Leanne Cuddington- Associate Therapist
M.A. Somatic Counselling Psychology
Registered Clinical Counsellor
(BC Association of Clinical Counsellors)
Bio | Treatment
Philosophy | Education
Biography
Leanne has been passionately committed to improving the quality of life for herself and others for over 15 years. She has a Masters Degree in Somatic Counselling Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. Leanne’s double Masters degree focused on Body Psychotherapy and Dance Movement Therapy.
She is a Registered Clinical Counsellor with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors. She uses an integrated therapy approach that draws on her expertise in Emotion Focused Therapy, Trauma Recovery, EMDR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Couple and Family therapy, Body-Centered Psychotherapy, Dance-Movement therapy, Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy, and Expressive Arts Therapy. Leanne works in private practice in Vancouver and currently runs a Dance Movement group for women on the North Shore.
Leanne is a long time resident of Vancouver where she has raised her two daughters. Besides walking her golden retriever she enjoys hiking in nature, yoga, dance, swimming and being with friends. Inspired by the rich intellectual and experiential traditions of East and West, Leanne also cultivates the experience of awareness, insight, and compassion for oneself and others, through the practice of meditation and other contemplative disciplines.
Treatment Philosophy
My philosophy is founded in a developmental model rooted in deep understanding of the dynamic and complex interplay among our biological nature, early developmental experiences, and current life situations. I see the importance of how early experiences can shape perception and reality, and yet at the same time I strongly believe in the power of each individual, couple, or family has to make new choices and to create new options in life.
I am passionate about unlocking the joy and vitality that is our natural state of being. In today’s busy world most of us are familiar with our cognitive mind but have less experience with our body and how it affects how we think, feel and relate. I work with the body and the mind to help release emotions that are difficult to express. Physical ailments are often connected to buried emotions and will shift as the emotions shift. Additionally, because I specialize in the treatment of trauma (and its many subsequent negative impacts, such as addictions, compulsions, depression, anxiety, self-harming behaviors, and relational problems) specific techniques are called for which access how the trauma or pain gets rooted in the body. This is a very different approach from those traditionally used to work with limiting belief systems and emotional processing. Trauma profoundly affects the body. By using bodily experience as a primary entry point in trauma therapy, rather than the events or the “story,” I attend first to how the body is processing information, and its interface with emotions and cognitive meaning-making.
Reclaiming the body as an important source of information is not only important for the resolution of trauma, it is crucial to our existence if we want to live as vital human beings. Through compassionate acceptance of what we've experienced and where we are in this moment, we can profoundly change our future.
As an advocate for lifelong learning, I am curious about our capacity to explore inner resources that arise from authentic insight and self-understanding. Using a variety of therapy modalities that help you sink below your conscious mind we will create new experiences and opportunities that are critical aspects to healing and growth. I blend cognitive and emotional approaches, verbal dialogue, with body awareness and somatic interventions.
I place the client at the center of therapy, seeing the client as capable of their own healing. I do not presume to know the answers. Rather, my task is to understand and recognize the body’s inherent wisdom and to help facilitate your healing process. The answers actually lie within you. I act as a facilitator to your healing.
My goal is to assist in establishing and maintaining hope in yourself, your community and in the world. Through improved interpersonal dynamics that enhance intimacy and contact with others, you can discover fulfilling ways to love and support yourself and others.
"Anyone can become angry — that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way, this is not easy."
— Aristotle, The Nicomachean Ethics
Education, Training & Professional Registrations
- Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Major in Psychology, University of British Columbia
- Master of Arts (M.A.) in Somatic Counselling Psychology, Naropa University, Boulder Colorado
- Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC) with the B.C. Association of Clinical Counsellors
- Registered Dance/Movement Therapist (DTR)
- Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Certificate
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Trauma Training
- EMDR
|
|
|
