Diamond Dunfield, Registered Psychologist
Populations: Adults
Areas of Focus: Sexual Violence, Infidelity, Anger Management, Anxiety, Depression, Domestic Abuse, Emotional Regulation, First Responders, Grief and Loss, Life Transitions, Men's Mental Health, Pet loss and Bereavement, Trauma/PTSD, Relationships, Self Compassion, Self Harm, Sleep/Insomnia, Stress and Burnout, Suicidal ideation, Work/Life Balance 2SLGBTQIA+ Concerns
Therapeutic Models: Attachment- Based Therapy Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Hakomi (informed), Mindful/Positive Psychology, Solution Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Strength Based Therapy, Somatic Therapy and Internal Family Systems (informed)
Location: St. Albert and Virtual
Availability: Thursday evening, Monday and Friday afternoons in St. Albert
I am honored when others share their most vulnerable moments and experiences with me and treat these disclosures with the respect and dignity they deserve. In working with me, you will be met with acceptance, warmth, and kindness. My goal is to create a welcoming and safe space for you where you can feel seen, heard, and deeply understood. I truly believe that many of the struggles we face involve multifaceted layers of loss that often go unrecognized. I seek to gently guide my clients to process these losses and to develop a safer space within their minds to exist, without the intrusion of self-critical and shame-based beliefs. It may be that the ways in which your mind and body are fueling efforts to protect you, may no longer be serving you in some ways. Together, we can explore how this may be occurring for you and discuss meaningful ways of creating a noticeable shift within. As a somatic, compassion-focused therapist, I have experience in supporting a variety of mental health concerns and I am well-versed in the treatment of trauma in areas such as sexual violence, domestic violence, grief and loss, and childhood trauma. I have gained this experience through various organizations such as The Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton and the Zebra Child & Youth Advocacy Centre--supporting those in my community through disclosures of abuse and navigating the judicial system. I tailor my treatment plans to the unique presenting concerns of my clients, integrating somatic modalities such as Hakomi and EMDR, Compassion-Focused Therapy, Mindfulness, Internal Family Systems, and Attachment-based therapy. I work foundationally from a social justice, anti-oppressive, and intersectional lens and welcome those of all faiths, communities, and cultural backgrounds.
Growth and healing are not linear. I will smile with you through the highs, and through the lows, I will create space for you to sit in the darkness, but you will never be there alone. I will fight for a light for both of us, until we find that for you within. From a strengths-based approach, this means I will shine this light on your resilience, determination, and grit at every turn along the way. From a trauma-informed approach, this means that I understand that praise may feel uncomfortable for you, so this will be tapered accordingly. I will work to enhance your agency and autonomy and my hope is that through our work together, you will feel you have a choice in how you move past your pain and your struggles--whatever they may be. I can appreciate the vulnerability it takes to seek support. You can expect me to meet you with a gentle sense of warmth and ease-infusing moments of lightness and laughter when appropriate. I know that it may take some time to build a degree of trust with me, but please know that I feel this is well worth the wait. I look forward to meeting you.
“Growth is non-linear. It happens over time and is often a dance of movements forward and backward and to the side. But there's a moment in growth where you have the opportunity to do the thing differently than you've ever done it before. That moment almost always asks you to tolerate your discomfort in order to follow through." Vienna Pharaon