Craig McGuigan, M.A. RCC
“People are not troubled by things themselves, but by the view they take of them.”
- Epictetus.
Our personal narratives are what we use to make sense of our past and our current reality. They are the larger organizational lenses we use to view our experiences. Sometimes we work with old versions that need to be updated. From time to time, events arise that challenge or disrupt our personal story. Often those stories need disruption. We innately try to make sense of things, whether present or past. We rarely have all the information, and seldom have a perspective to make the best sense of things.
I am a Registered Clinic Counsellor with over 20 years in the counselling field. In my work, I see myself as a collaborator with you in your search to make sense of what is happening, or in making new sense of what has happened. Though somewhat eclectic in my approach, I rely heavily on Narrative Therapy. As such, between sessions, I will write you a letter and I’ll encourage you to journal after each session. With couples, I employ Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT). EFT focuses on strengthening the bond between couples and it also draws on Narrative Therapy.
As a counsellor, I seek to be respectful and non-blaming. In sessions, I tend to be curious, ask questions and take notes. Sometimes, I read back what I’ve written down to make sure I’ve got it right. Though I’ll rely on you to direct the conversation, sometimes I’ll suggest possible topics for discussion. At the end of every session, you’ll complete a session evaluation form. At the beginning of the next session, you’ll complete pre-session evaluation forms in order to evaluate the influence of the last session on the intervening weeks. The forms are impressionistic and designed to take less than a minute to complete. I find it helps to document in order to better measure progress. I believe that counselling work is best done in episodes of 6 or 7 sessions over 12 or 14 weeks. Research suggests that most clients achieve their best outcomes in the first 4 or 5 sessions of counselling. I try to work myself out of a job by the sixth session. That said, in rare situations I will meet with clients more frequently than every other week and for longer periods of time.
I work with youth and adults to help them make their way through difficult passages in their lives. I will support you to recover, to make adjustments, to take on challenges, to tackle depression, to quell anxiety, to change addictive behavior, and solve relationship issues.