Mary Manson, MA, MCS, HBA
I was inspired to pursue psychotherapy when, as a high school teacher, students would share personal struggles with me after class and I felt unequipped to advise wisely, but very much wished I could. So I left teaching high school and I did my graduate degrees in Counseling Psychology and in Spiritual Direction/Christian Theology at the University of British Columbia.
Since then, I have been a sessional instructor in the Education and Psychology Departments at UBC, St. Francis Xavier University, and the University of Guelph. For the past twenty years, I have also I have worked as a therapist for counseling agencies in Vancouver, London, Burlington and Guelph. I currently have chosen private practice so that I am able to create more flexible client fees.
In therapy, I work with individuals and couples to restore relationships, establish identity, set and achieve goals, understand and negotiate conflict, overcome addictions, obsessions or depression, heal debilitating trauma, repair and rebuild lives, deal with spiritual crises and loss - and basically move through whatever difficulty is obstructing a happy healthy life.
I am a trained EMDR therapist. EMDR is a well-researched methodology for treating trauma and is considered world-wide to be best practice for recovery from traumatic events. I offer EMDR to all clients since it seems helpful in both capital 'T', as well as the small 't' trauma which we have all experienced.
I believe that we have profound resources inside of us that sometimes get squished, trapped, stifled or buried. Given the opportunity, in an environment of warmth, openness, aptitude and acceptance, we can all develop the skills to become better human beings with a genuine capacity for joy, love, hope and delight.
Life is good. It is worth giving yourself the chance to Live Life Better.