Coping with the added stress and fatigue of the COVID-19 pandemic has proven difficult for some Canadians and that’s especially true for frontline workers including doctors, dentists, and even shopkeepers who masked-up and got vaccinated to serve the public everyday. It was exhausting, and left deep scars. The endless lockdowns and protocols put stress on a vast sector of the workforce and many turned to mental health counsellors for relief.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation did a story in the summer of 2022 detailing a sharp rise in the number of people aged 18 to 35 seeking help from mental health programs, and all the experts who were interviewed on the news agreed the pandemic really messed with the public’s minds and they listed all the reasons why, and how things will never be the same. People now commonly work from home, and the shops have plexiglass barriers around the cashiers, and delivery businesses have tripled in size.
Earlier this month, I met Gloria Segovia from AERCs Toronto, a couples therapy and addiction counselor. Gloria helps married couples and people in long term relationships work out their differences, and also she works with addicts who have both crisis and long-term addiction management issues.
Gloria Segovia is a Registered Psychotherapist and Clinical Social Worker at AERCs Orangeville.
I sat down with Gloria at her Orangeville clinic and she told me about herself before I opened up about all my problems. I learned how this kind lady works with individuals and couples seeking professional help to overcome life’s challenges and restore a sense of wellness and purpose in their day to day existence. The shelves in her Orangeville cottage are lined with textbooks and clinical studies which form the backbone of her approach. Every client is a new challenge which she tackles using evidence base models such as, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), and Gottman Couples Counselling precepts like the Sound House Relationship foundational theory.
With over fourteen years’ experience, Gloria can provide psychotherapy to children, teenagers, families, and couples. She works with grief-stricken individuals recovering from loss, or stricken with eating disorders, paranoia, drug and alcohol issues, gambling addictions, and other behavioral anomalies.
AERCs Orangeville is more intimate.
It was a cold November morning and Gloria turned up the heat and made the clinic seem warm and cozy by lighting a fire on the big screen television. The audio even crackled and popped like it was a real blaze. We drank each enjoyed a cup of strong coffee and got down to business discussing me.
Being a social worker demands an incredible amount of sympathy, compassion, and creativity to find viable solutions to other people’s problems. Just as we discussed couple’s counseling earlier, there are other ways that Toronto social workers make a difference in people’s lives
Toronto social workers support individuals and their families as they go through difficult times and they work to ensure that vulnerable people, including children and adults, are safeguarded from harm. Their role is to help improve outcomes in people’s lives. They maintain professional relationships and act as guides and advocates. They fight for the rights of the people of Canada and ensure that they get all the rights that they deserve.
What is Emotional Regulation?
Emotional regulation is what’s missing when someone is unable to manage their feelings and gets angry, sad, or violent without any notice . Most people unconsciously use emotional regulation strategies to cope with difficult situations many times throughout each day, while others lack the ability to separate emotions from their thoughts and actions. Overcoming emotional instability may involve learning new behaviors such as rethinking difficult situations to reduce anger or anxiety, hiding sadness or fear, or focusing on reasons to feel happy or calm.
AERCs offers the people of Toronto, and Orangeville, a safe and compassionate space to be heard. Depending on the patient’s individual needs, Gloria or any of the AERCs psychotherapists or social workers on site may use C.B.T., which is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This discipline combines with mindfulness, and spirituality to identify and resolve the patient’s life issues. Gloria may also use traditional talk therapy, and strengths-based coaching, or hypnotherapy, or havening, or whatever it takes to help patients overcome negative thoughts, violent notions and emotional confusion.
AERCs customizes Couples Therapy incorporating elements of C.B.T. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address how thoughts and words can influence behavior, which is a common form of therapy for individuals as well as couples. Developed over the course of the last century and widely adopted by many practitioners in the mental health industry, CBT is backed by extensive research and countless positive outcomes. Couples therapy includes an assessment of the relationship and integrates research-based interventions based on the Sound Relationship House theory. Interventions are designed to help couples strengthen their relationships in three primary areas: friendship, conflict management, and the creation of shared meaning.
ARECs uses the Gottman Method for counselling couples
The Gottman Method is North America’s most well known and widely used approach to couples therapy. The methodology begins with a thorough assessment of the couple’s relationship and integrates research-based interventions based on the Sound Relationship House Theory. The objective is to help the clients disarm conflicting verbal communication, and to increase intimacy, respect, and affection. The program works to remove barriers that create a feeling of stagnancy, and create a heightened sense of empathy and understanding within the context of the relationship.
LivingWorks ASIST – Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
LivingWorks Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is the only workshop of its kind. ASIST is the world’s leading suicide intervention training program and is trusted by professionals, yet learnable by anyone. It’s continually updated to reflect new knowledge, LivingWorks ASIST has been empowering people to provide skilled, life-saving interventions for over 35 years.
AERCS in an anagram which means: Addiction Emotional Recovery Counseling Services (AERCS) and comprises a group of social workers devoted to improving Canadians’ lives through therapy and activities. AERCS offers all manner of counseling services from couples counseling, individual counseling, support groups, women recovery, and anger management group classes.
