to help protect the person from ongoing threat. We can work in the here and now to allow our non-verbal systems to release old holding patterns in a safe therapeutic environment.
Because I had such complex clients, I took whatever training I could find to learn what might help, and I developed a large “tool kit” of interventions, but in all my training, the most important thing I’ve learned is that, no matter the psychotherapy modality, the therapeutic relationship determines how effective the therapy will be.
I aim to provide therapeutic experiences of safety, security, validation, belonging and meaning that build resilience to abandonment and shame survival responses in adults. I support clients to clarify and enrich their relationships with themselves and the other important people in their lives; to achieve more understanding, coordination, and satisfaction. I intend to co-create new stories of human connection and growth with my clients.