Ottawa Team

Lori Cohen, M.Ed.


Sometimes life can be challenging; sometimes those challenges can be overwhelming. Entering therapy is a critical step to regaining control and directing your life back onto your chosen path. I provide my clients with a safe and non-judgemental space to examine their lives, and start on the journey back to a healthier, more satisfactory way of living. This is a collaborative effort; my job is not to tell you what to do, but to help guide the discovery of what will work best for you.

I provide counselling and psychotherapy for adults and couples experiencing psychological, emotional, and relationship distress. Common difficulties are anxiety, depression, stress, communication problems, grief and loss, trauma, and existential issues regarding creating meaning in one’s life. These issues can cause impairment at work, school, and in our day-to-day interactions with other people, or make you feel “stuck” and unable to move your life forward in a way that is authentic, healthy, and congruent with your values. I am comfortable working with people of diverse ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds, as well as people in the LGBTQQ2SIA+ community.

In our first session, we will explore your background and history as well as what brings you to therapy at this time. We will use assessment measures and questionnaires to help us better understand your issues and concerns, as well as to help guide the therapeutic process. Together we will set goals for treatment and decide which treatment approaches are best suited to help you attain those goals. I take an integrative approach to therapy, and theoretical modalities include cognitive-behavioural (CBT), dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), acceptance & commitment therapy (ACT), psychodynamic, and existential/humanistic. When working with couples, I focus of issues of emotional connection and communication, and my treatment approach is informed by the research of John Gottman. As therapy progresses, we will check in together to ensure our approach is working and modify if necessary. 

I am a registered psychotherapist (qualifying) in the province of Ontario, and in the process of completing my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. My experience includes assessment and treatment in hospital inpatient as well as outpatient populations, community mental health, and private practice. I have experience with psychodiagnostic assessment, sex and couples therapy, group therapy, and individual therapy for anxiety, depression, and personality disorders, and trauma therapy for members of the RCMP and Canadian Armed Forces. My research examines how parenting affects the selection of a partner in young adults, and the prevalence of intimate partner violence in this population. 

I am a member of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), as well as the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), and the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). I am currently providing services at CFIR under the supervision of Dr. Lila Hakim, C. Psych. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss how I can help.

Treatments

Assessment

Therapies