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