THERAPY
I have been offering therapy to couples and individuals in my Westmount
office since 1986, specializing in relationship issues. My new offices
at the “Centre Imago
–
Montreal” in Verdun,
which I established in 2006, are warm and welcoming. I focus on relationships
because I believe that many of our difficulties, both personal and interpersonal,
are rooted in relational ruptures and often manifest most strongly in
our significant relationships at
home and at work. I see relationship health as being as
important as physical health and similarly requires ongoing commitment
to good practices. The mission of the Centre
Imago - Montreal is to explore various ways to help people establish and
maintain healthy relationships across the adult life span.
I like to meet with prospective clients for one or two initial sessions
so that I can get a sense of the particular challenges they are facing
right now and whether I feel I can be helpful; and so that they
also have a chance to get a sense of me and how I work. They can then
decide whether they feel
we are a good fit and that they can work well with me. If they do decide
that they can benefit from continuing with me, we discuss the options
available; if not, I offer to help them find a more
appropriate referral.
Therapy: I generally meet with clients for two hours
or more on a periodic basis that fits with their availability and my travel
schedule. I work towards helping clients learn skills and gaining information
that they can take home with them so that they can do their relationships
more effectively on a daily basis.
Intensives: I also offer intensives of anywhere from
four hours to a full weekend, either in my office or in clients’
homes. I have travelled to various places in Europe as well as in Canada
to work for two or three days with a couple, or couples have come to Montreal
or London to work with me. I find this a very effective model as some
very deep work can be done in a short time and then the couple
leaves with specific skills and commitments to work on after the session.
Pre-marital counselling: Increasingly
couples are realizing that it takes more than love to make a marriage
successful. Knowledge that leads to mutual understanding and good communication
skills are also required. I love meeting with couples before they make
the commitment, to help them avoid some of the pitfalls that so many of
us have had to deal with in a long-term committed relationship.
Coaching: In addition to my training as a psychologist
and relationship therapist, I trained as a coach with Mentorcoach. I offer
relationship coaching by telephone to individuals and couples, especially
to clients overseas who have attended Imago workshops. I use telephone
and internet technology increasingly to offer ongoing courses on relationship
topics and as a follow-up to participation in workshops and training programs.
Sophie Slade, Ph.D. (514) 766-5502
email:slade.imago@bellnet.ca