Psychotherapy with Robin McAfee

I work with a broad range of experiences—including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, family issues, trauma, stress, loneliness, addictive behaviours, anger, feeling stuck, sexuality, perfectionism and feeling stuck. You also don’t need to have a clear “problem” to start and you don’t need to be in crisis to deserve therapy.

Integrative therapy brings together ideas from different therapeutic traditions. It’s flexible and tailored to you—not a one-size-fits-all approach. It offers both practical tools for the short term and space to explore deeper issues for lasting change.

While certain models can suit particular challenges, a large—and growing—body of evidence suggests the strongest predictor of positive outcomes is the quality of the therapist–client relationship, often called the “therapist effect” (Barkham et al., 2018; Orlinsky, Rønnestad, & Willutzki, 2004). Differences between established psychotherapy models generally do not significantly change outcomes (Seligman, 1995; Tasca et al., 2018). So the priority is finding someone you feel you can work with openly and collaboratively.

An initial consultation is the best way to test that fit: we’ll talk about what’s bringing you, what you’re hoping for, and whether my integrative approach aligns with your needs. If I’m not the right person to help, I’ll suggest other options and next steps.

Decades of research show strong, lasting benefits: the first major meta-analysis reviewing nearly 400 studies found that people who received psychotherapy did far better than those who did not (Smith & Glass, 1977), and hundreds of subsequent meta-analyses have consistently confirmed its clear clinical advantages (Wampold & Imel, 2015). Studies also indicate that psychotherapy effectively addresses most mental health concerns and is at least as effective as medication (Hollon et al., 2006; Cuipers et al., 2013), with effects that tend to be more enduring and less prone to relapse once treatment ends (Hollon et al., 2016; Nordal, 2010).