Stress Management Therapy in Toronto Doctoral-Level Psychological Care
Stress management therapy at Laksman Doell Psychology is delivered by doctoral-level registered psychologists, both in person at our office in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto and virtually across Ontario.
What Stress Looks Like
“Stress is information. It is your nervous system telling you that something in your life is asking more of you than you can give.”
You have been telling yourself that you will deal with the stress when this quarter is over, after the launch, when things slow down. The next quarter arrived. The launch ended. Things did not slow down. The pressure shows up in your body now, and the parts of you that used to bounce back have stopped bouncing.
Stress is a physiological and psychological reaction that is triggered when environmental or internal demands clash with our perceived ability to cope. In small doses, stress is functional. It moves us to action. Adaptive stress serves as a short-term catalyst that enhances our cognitive agility, focus, and performance. It helps us to prepare for action and to navigate professional and personal challenges.
On the other hand, maladaptive stress develops when demands chronically outpace psychological resources. When the system never gets to come down, and the pressure becomes the baseline. This prolonged imbalance serves to compromise our emotional regulation and our ability to cope, and this is when chronic stress starts to show up in both the body and the mind. Tight shoulders. Racing thoughts. Disrupted sleep. Irritability. Exhaustion. The slow erosion of the things that used to feel manageable.
Decades of research show that chronic stress contributes to the development of anxiety, depression, and a wide range of medical conditions, and it also makes existing ones worse. The body keeps the score, and at some point the body sends the bill.
You may not be sure what you need, but something brought you here…
- You have been telling yourself that you will deal with the stress later. You have been saying that for a long time, and the version of you that was supposed to handle it is becoming harder to find.
- The pressure shows up in your body now. Tight shoulders. Disturbed sleep. Headaches that you did not used to get. The kind of muscle tension that has become your baseline, even on the days that you remember to breathe.
- You are functional. You are also depleted. You do not want a meditation app. You want skills that you can actually use, with someone who understands what you are carrying and who is not going to tell you to take a bath.
The aspects of stress management that we consider:
At Laksman Doell Psychology, we use evidence-based treatments to target stress management in ways that lead to real and sustainable change. We recognize that effective stress management is not just about responding to the current stressors. It is about understanding the patterns that drive chronic stress, how we respond to the stressors in our lives, the ways that we make sense of them, and the barriers that are preventing us from making change.
Our doctoral-level psychologists work with individuals to help them understand and manage their stress by addressing a number of different goals, including:
Recognizing Stress
Managing the Physiological Response
Because of the impact that stress can have on our body, effective stress management often incorporates skills that are designed to help us to regulate and to address this physiological arousal directly. There is a wide-body of research that supports the importance of doing things to reduce tension and to relax our bodies. This can include things like focused breathing exercises or progressive muscle relaxation, or strategies to help support regular and ongoing physical activity and relaxation.
Changing Our Thinking
It is important to understand that it is not just the things in our life that stress us out, but that it is also the way that we make sense of these things, the things that we say to ourselves about them, and the ways that they change how we see the rest of the world around us. Thus, stress management is often about targeting the ways that we think about stress. It’s about realistic reappraisals of threat, recognition of internal strengths and external resources, and establishing a more balanced focus that allows us to both recognize stress and to respond to it differently.
Changing Our Behaviours
In periods of chronic stress and overwhelm, we sometimes shut down. Sometimes we also engage in behaviours that serve as short-term coping mechanisms, but that tend to exacerbate our stress in the long-term. Our eating behaviours and exercise habits take a dive. Our avoidance, procrastination or substance use starts to climb. Effective stress management approaches also involve understanding and targeting these behaviours.
Addressing the Stressors Directly
Effective and sustainable stress management also involves building the skills that are required in order to enable us to face, and to address, life’s stressors with confidence. Sometimes the work is about developing realistic appraisals of what is going on and prioritizing what it is that we need to do. Sometimes it is about building skills in time management and problem-solving. Often it is about having space to make more intentional decisions about the life changes that we may need to make.
Communicating Our Needs
They say it takes a village… In periods of intense or chronic stress many of us either shut down or turn inwards. We stop seeing friends, we stop communicating with our partners, and we avoid our colleagues, often because we simply can’t handle the idea of any other potential demands. However, it is at these times that we often need more help and connection. Thus, stress management also often focuses on building interpersonal skills aimed at helping us to be more assertive of both our needs and boundaries, and to ask for help when we need it most.
Treatment that starts with understanding you.
At Laksman Doell Psychology, our doctoral-level psychologists utilize evidence-based treatments to help you to understand the patterns underneath chronic stress: the demands that you are carrying, the boundaries that have eroded, the coping that has stopped working, and the assumptions about your own capacity that may not have been examined in a very long time. The work is structured and the goals are concrete.
The work happens in layers, and it always starts with developing a comprehensive understanding of the individual who is sitting across from us. Who you are, how you came to see the world the way that you do, what it is that drives you, and the things that are most important to you. From there, it is often about targeting the immediate stress response and building skills to address the moments of physiological and emotional overwhelm, before moving on to address the underlying cognitive and behavioural patterns that keep the stress response running. We help you to understand what it is that is asking for change, what is workable, what is not, and how to build a sustainable relationship with a demanding life.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is the foundation of much of this work, and it is rooted in the idea that we can either effect change by changing the world around us, or by changing how we interpret and respond to that world (or ideally, both). Where it fits, we also bring in body-based stress reduction skills, such as breathing retraining and progressive muscle relaxation, that work directly with the nervous system in the moments when it needs it most. We also often incorporate Motivational Interviewing (MI) in order to address difficulties with making change, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) when the demands are real and not going away, and the work becomes about how to respond from your values rather than from your sense of depletion.
Stress Management therapy often involves learning to better navigate common, but complex, territories. The demands of a high-stakes career, the load of caregiving, the layered responsibilities of leading a team while running a household, the pressure of building something while parenting young kids, the cumulative weight of years of holding it together for everyone else. These are not character flaws. They are conditions. The work is to respond to them differently, with the kind of skill that holds when the next quarter, the next launch, or the next demand arrives.
Specialist training.
Private practice access.
Every clinician at Laksman Doell Psychology is a doctoral-level psychologist who is registered with, or working toward registration with, the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO). We help individuals to work with the chronic stress that has become the baseline, and to rebuild the capacity to respond to a demanding life from a more grounded place. Several team members also bring particular depth in working with the stress that runs alongside high-pressure professional environments, and the stress that contributes to, exacerbates, and results from the experience of serious and chronic illness. Our team has trained at sites including, but not limited to, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto General, North York General, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and the University of Toronto.
If the stress has become the baseline and you are starting to wonder if it is just who you are now, then this is the time to seek treatment. Sessions are available in person at 27 Prince Arthur Avenue in the Annex neighbourhood of Toronto, or virtually across Ontario via PHIPA-compliant video. All services are available virtually to any Ontario resident. No referral required.
Ready to take the next step?
- No referral required
- Response within one business day
- In-person Toronto · Virtual Ontario-wide
- PHIPA-compliant · Confidential
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does stress management therapy address workplace boundaries and burnout?
Stress management therapy, in and of itself, does not necessarily address burnout and workplace or personal commitments and boundaries. That is why people often find it helpful to work with a clinician who is skilled and experienced enough to understand the full picture. Meaningful and sustainable work involves understanding not only our experience of the stressors, but also the patterns that drive us, including both the ones that we value and the ones we want to let go of.
Are you going to tell me to “just take better care of myself”?
No. We recognize that simple advice tends not to work for complex problems. It is also true that when we are most stressed, even solid advice about healthy lifestyle change just becomes one more thing to add to an already overfilled plate. Real stress management work involves understanding what is already on your plate, the places where you feel most stuck, and the changes that are most important to you, and then building an individualized and evidence-based treatment plan from there.
Life is full of stress. Shouldn’t I be able to cope better by now?
Having difficulty coping with stress is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that you have finally reached your capacity, and for some of us it can take a very long time to get there. Sometimes, those of us with excellent coping skills are actually the ones who come to the need for help much later in life, when finally the cumulative number of stressors, or the complex balancing act that exists between stressors, is what pushes us beyond our limits.
Do I need a referral for stress management in Toronto?
No. You can contact us directly. No referral from a physician or psychiatrist is required.
Is stress management at your practice covered by OHIP?
Private practice services are not covered by OHIP. Coverage may be available through extended health benefits, as many plans cover the services of a registered psychologist. We recommend confirming with your provider before commencing treatment.
Can I be seen virtually?
Yes. All services are available virtually via PHIPA-compliant video for any Ontario resident.
Life is complicated. We give you clarity.
Email us at [email protected] or complete our contact form online.