Hi I’m Roma Beckles

I Am Passionate about Working With Individuals Couples and Groups In Search of their authentic selves

A SAFE SPACE TO HEAL AND GET REAL

·The most profound changes in therapy happen in the context of the collaborative bond established between client and therapist. My strength as a therapist lies in my ability to establish REAL connections with clients from a wide spectrum of backgrounds and life experiences

I create an environment where clients are given the safety and freedom to release the raw, real and unfiltered. Together we will explore the impact of your early life experiences, how they have shaped your beliefs and influenced your choices, emotions and actions.

Through the safety and strength of the therapeutic relationship you will develop a level of awareness that encourages self-reflection, nurtures self compassion and creates pathways to change.

Together we will work to identify recurring themes and patterns in your life and uncover their hidden meaning. By reconnecting with these unexamined areas, your patterns, beliefs and behaviours will start to make sense as your defenses of denial, anger, shame and guilt slowly recede.

From this point, we will work to restructure any undermining beliefs and bring that in alignment with your updated understanding. Beyond therapy your work of change will continue with tailor made tasks for you to practice at home and incorporate into your daily life. You will become more attuned to identifying and responding to future setbacks and determining when any future professional help might be warranted,

My Therapeutic Style

Forming genuine connections with clients is the essence of who I am as a therapist. My therapeutic style therefore can best be described as REAL which means my work is guided by principles that are:

Respectful, Empowering, Authentic Life-applicable

Clients who work with me feel supported, affirmed and understood.

Education & Background

My path to becoming a therapist has been enriched by a combination of academic, professional and personal experiences.

I started my Bachelor of Art degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at The University of Toronto with lots of passion but no clear career path. That began to shift however when I was hired to coordinate one of Toronto biggest anti-violence women’s march and rally Take Back the Night. The job was the perfect outlet for my youthful energy and sparked my professional interest in working with survivors of domestic abuse, sexual assault and other related trauma.

Over the next few years, my work within the anti-violence sector continued and enabled me to work more directly with women who had experienced interpersonal violence, abuse and trauma. I gained valuable experience in a broad range of areas including: counselling, crisis intervention, advocacy, group facilitation, event organizing, research, grant writing, program development, teaching and training.

After completing my Bachelor of Arts degree program, I went on to earn a Masters of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Toronto in 2002. Since then I have done extensive post-graduate training and professional development with a sustained clinical focus on trauma.

Over the course of the past 16 years I have worked as a therapist in a broad range of clinical settings including outpatient hospitals programs, community health centres, sexual assault care centres and family health teams across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Some of my professional roles have included:

• Professor, Addictions and Mental Health Program, Durham College

• Clinical Social Worker, Scarborough Academic Family Health Team

• Trauma Therapist, Transitional Housing Program, Sojourn House

• Mental Health Clinician, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Women’s Program

• Outpatient Therapist, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault Care Centre, Scarborough Grace Hospital

• Group Facilitator (Partner Abuse Response) Family Services of Peel

• Trauma Therapist, Peel Rape Crisis Centre, Toronto Rape Crisis Centre,

This breadth and depth of experiences has built a strong foundation for my current work as a private practice therapist, clinical supervisor, trainer and consultant at Counselling Associates

My Clinical Approach

In our work together, I will emphasize the value of your resilience and innate strengths. My work with you will integrate various therapeutic approaches I draw from a range of evidence based approaches in order to best meet your expressed needs and goals. I draw from the following approaches :

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy and Narrative Therapy. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy, Mindfulness, Internal Family Systems, Emotion Focused Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy and Psycho-dynamic Therapy.

Therapy With Roma Might Be A Good Fit If You:

• Find it difficult to ask for help or allow yourself to receive help from others. You pride yourself on being a support to others but secretly feel alone and wish you had someone you could go to

• Feel unworthy of being loved so you settle with being needed. You have a history of failed relationships with partners who never reach their potential

• Have a hard time saying no or communicating your needs and desires. You are a people-pleaser and seek the approval of others to feel valued.

• Struggle to set limits, develop boundaries, or act assertively. Fear, obligation and guilt are keeping your stuck.

• Suspect that you are in the midst of a midlife crisis and feel an urgent need for change. You have regrets about the past and uncertainty about the future.

• Struggle to gain freedom from the grips of anxiety and depression. You sometimes feel powerless and wonder if life is worth living

• Experienced a death, transition or major loss that has plunged you into the depths of grief. A life beyond the loss does not seem possible

• Survived an experience of sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse and have a hard time with intimacy and trust. Although it was not your fault you still struggle with self-blame.

• Want desperately to gain a clear sense of identity that will allow you to speak your truth with honesty and conviction. Fear of rejection and disapproval have left you feeling silenced.

• Find yourself in a familiar pattern of feeling powerless to change your partner no matter how hard you try. The harder you try the more your partner seems to resist.

• Hold an overall desire for positive change but not know how to achieve it

If you recognize or relate to any of these scenarios you are are in the right place. These examples do not represent the totality of the people I work with but provides a snapshot of common themes. Whether on a quest to repair relationships, manage transition or facilitate growth, therapy can help you change the things about your life that are working in order to move toward the future.

I have had the privilege of witnessing clients grow and change in the most positive and rewarding ways - Roma

Ready To Get Started With Roma?

If you are ready to take the next step towards healing, I offer a free 15 minute consultation so you can ask questions and get a sense of what our work together would look like. This will give me a chance to learn more about you and how I can best be of support.

Simply click below to choose a convenient time to talk.

Or, you can email me at: roma@counsellingassociationsoftoronto.com or text/call at (416) 418-3451