About Anuja

What brought me to this work
My path to this profession began decades ago when I first became a parent. As I felt the gravity of my new responsibility, I came to realize that if I didn’t do something radically different my children would inherit my limitations and, in fact, those of my fore-parents. Parenting aspirations soon lead to personal therapy and many years of self-study. Slowly I witnessed myself living more boldly, less apologetically. I began to take my place in the world; allow myself to experience a fuller range of human emotion that was free of judgement, shame and fear of loss. What began as a wish to end the legacy of inherited family trauma lead me to become a psychodynamic therapist and a passionate advocate for personal freedom.

My training and areas of interest
I am a relationally-oriented integrative therapist. What that really means is that I work with integrating different therapeutic styles in which I am trained, depending on the clients and their contexts. At the core of the work I do, my foundation lies in offering my clients warmth, curiosity, and unconditional positive regard. My deepest intention is to support my clients to connect them with their inner wisdom and guidance, and to build trust within their authentic and unique gifts. As an integrative psychotherapist, I draw on a variety of interdisciplinary, clinical and theoretical lenses within a relational, psychodynamic framework. This means that at the centre of everything we do together is an acknowledgement of the unconscious, its necessary & adaptive defences and that most psychological wounding is relationally based. This allows us to attend to both the present struggle as it shows up in your current day-to-day life and the unconscious patterns that brought you here. I completed my psychodynamic training (with a combined analytic and somatic style) from Toronto’s eminent Centre for Training in Psychotherapy—a rigorous 6-year program. Prior to that, I completed training in Hypnotherapy to the Master level at OHC and basic training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy at CAMH. My trauma-informed training includes EMDR certification, IFS-informed parts work and Somatic Experiencing-oriented body-focus. I have a special interest in developmental (complex), immigration and intergenerational trauma. I practice with a focus on the relational and embodied components of the human experience.

How I work
I employ a somatic, trauma-informed approach to the unconscious roots of emotional suffering, using attachment-theory as my guide.   

Sometimes I will pause you mid-sentence and narrate what I am seeing as you tell me a story; this may help you become more familiar with ways that your unconscious mind communicates while your conscious mind is otherwise preoccupied.   

Sometimes I will ask you to hold your thought and use it as an access point to “drop into” your body; this may help facilitate mind-body co-communication so that parts of you that have been storing trauma have a chance to unburden themselves.  

Sometimes I will address something you said earlier in the conversation; this may help reveal an inner conflict that contributes to your sense of unease or powerlessness.   

Slowing things down in these and other ways allows you to witness, for yourself, the impact of your life experiences in a safe and healing manner. As we work together we will privilege the person telling the story over the story itself in an attempt to restore the life-agency that is, indeed, every person’s birthright.

Whether you are dealing with trauma or looking to enhance self-development, we will respect your window of tolerance while we work compassionately together to expand it.

I work online with adult patients (18+) within the province of Ontario, using a secure PHIPA-compliant video conferencing platform designed specifically for healthcare and mental health practice.

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