_edited.png)
Registered Psychotherapists (CRPO) · Virtual & phone session across Ontario · Free 15-min consultation · Direct billing for select insurance providers ·
SOUND FAMILIAR?
When your usual ways of coping aren't working
Maybe you've tried the breathing exercises, downloaded the apps, or told yourself not to overthink things. You know there are healthier ways to manage stress and difficult emotions, and you've probably tried putting some of them into practice. But in the moment, when the pressure is on or the feelings hit, you fall back on what's familiar: pushing through, scrolling, shutting down, snapping, or waiting it out until it passes.
Those habits usually make sense. They've helped you get by. But if they're leaving you drained or making things harder, therapy can help you build a set of coping skills that fit your life and that you can actually use when it count.
_edited_edited.jpg)
DETERMINING FIT
Who can benefit from coping skills therapy?
Skills-focused therapy can be a good fit if you:
Want practical, structured sessions and something concrete to try between them
Are dealing with stress, strong emotions or a hard stretch, and want better ways to get through it
Understand your patterns fairly well but struggle to change them in the moment
Prefer to start with tools, and explore the "why" as it becomes useful
You don't need a specific diagnosis or a major life event to benefit from therapy. Many people come in simply wanting to more effective ways to handle what life throws their way.
YOUR TOOLKIT
Building a coping toolkit that works for you
Coping skills aren't one-size-fits-all. What works for one person may not work for another, and different situations may call for different approaches. Together, we'll explore and adapt practical strategies that fit your needs, drawing on evidence-based approaches such as CBT, DBT, and ACT. Some of the areas we may focus on include:
Regulating your nervous system
Grounding, paced breathing and other ways to bring your nervous system down a notch when stress or emotion spikes. As we put it in The Repetition Loop, a calm body leads to a calm mind.
Working with your thoughts
It's not the event itself but how we think about it that shapes how we feel. We practise catching unhelpful thoughts, questioning them and trying out more balanced views. Conquering the Waves explains the thought-emotion cycle behind this.
Getting through intense moments
Distress tolerance skills for times when you can't fix the situation right away but don't want to make it worse, including ways to create a pause before reacting.
Communicating what you need
Structured tools for asking, saying no and navigating conflict, such as DEAR MAN, a DBT framework that blends clarity and assertion with empathy.
Changing automatic habits
Noticing the triggers behind your go-to reactions and using new skills and strategies to practise new responses until they start to feel natural.
PRACTICE MATTERS
Why skills take practice
Coping skills work a lot like physical skills: they're easiest to learn when things are calm and only become reliable with repetition. That's why sessions often end with one small thing to try, and why we check in on what worked and what didn't.
Here's the good news! Our responses aren't set in stone and they can be changed. As we explore in Understanding and Changing Automatic Responses, the brain can strengthen new connections through repeated experiences and practice. Over time, responses that once felt automatic can become more flexible, making it easier to approach difficult situations differently.
Progress doesn't mean getting it right every time. Some strategies will work better than others, and there may be moments when you fall back into familiar habits. That's a normal part of learning, and something we can work through together.
"The first step to change is awareness. You can’t rewrite a script you don’t recognize"
FROM OUR BLOG · Understanding and Changing Automatic Responses.
HOW SESSIONS WORK
Building a toolkit of your own
We start by exploring what you've been navigating, how you typically respond when things get difficult, and what has or hasn't been helpful so far. From there, we'll work together to find strategies that fit your needs, practise them in session, and explore how to use them in everyday situations. Over time, the goal is to build a toolkit of coping skills you feel more confident using independently.
STEP 1
Understand
Explore what you're coping with, recognize your usual responses, and identify the situations or emotions that tend to trigger them.
STEP 2
Practice
Learn and practise new strategies together, then try them out in low-stakes situations between sessions.
STEP 3
Build your toolkit
Keep what helps, adjust what doesn't, and gradually build a set of tools you can turn to when you need them.
YOUR THERAPISTS
Meet the therapists who work with overthinking
Both of our therapists work with this concern. Read a little about each, or book a free consultation and we'll help you choose.
Salena Javdan
REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERSPIST
Salena teaches practical coping and emotional regulation skills drawn from DBT and CBT, tailored to what you're dealing with day to day. Her sessions balance tools you can use right away with an understanding of the patterns behind them.
CBT · DBT · Attachment-informed · Compassion-focused
Lilian Sakr
REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERSPIST
Lilian helps you build coping skills for anxiety, stress, insomnia and difficult emotions using CBT, mindfulness and solution-focused approaches. She focuses on the strengths you already have and on practical strategies you can use between sessions.
CBT · ACT · Mindfulness · Solution-focused
PRACTICAL DETAILS
Getting started with Atria
Virtual across Ontario
Sessions take place online through Jane, our secure booking and video platform, from anywhere you have privacy in Ontario. Phone sessions are also available.
Fees
Individual sessions are $150 for a 50-minute session. Many extended health plans cover psychotherapy with a Registered Psychotherapist; check you plans for details.
Free 15-min consults.
A short, no-pressure call to talk about what's bringing you in, ask questions, and see whether working together feels like a fit.
Not a crisis service
If you're in crisis, call or text 9-8-8, call 911, or go to your nearest emergency department. See our crisis resources.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Virtual Therapy Across Ontario
Providing virtual therapy and counselling services to clients across Ontario, including Toronto, Mississauga, Vaughan, Richmondhill, Markham, Hamilton, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, and surrounding communities.