I have been a psychologist in Alberta since 1987 and have learned (and continue to learn) ways of helping people make the changes they wish or need to make in their lives.
Each client has unique needs and counselling or therapy is adapted specifically to each person. However, I work mainly from the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approaches. These therapeutic approaches identify how a person's way of thinking about events or issues, their emotional responses, their actions and their values affect their situation. People learn to challenge themselves and their thinking, quiet the mind and practice new behaviors and habits in order to live more productively and with greater satisfaction.
These approaches can be used to help people deal more effectively with:
I am also trained in EMDR, a technique that has been proven effective with trauma.
As a therapist I approach every client relationship with a priority of developing trust and safety in order to make the work we do very valuable. I also strive to be aware of the different needs among my clients and honour those unique needs throughout treatment.
Although I was raised in Alberta, my initial training as a therapist was at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. There I was able to gain significant training in treating trauma including sexual or violent trauma, war-related incidents, displacement or refugee issues, trauma within a family including early childhood incidents and also single-incident trauma that people are struggling to move forward from.
At Cheryl Becker and Associates I see adolescents and adults and welcome working with clients who are culturally diverse. To value one’s culture is to value my client’s worldview and respect their ‘way of being’ in their community. This includes acknowledging ethnic culture in therapy but also LGBTQ culture and specific vocational cultures such as military, first responder and oil rig work camp culture.
I use cognitive and narrative strategies in therapy and frequently introduce art, exposure-based treatment, hope-focused work, mindfulness, and other self-regulation skills. Strategies and approaches are tailored to the needs and comfort level of each client.
As a registered psychologist I see clients with a variety of issues including
Choosing a counsellor you are comfortable with is important, so here’s a little bit about me to help with that decision!
I believe in the mind-body connection and use an integrated approach, tailored to meet the unique needs of each person. I draw from a variety of methods, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Therapy, Somatic Psychotherapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
I trust that each of us has strengths and internal wisdom, and that many of the answers we seek lie within ourselves. I have learned that life tends to unfold more like a spiral than a straight line, and that set-backs and stumbles can be valuable to growth and transformation. I believe we all have vulnerabilities and fears, and that it takes a great deal of courage to address these.
Over time, I have developed a respectful and compassion-centred approach to working with others. I have learned that the working relationship between the client and counsellor is very important and that working from a place of acceptance is key to supporting meaningful and lasting change.
In my work with adult individuals, I’m particularly interested in:
I believe that you are the expert of your life. I believe that you have the strength and capability to make the changes you wish to see, and to facilitate this journey I draw on a number of therapeutic approaches, tools, and techniques in my therapeutic work. I have a strong background in both psychotherapy and neuropsychological assessment. I completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan, and I am registered as a psychologist in Alberta.
Coming from a person-centred, strength-based perspective, I tailor therapy for each individual client, drawing primarily on Narrative Therapy, Schema Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy approaches. In addition, I practice Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that facilitates the resolution of distressing events and long-standing patterns/difficulties such as depression, anxiety, pain, and stressors/traumas.
In my work, I see clients for a variety of concerns such as:
I believe it is an honour and privilege to accompany clients on their journey toward well-being and personal growth, and I aim to communicate this through my empathic and enthusiastic therapeutic style.
I view collaboration between psychologist and client as an essential part of the therapy process. Valuing a person’s story, circumstances, culture, and lifestyle are key in building a therapeutic connection. This connection is the basis for understanding, growth and change.
With this in mind, I focus on using evidence-based treatments tailored to meet the specific needs of each client and their family. My primary therapeutic approaches include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), along with trauma specific methods (e.g., Trauma Focused CBT, Cognitive Processing Therapy, EMDR).
I specialize in the assessment and treatment of trauma across the lifespan. I also see children, youth and adults for a variety of other concerns:
Being a provisional psychologist means I am a therapist early in my career and that I must complete 1600 hours of supervised practice before I can register as a psychologist in Alberta. The term provisional psychologist is regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists and ensures I have completed a masters degree in counselling psychology including a practicum, and that I meet ethical and practical obligations to practice and continue training. Although I am in the earlier stage of registering as a psychologist, I have worked in the mental health field for the last ten years in a variety of settings including a hospital, a walk-in and ongoing counselling service, and in research.
As a therapist, I believe the client is the expert of their own life, and that my role is to help you meet goals, make desired changes, and find solutions that truly fit your life. To do this, I place a great importance on the relationship we can build in our sessions.
I practice from a person-centered approach, while integrating ideas and approaches from other therapies that fit a client’s wants or needs, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, and Solution-Focused Therapy. I also generally view my work through a systemic lens, which means I want to always consider the variety of influences in a client’s life that may impact issues or problems discussed in therapy.
I believe therapy can be for everyone, and that we can all heal and grow in small and big ways when we feel the pull to make a change.
In my work with adult clients, my areas of interest include:
I am an existential and cognitive behavioral (CBT) provisional psychologist. These two diverse theoretical approaches to psychology best capture my approach in my work with clients. I use the existential ‘big picture’ of my client’s unique life circumstances to inform my use of a variety of therapeutic techniques that have been shown scientifically to be effective. I mold these techniques to fit the uniqueness of each client. I have trained in the use of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness relaxation strategies, Cognitive Processing Theory (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and hypnosis to assist my clients.
My overall goal in psychology is to support my clients to acquire the tools they need now, and to learn how to use these tools to be able to work independently with challenges they may face in their future.
In my work with adult clients, my areas of interest include:
Office InformationOur office is on the second floor of a small office building just south of Whyte Avenue. It is a comfortable and private setting. There is free 1-hour parking available on the street out front of the building.
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday. Limited Saturday and evening appointments are available.
Our fees are guided by the Psychologists Association of Alberta (PAA) who currently recommend therapy/assessment fees of $200 per hour. The PAA has recommended a fee increase to $220 per hour starting in January of 2023. Fees for counselling with our provisional psychologist, Leslie Roper, are $110 for a 50 minute session.
Fees can be paid by cheque, cash, debit, MasterCard or VISA and many clients have extended benefits through work which helps them cover some or all of the cost.