Rebekka Wallace Roy, MSW RSW
Rebekka is a Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist and Educator specializing in anxiety, workplace stress, relationships, trauma, parenting and mindful practices in Ottawa, Ontario. |
Thank you so much for dropping by and visiting my site!
Sometimes it's nice to get to know your therapist/educator prior to engaging her services, so here I am in a nutshell! Education: I have my Masters in Social Work, and I received my Sexual Therapy Certification from Guelph University in 2007, my EMDR certification in 2009 and my MBSR teacher in training qualification from UCSD in 2019! I have also taken courses in CBT, Narrative therapy, MiCBT, Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) with Dr. Ross Greene, and Mindful/Parenting workshops with Dr. Laura Markham and Kristin Race. Clinical Experience: I have worked with men, women, and children, ages 3-97, working through sexual, emotional, physical, financial, cultural, and psychological trauma, gender transitioning, poverty support, family issues, anxiety, stress, depression, personality disorders, and PTSD. Working with people who have been pushed to the margins certainly informs my practice. Clinical Approach: Mindfulness-Based Interventions are the foundation of my practice. Over the years, I've discovered that if you can learn to breathe, become aware of reactions/automaticity, and become open and curious about living in the moment, amazing work can take place. Without mindful presence, therapy isn't nearly as effective. As such, we generally begin with the breath, learning about the brain and science behind mindfulness and I ask my clients to practice daily moments of mindfulness. I also use many different kinds of therapeutic approaches, such as Narrative therapy (separating the person from the story and helping them use their own skills to rewrite their "narrative"), Strength-Based counselling techniques (supporting each person in finding their inner resources, and helping them tap into their innate knowledge and skills that have moved them through past challenges and traumas), as well as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (helping individuals notice, label, challenge and then change their thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs that, related to their behaviours, cause suffering). I love using EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to work through past traumas and life challenges when appropriate - it's not for everyone and it's not something I dive into lightly with my clients. Another favourite approach is Dr. Ross Greene's Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS ). I use this a lot with parents who have hit the wall with their parenting tools. I find that this evidenced-based approach helps shift the lens to see our kids as "doing the best they can, with the skills they have". When they misbehave, it's because they're communicating that something isn't right or they simply don't have the cognitive, emotional or physical capacity to manage the expectation. As such, our role is to maintain self-regulation and coach our children to develop the skills in collaboration with our child. We shift from punishment to discipline, taking things personally to developing skills and problem-solving. It's parenting gold. Each of these tools helps me to provide resources that are practical, creative, fun and educational. More importantly, I have found them to be very successful in helping people move through their traumas and difficult life situations. Speaking and Teaching I LOVE to teach! I have taught Mindfulness and Mindful Parenting workshops/presentations to children, doctors, nurses, educators, managers and many in between. I am currently teaching Mindfulness@Work workshops both the Federal Government (Environment Canada, Public Safety and Coast Guard) and Private Sector. I have taught Mindful Parenting workshops to large groups (Hopewell Avenue Public School) and small groups (in homes, at my studio and at Old Ottawa South Community Association). I also teach 7-8 week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction courses and Mindfulness@Work programs (Federal Government). Over the last 3 years, I have taught over 1300 individuals about this beautiful and life changing practice of mindfulness! It’s been an incredible ride thus far, and I’m both humbled and excited to see where we go from here! Personally: I recognize how difficult it is to make significant life changes! I'm far from perfect as I'm still on this journey myself. I still find myself feeling overwhelmed by being too busy. I also sustained a concussion a 2.5 years ago and have had to negotiate parenting and working with a mild brain injury (short fuses galore)! However, I have learned over the last few years many incredible skills that have helped me find that sweet spot of "work/life/community balance". After some incredible (some could argue, painful) trial and error, I've decided to work 25 hours a week, I meditate daily, and despite a very busy schedule, try to walk the talk of incorporating mindfulness and intention into my daily practice. For example, when I'm not teaching or working with clients, I like to read, cook, ski, hike, volunteer, do graphic design, bike, play, sew and parent two beautiful children with my fabulous partner. Again, this is not to say I don't still mess up regularly, but I have found that with some mindful life changes, and a commitment to daily meditation and self-care, I "bounce back" a lot quicker. I also have a significant level of awareness that allows me to pause, check in and redirect myself towards compassion (towards myself and others) when I get off track. Interestingly enough, this "off the mat" experience of wandering off track, noticing, and redirecting sums up the practice of meditation (what I call being "on the mat"). That is, we focus on the breath (or body or sounds), our attention wanders, we notice and then gently, firmly and compassionately bring ourselves back to the original focus. If I have learned anything as a psychotherapist and Mindful Parent, it's that being present, grounded and balanced is a practice - something that is to be repeated, worked on and re-learned daily. Truth is, parenting, working, playing and sometimes just existing, is hard. But with the right resources, mindset, and community, these struggles can be overcome. |