Life Transitions, Stress Management Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

Life Transitions, Stress Management

Life transitions can be rewarding, but that doesn't mean they are necessarily easy. Change usually comes with mixed emotions, challenges and stress. It's natural to feel anxious, confused, unsettled and fatigued, no matter how you have looked forward to a change. While promotions at work can be positive and exciting, there are also negative transitions that could make you feel hopeless and negative, anxious and unable to see the solutions to the inevitable problems you face.


Some of the common transitions that people face include moving house, divorce, remarriage, empty nest syndrome, concerns about aging, adjusting to a new job, illness, or death of a loved one.

During periods of transitions, it's common for emotions from some of your past experiences to be triggered, which can make the current situation feel so much worse. That's when confusion takes over, leaving you feeling out of control and confused.

Transition counselling can help you deal with your life changes and the emotions that you are feeling in a safe and effective manner. You will be able to find the root causes of your reactions and you will be able to face the changes head on. You may even be able to push past your self-imposed limits to broaden your horizons and find a strong, new you.

You will gain clarity and understanding, as well as self-confidence to help you feel more grounded and you will develop a sense of purpose in your life. Transition therapy  has helped hundreds of thousands of people to come to terms with difficult issues in life and you can too.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who addresses transitions, you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.

While stress is a normal part of our modern, everyday lives, it can also have dramatic side effects. Chronic stress can lead to behavioral issues, such as drug abuse that can harm relationships. However, most commonly, chronic stress can affect a person's physical health in a number of ways. Many people avoid asking for help in coping with stress management, accepting it as a common hazard of today's fast-paced life.

Yes, at some point everyone suffers from challenges with stress management, but if at any point in time you feel like you have trouble handling it, it is time to get help. Signs that you are not coping with stress management includes a change in your sleeping or eating habits, feeling physically unwell (headaches, ulcers, frequent colds and flu), reduced productivity and decreased pleasure in activities you enjoyed before.

Stress is common when dealing with life changes or situations such as job losses, getting married, breakups or divorces, discrimination, parenting, moving house, death of a pet or loved one, being diagnosed with a serious medical condition.  

Therapy can help you to better deal with stress management issues. Negative moods reduce the quality of several aspects of our lives, including productivity and interpersonal relationships. Through cognitive restructuring, negative thoughts can be challenged and rescripted to help you create a more positive mindset.

Stress can often cloud the validity of our interpretations of certain events and circumstances, and cognitive restructuring challenges those assumptions. In the case of invalid interpretations, the way we think about situations naturally changes, which has a positive effect on our moods and ability to handle stress better.

If you are looking for a counsellor or psychologist who will help you manage stress more effectively you may want to search the directory to find a professional whose approach will suit you best.

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFT)

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy encompasses a range of six principles that aim to help clients develop greater psychological flexibility. The six principles include:

1. Cognitive defusion help to reduce tendencies to regard thoughts, memories and emotions as real and concrete events.

2. Acceptance is about allowing the thoughts to surface and pass without the need to allow them to interfere with daily life.

3.  Being present means being aware of current existence and being involved with the now.

4. Self observation helps the client to be aware of the self and the unchanging consciousness.

5. Exploring values to discover those that are most important to the person.

6. Committed action involves setting goals based on the explored values, and setting actions in place to reach those goals.

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy is a form of cognitive behavioural therapy and is commonly used in therapy, and in it's sub-forms and helpful for a range of conditions, including OCD. If you require Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, have a look at the counsellors listed below.

Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) has helped couples and family members to treat distressed relationships, depression and a range of other emotional difficulties. It is one of the most common treatments used in private counselling and psychologist practices, training centres and hospital clinics around the world.

The main goal of Emotionally focused therapy is to create a secure bond between romantic partners and to reorganize and expand critical emotional responses. It helps to improve communication between partners, which is more beneficial to the relationship. EFT is a practical therapy that has been used successfully in relationships and marriages for many years, due to the fact that it creates a spirit of respect and harmony.

Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy generally only lasts between six to twenty sessions and has been shown effective in 90% of relationships.

If you are looking for a therapist who offers Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, please browse our list of practitioners below..

Note:  Some practitioners practice Emotion Focused Therapy rather than Emotionally Focused therapy.  You will want to confirm that it is indeed Emotionally Focused Therapy that the counsellor/psychologist practices.

Note: You may narrow your search by selecting more than one filter below.

Erica Steward

M.A., RCC
    • Video on profile
    • Online booking
With a deep-rooted belief in the capacity for healing, personal growth, and transformation, I am honoured to offer my support on your unique journey. People often reach out to me when they feel stuck, struggle with... Read more

Suki O Huallachain

M.A., CCC
    • Online booking
Are you in a transition period in your life and not sure where to go? Do you have a sense of what you want to do but are full of complex emotions such as anxiety, shame, guilt, and self doubt.  This could be a... Read more

Lucia Pecnikova

M.Ed., RCC
    • Online booking
Creating a safe space where you feel heard and seen is my priority and I consider my work a privilege as we create a secure therapeutic relationship to support your healing process and inner exploration. I have a master... Read more

Jeffrey Hoy

M.A., RCC
    • Blog on profile
    • Online booking
I am a therapist who wants to help you, in the way that works for you, and at the pace that works for you. I seek to create a safe, calm, and open place for you to explore what is really going on. I have lived a richly... Read more

Elisa-Maria Chong

M.Ed., RCC
    • Online booking
Our lives each contain moments of great joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, opportunity, and obstacle. At the center of these experiences is our innate search for connection. We need relationships, they are precious and... Read more

Colette Mrazek

M.Ed., RCC
    • Online booking
My counselling career began over 20 years ago and since then, I have worked in a variety of settings with many different populations, such as youth at risk, children who have been orphaned, young parents,... Read more

Cordelia Mejin

M.A., RCC
Are you struggling with how to go on living in the wake of a loss? Does the pain of losing your person continue to have significant impact on your life and you are at a loss as to how to process the deep pain? Are you... Read more

Sarajoy David

Ph.D., R.Psych
    • Audio on profile
The focus of my service is the teaching of emotional self-care skills.  I draw upon leading edge therapies in facilitating each person's journey to self-awareness, healing and empowerment. This self-exploration... Read more

Harp Shergill

M.S.W., RSW
Seeking Peace and Resilience? Harp Shergill Can Help Are you battling anxiety, depression, or the lingering effects of trauma? Harp Shergill, Registered Social Worker understands that each person’s struggle is... Read more

Jeff Ross

M.A., RCC
 Feel good about the possibilities that life has to offer. Are you seeing life clearly? Do you tell your family and friends “I’m fine” even though you know you are not? Do you feel... Read more

Tara Azimi

M.A., RCC
    • Online booking
I am a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) and Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) with over 12 years of experience. I’m also completing a PhD where I collaborate on research projects on diabetes, domestic abuse... Read more