Blanche Sumner

I've been practicing for nearly ten years and have spent a majority of that time working with trauma, shame, grief, and relationships. I have specialized training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), which is great modality for trauma and getting brains unstuck from negative thought patterns; DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) when focuses on mindfulness and crisis management skills, communication techniques, and how to control emotions; and TF-CBT (trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy) which a trauma informed approach to children and adolescents with trauma. My clinical experience includes working within multiple substance use rehabs, community-based clinics, with Indigenous nations and people, and with children and adolescents.

My practice is based around getting us to a place where we're better informed about our internal world of thoughts, feelings, and bodily expressions of emotions. I bring curiosity and learning into each session and my goal is to get clients to a place where they have the tools to navigate life. After each session I do give 'homework', which is typically a specific skill to try or a mental challenge.

First sessions with me look like: discussion about what your goals are and what you'd like the future to look like, what's currently going on in your life that you wish was different, and briefly overviewing any life experiences that have effected/created the current struggles and goals. I try to create a flowing conversation instead of an interview.