My name is Dolores Meade, M.ED, MFT and I am an individual, couple and family therapist working in the West Island area of Montreal.

You quite likely are here because you are considering seeking therapy. Choosing a therapist is an important decision and you need to make sure that you choose someone with whom you feel you could be comfortable. It is also important that the therapist you choose have experience and training in the type of difficulty you are having and that they practice in a way that suits your personality and goals. I invite you to explore this website to see if you think that I could help you.

There are almost as many reasons to consider therapy as there are people. If you are hurting or if you feel that your life is out of balance in some way, then talking things over with an empathic therapist who can help you see things from a new point of view could be invaluable.

• Therapy can help you become a good friend to yourself rather than one who criticizes you and puts you down.
• It can help you to be more relaxed and happier.
• It can help you find new meaning and direction in your life.
• Marriage counseling, couple therapy or family therapy can help you resolve conflicts, have a more satisfying couple and family life and to be more confident and successful parents.
• It can help children to behave better and to relax and get on with living and learning and enjoying life as they mature.

In all of my work, be it with individuals, couples or families, I strive to establish an atmosphere that allows people to focus on their most personal challenges openly and honestly. Compassion, warmth and sometimes humour are ingredients of this process. In the end, the most important outcome is that you leave therapy feeling better and able to make positive changes in your life.Please feel free to call me or email me if you have questions or if you would like to make an appointment.

Individual Therapy
In individual therapy, I strive to provide a supportive environment where you are “listened to” and heard; one in which it is safe to explore openly and honestly, your most personal, feelings, needs and dilemmas. Read more…

Marriage Counseling and Couples Therapy
The difficulties you are having may be recent or longstanding. You may be married, living together or contemplating either of these. Whether you are a heterosexual couple or a same sex couple, I can help both of you clarify the feelings that are behind the issues that hinder and enhance your life together. Read more…

Family Therapy
In family therapy I provide a forum in which everyone is offered the opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings respectfully and safely. Read more…

My office in Montréal’s West Island area (Beaconsfield, QC) is also convenient to residents of Hudson and St. Lazare. I welcome your call or email to discuss how my services can benefit you and to make an appointment.

I first started working in the helping professions in the late 70’s after finishing a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at McGill University. I am a member of the Professional Order of Social Workers of Quebec and a clinical member of the American and Quebec Associations of Family Therapists. I have worked in public service for 25 years beginning as a school counselor and social worker then moving on to child protection. During this time, I worked directly with hundreds of clients experiencing family problems as well as with children in abusive situations. I provided clinical supervision for other social workers and trained clinical staff in the assessment and treatment of children and their families in situations of physical or sexual abuse or severe neglect. I also achieved considerable expertise in adoption and adoption reunions. For many of these years, I maintained a small private practice during the evenings.

Right at the beginning of my career, I found that I loved working with families and children and enrolled in a three year long postgraduate training program in Family Therapy at the Institute of Community Psychiatry at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. While my interest in families continued, I found that I wanted the skills to help older adolescents and adults and this led me to enroll in the two year long Individual Psychotherapy Program at the same Institution. To this day, I maintain a commitment to my professional development through attending workshops and through consultation with other professionals. I am an avid reader in the field of Individual and Family therapy.

In 2003, I retired from my agency position and decided to give more time to private practice. At the same time I decided that I would devote part of my working week to community service. I am an active member of the Board of Directors of the Healthcare Foundation of Vaudreuil-Soulanges, a group that is in the process of establishing a Palliative Care Home in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area. Most recently, I have established a chapter of Grandmothers to Grandmothers in my community. This is an organization of women who work to provide financial support for grandmothers in Africa and public awareness of their plight. These women are raising their grandchildren after the death of their own children through AIDS.

My office is in Beaconsfield on Montreal’s West Island, accessible to Hudson and St. Lazare area. I welcome your call or email to discuss how my services can benefit you and to make an appointment.

I strongly believe that you can make positive changes in your life and that you can grow as a human being in the process. At the same time I realize that it might be hard for you to see how this is possible if you are overwhelmed by your situation or your feelings. During this period of intense emotions and self doubt, I will be there to understand your fears and your despair and at the same time to support you as you begin to see the possibilities for change.

The most important ingredient in a successful therapy is the relationship between the client and the therapist. For therapy to go well, it should be one of honesty, trust, respect and caring. I strive to make this possible by being attentive, empathic and non judgmental. How you are experiencing our relationship is an important part of therapy and I welcome any comments or questions you have about anything that I say or do.

I view therapy as a collaborative process- as an extended conversation in which the topic is you and your life- your feelings, your hopes and your dreams. Your role is to talk about what is important to you in as honest and open way as possible. My role is to listen, to help you see the patterns in what you are experiencing, and to help you find resolutions to difficulties using your strengths to improve your life.

I combine insight based therapy with a more actively supportive style. When I am interested in your earlier experiences, it is to understand how they are colouring your reactions to your current situation. I help you to differentiate between the past when you were a child with little power to self-determine and the present when you are an adult and can take responsibility for your decisions and your life.

In family and couple therapy, I focus more on the relationships between people than on the individuals. Of course the individual’s feelings, perceptions and personality play a role and are acknowledged and valued. As much as possible I take a neutral stance, trying to help people recognize one another’s feelings, points of view and needs. If at times I lean towards supporting one person, this is usually a brief temporary alliance often intended to help a person who is having difficulty voicing their feelings. It will usually shift quickly.

In all of my work, be it with individuals, couples or families, my goal is that you leave therapy with the ability to make positive changes in your life based on what you have gained.

My office is in Beaconsfield on Montreal’s West Island, accessible to Hudson and St. Lazare area. I welcome your call or email to discuss how my services can benefit you and to make an appointment.

Sessions:

Once we have agreed to work together, we will find a mutually convenient time for your weekly appointments. This time is set aside for you alone. You will make the best progress if you attend regularly. However, if you have to miss a session, I need to be informed 24 hours in advance if you do not want to be charged for the session.

Fees:

I charge $110 (GST and QST included) for each session of 50 minutes. If you have insurance, you will need to check with the provider to see if your treatment is covered. I can provide a letter detailing my credentials to help with this process. You can pay by check or by cash after each session. I will give you a receipt for your insurance company or for income tax purposes.

Confidentiality:

In general, the privacy of all communications between a client and a psychotherapist is protected by law, and I can only release information about our work to others with your written permission. There are a few exceptions. I am required to take protective action if either you or a third party is in danger of serious bodily harm or death. I also must report any suspected child abuse.

In most legal proceedings, you have the right to prevent me from providing any information about your treatment. In some proceedings involving child custody and those in which your emotional condition is an important issue, a judge may order my testimony if he/she determines that the issues demand it.

These situations have rarely occurred in my practice. If such a situation should occur, I will make every effort to discuss it fully with you before taking any action.

Ending Therapy:

You are free to end your sessions at any time and I will support your decision. However, I believe that it is important for you to end well. For this reason, I strongly suggest that you tell me as early as possible when you are planning to stop. It is almost always helpful to have one or more sessions to look back on what has happened during our work together, to understand your reasons for leaving and to talk about what gains you have made. If there are unresolved issues we can plan how you will deal with them on your own. If you feel that you have not made the progress that you expected and would like see a different therapist, I will provide you with some referrals.

My office is in Beaconsfield on Montreal’s West Island, accessible to Hudson and St. Lazare area. I welcome your call or email to discuss how my services can benefit you and to make an appointment.

If you have never been in therapy, you may be a bit nervous and wonder what happens in meetings.

In the first session, I will begin by asking you what has brought you to the decision to seek therapy. I will want to know what you would like to change in yourself and how you think that you will recognize that therapy is helping. Hopefully as we talk, I will learn the basics about your life situation and what causes you pain or difficulty. I will ask questions to clarify and fill in any important blanks.I have a form on which I will record factual information during the first session. Other than that I will not be taking notes during your sessions.

During the first two or three sessions, both of us will be evaluating how it feels to be together. You need to decide whether you think that I am a person with whom you can be open and honest as you talk about the personal dilemmas in your life. I need to decide if I am the best person to help you. If either of us feels that we are not a good match, I will refer you to another resource or therapist who could help you.

If we decide to work together then I will let you know how I think our work should proceed. I will give you an initial idea of what areas seem important and be looking for your input into this plan as well. At this point, you will need to commit to regular sessions. It is my practice to review with you both your progress and the state of our relationship from time to time just to make sure that we are on track. Therapy can last anywhere from a few weeks to years depending on your needs and goals.

My office is in Beaconsfield on Montreal’s West Island, accessible to Hudson and St. Lazare area. I welcome your call or email to discuss how my services can benefit you and to make an appointment.

• Do you often feel that you are not good enough? Does anxiety or perfectionism make your life difficult? Are you much more forgiving of your friends than of yourself?
• Are you living with too much stress and anxiety?
• Are you feeling down and hopeless and wondering how you will ever feel better?
• Are you going through a difficult transition in your life (divorce, death in the family, retirement, illness etc)? Are you are feeling overwhelmed?
• Have you recently lost someone or something that is important to you?
• Do you feel that you are not where you had hoped to be at this stage of your life?
• Are you confused or concerned about your sexual orientation?

In individual therapy, I strive to provide a supportive environment where you are “listened to” and heard; one in which it is safe to explore openly and honestly, your most personal, feelings, needs and dilemmas.

We will talk about anything and everything that is important to you in order to clarify your emotions, your thoughts and your needs as well as your strengths and your vulnerabilities. My goal is to help you to make positive changes in your life so that you feel better and find more satisfaction and fulfillment.

How Does Individual Therapy Help?

• Therapy can help you learn to be as generous and kind to yourself as you are to the others around you- to be a true friend to yourself.
• Therapy can help you to understand your sad feelings and surmount them. It can help you develop ways to prevent your mood from dominating your life.
• Crisis is painful but it is also an opportunity for growth and positive changes. Therapy can offer you support during this period and help you take advantage of the transition to achieve a higher level of functioning and fulfillment.
• Therapy can help you to understand and come to terms with difficult experiences from your past.
• Therapy can help you to be more able to meet the challenges that come your way – a benefit that lasts long after our sessions end.

My office is in Beaconsfield on Montreal’s West Island, accessible to Hudson and St. Lazare area. I welcome your call or email to discuss how my services can benefit you and to make an appointment.

Montreal’s West Island

• Has it become more and more difficult to talk with each other without it turning into a major argument?
• Do you feel that you are living “parallel lives” or that you are just “going through the motions”?
• Is there a painful distance between you?
• Is one of you is putting much more into the relationship than the other?
• Has one of you had an affair and you are not sure that you can or even want to get past this as a couple?

The difficulties you are having may be recent or longstanding. You may be married, living together or contemplating either of these. Whether you are a heterosexual couple or a same sex couple, I can help both of you clarify the feelings that are behind the issues that hinder and enhance your life together. I focus on identifying unacknowledged emotional needs that often underlie frequent and repetitive arguments.

I help you explore how each of you experiences the relationship and how that affects the way you interact with one another. Any area of your life that concerns you is appropriate for discussion. Common ones are intimacy, conflicts around money or around division of labour, parenting, relationships with extended families, as well as trust issues and infidelity, both current and past.

How Does Couple Therapy Help?

• It can help you to talk to one another in a way that will increase the likelihood that what you have to say will be “heard”.
• It can help you talk about the most important (and often most difficult) issues without getting bogged down in arguments and dead ends.
• It can help you repair those moments in the relationship when you’ve said or done things that you wish you could take back.
• It can help you understand one another better so that you can feel safer, closer and more loving in your relationship.

My office is in Beaconsfield on Montreal’s West Island, accessible to Hudson and St. Lazare area. I welcome your call or email to discuss how my services can benefit you and to make an appointment.