Cynthia Drouin (she/her)

Person-centered therapy prioritizes the client and can empower them to take greater control of their circumstances, increase self-awareness, and recognize that relationships with others contribute to emotional well-being. I view therapy as a collaborative process in which a strong, trusting, non-judgmental relationship between us will lead to your greatest benefit. I am committed to providing an open, safe, supportive environment for you to express and explore your deepest concerns.

Relational psychotherapy helps individuals recognize the role relationships play in the shaping of their daily experiences, and can help people understand patterns in the thoughts and feelings they have toward themselves. I believe that the therapeutic relationship is responsible for your feeling heard and understood, and experiencing hopeful outcomes.

Central to the relational therapy approach is the idea that we are shaped by our social world and relationships, and that having good relationships is essential for our wellbeing and self-esteem. From a relational perspective then, our experience of emotional distress is connected to relational issues. I believe that the therapeutic relationship is responsible for your feeling heard and understood, and experiencing hopeful outcomes.

Person-centered therapy can empower the client to take control of their mental health without judgment, by increasing self-understanding. I value collaboration with my clients; I respect that you hold the knowledge about yourself that will allow us to work together for your greatest benefit. Collaboration involves not just listening, but truly hearing and responding from a place of empathy and acceptance.

Anxiety may be prompted by a variety of circumstances, and may be related to our lived histories with our families growing up, in our relationships, and in the opportunities and experiences we've had. Your responses and reactions, or anxious anticipation of outcomes make sense in the context of who you know yourself to be. Together, we can explore what contributes to your anxious thoughts and feelings and your perceptions, and identify strategies to reduce anxiety and help your cope.

Change is part of each of our lives, and in spite of changes often being positive or sought-after, can bring a sense of loss. Change means ending or shifting our circumstances, often our perceptions of who we are, and can bring sorrow that is no less a challenge than with other losses. At times in our lives we experience difficult goodbyes to people and parts of ourselves that we love. I am familiar with how loss and grief show up and will explore and support your feelings in your grief journey.

It is among my greatest honors to be of support when you or someone close to you is experiencing chronic or life-limiting diagnoses and treatment; all aspects of life, or life as a loved one of someone managing illness, are affected. We are our most vulnerable when we cannot count on health or time or our 'usual' anything. I am grateful to continue to be invited to companion and support clients with cancer, Parkinson's Disease, and many other conditions, and their significant others.

Psychodynamic therapy emphasizes that unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories, often of early life experiences, early attachment and relationships, have ongoing influence on our perceptions and lives. The intersubjective relationship between the therapist and the client is important for exploring safely together the challenges that clients may experience as patterns in their lives, and gaining understanding into what contributes to these, how the client might wish and be able to change.