Theresa Brown, M.Ed., Registered Psychologist (AB: 7846)

Theresa is a Registered Provisional Psychologist.  Theresa is well recognized in the general public and Indigenous communities for her skills in mental health, knowledge of brain/ behaviour/ psychological development across a lifetime, and ability to work collaboratively with individuals and groups from many personal, cultural and professional backgrounds. 

Theresa is proud to claim her Indigenous heritage as a Cree woman from Tallcree First Nation.  Theresa has taken her experience as a visible minority and transformed that into clinical skills in working with individuals who feel like they do not ‘fit in’ with the general population due to ‘being different’.  Whether being different is because of struggles with mental health, unique ways of thinking, low sense of self, or being targeted as a visible or invisible minority (i.e. neurodiverse, LGBTQ++, cultural or religious background) Theresa has both the knowledge and skills to help that person to heal and become confident in who they are. 

Adults

Theresa brings a soft, listening style into her sessions working with adults. Clients who feel unheard, alone, and/or not good enough often say that Theresa is an amazing support for them. They find that Theresa connects with them and is able to stay with them as they grieve loss, struggle with addiction, or worry about themselves, their children or their future.

Theresa brings a strong understanding of how addiction can reach across generations, negatively impacting lives from parents to children, and then to grandchildren. She knows how to help clients break the cycle of intergenerational abuse and neglect.

To enhance her clinical skills Theresa has taken advanced training in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) and general Trauma training.

Children (Ages 7 and Up)

Theresa has completed all (and more) of the required courses and hands on training to become a Certified Play Therapist. She is currently working with a Certified Play Therapy Supervisor to complete the requisite hours of supervised clinical play therapy work with clients.

Theresa realized early in her training that children are most likely to accept support when the support comes in the form that they choose use and learn through every day.  This can be play, drawing, dance, and storytelling.  She also knows that being a ‘therapist who plays with children’ is not same clinically as a therapist who is trained specifically in leading edge Play Therapy techniques, and who regularly gets skill development feedback from clinically recognized Play Therapists.  To provide the children who work with her the best possible chance of recovery and growth, Theresa has taken advanced training in Play Therapy, Sandtray Therapy, Theraplay, and attachment based therapy.  Each of these research based, and clinically proven approaches are consistently shown to help children deal with both common and exceptional challenges.

Theresa’s work with children starts by helping both the child and their parent feel comfortable in the Play Therapy office.  She begins by asking each about their concerns and goals.  Everyone is involved in figuring out what is needed for each family member to feel better.  While Theresa has helped many children to resolve struggles with depression, trauma, school fears, learning difficulties, attention and impulse control difficulty, peer pressure, neglect, communication difficulties, social skills challenges and domestic difficulties in individual counseling, Theresa knows that the greatest successes come when the work in the therapy room is continued at home.  So, depending on each presenting issue, Theresa may work 1:1 with the child, or may work with a child-parent pair, or even whole families.  

When children aren’t doing well it can be incredibly distressing for the parent.  Theresa takes the approach that helping the child often involves working with the parent as well.  Sometimes its small tweaks in parenting skills that make all the difference.  Knowing how to help your child through emotional distress can be an incredible relief.  A child’s rage, failure to follow direction, emotional withdrawal, can all be signs of psychological or emotional distress.  Theresa helps parents to figure out what lies underneath the behavior teaches parents how to make a meaningful and deep connection with their child to shift those behaviors.  Over a course of therapy this often leads to reduced stress and increased joy in the home for everyone.

Teens

The teen years bring a tremendous amount of change.  Teens often seem to listen more to friends, videos on social media sites, and even information they find random webpages than the wisdom of their parents.  It can be scary to see a teenage child start to engage in behaviors that are confusing, potentially risky, or seem to be entirely random.  Mood swings, sudden shifts in connection and disconnection with parents, siblings, teachers, peers and previously loved activities and sports can be very disconcerting for parents.  There can be fears about drugs, inappropriate relationships, academic failure, and decision making that could have long-term negative effects on an adolescent future.

While many teens manage their adolescent years well, other teens face significant issues.  Peer pressure, gender identity, academic expectations, interpersonal skills, exposure to trauma, substance use/abuse, and social/cultural/racial issues can all come into play.  Disrupted homelife due to domestic issues, parent mental health challenges, parental work stress or financial issues can show up in teens as moodiness, anger outbursts, and changes in physical appearance through weight gain/loss, body art, clothing and hairstyle choices, and how and where they choose to spend their time.  Some teens withdraw into their rooms, others start spending time with risk taking friends, while others attempt to become exceptional students, athletes, or mini-parents to their siblings.  Each of these responses to stress can lead to difficulty with depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, aggression, identity distress, or reactionary, emotion based thinking.

Theresa knows how hard it can be for parents to see their child in pain.  She can provide a safe and calm space for teens to learn how to engage with, learn about, and express their emotions in healthily ways. Theresa helps teens and their loved ones learn to communicate and share even hard emotions in a way that ends with each family member feeling heard and cared about.  While much of her teen work is done one to one, when appropriate, Theresa will help parents and their adolescent children together in order to rebuild long-term connection.

Lifetime Development / Mental Health – Individual and Couples Work

Historically the consensus was that brain development stopped somewhere during adolescence.  Then it was found that major parts of the brain involved in more complex decision making and advanced reasoning continued to develop well into early adulthood.  We now know that the brain changes throughout a lifetime.  Brain changes impact how we think.   Brain changes impact how we feel emotions.  Brain chance can alter personality, sense of self, interaction skills, work and social capacity.  A major factor of brain change in adults can be tied to stress. 

Theresa’s strong background in brain development over a human lifetime aids her in helping children and teens deal with learning challenges, behavioral issues (due to life experiences, hormones, and genetics) and emotional difficulty.

For adults and teens, Theresa is able to utilize her knowledge of brain development or brain change to help clients understand mental health and psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, feels and fears of loneliness, loss, trauma, homelife and worksite dysfunction, and relationship breakdown.  While most people can deal with life challenges as they come, at a certain point even the most resilient begin to feel overwhelmed.  Feeling stuck, confused, or helpless are common reasons that people come to therapy.  Theresa is able to help clients understand the reasons underneath their distress, and then help clients to make the changes they want to make so that the distress resolves.

Using Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness for Individuals, Emotionally Focused Therapy for Individuals (EFIT) and Couples (EFT), and specific therapy techniques designed for particular challenges, Theresa is able to help clients regain control of their self.  She helps the people she works with unravel the negative impact of stress on their emotions, physical wellbeing, and on their thinking.  As her clients feel increasingly settled, they often report improvements in sleep, interpersonal relationships, workplace achievement, and overall physical and mental health.

Psychometric Assessment

Theresa provides psychometric assessment services for children, teens, and adults.

She currently provides assessments for giftedness, IQ, academic achievement, learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and accommodation letters.

As an assessment/disabilities/special needs co-ordinator for a school division prior to her work as a provisional psychologist, Theresa developed a great insight into the services available for students within Alberta. She understands how clearly identifying a child’s learning style and potential additional support needs can have a great impact on their academic success, and subsequent sense of self-confidence.

Theresa is able to connect with teens in such a way that they are willing to talk about academic, behavioural or emotional challenges during the assessment. This helps her develop a more comprehensive picture of what is happening for the teen, which leads to report recommendations that are highly tailored to that teen’s needs.

For adults, Theresa is able to help with identifying areas in need of upgrading, readiness for post-high school programs and identify where accommodations will be needed for university.

Education and Background

Theresa has been working in the mental health field since starting her training in the field of Psychology in 1997.  In 2009 she obtained a Masters in Education Psychology – Special Education, from the University of Alberta.   In January of 2021 Theresa moved more fully into Clinical and Counselling Psychology.  Theresa has provided psychological counselling services in a variety of settings including clinical private practice, in schools, on indigenous reserves and in community settings.

Availability

Theresa offers a range of daytime and evening appointments to ensure that her child, teen, adult and couples clients can book appointments according to their personal schedules.