Petra Eperjesi
Registered Psychotherapist Qualifying
Outside of my work as a therapist, I'm a painter (as in art, not houses), a practice and pleasure I rediscovered after a 20 year hiatus, in the depths of the pandemic. I also love to garden and be beside/in any and all bodies of water. I love reality TV and podcasts about reality TV, and have been known to derail work meetings in order to update colleagues about important reality TV happenings.
Who do I see? Tweens, teens, and adults
What concerns do I work with?
Tweens and Teens: School refusal, anxiety, challenging behaviours, self-esteem, challenging sibling dynamics, social skills and big feelings.
Adults: trauma and complex trauma, anxiety and depression, prenatal and postpartum mental health, pregnancy, fertility challenges, parenting, perinatal grief/loss, transition to parenthood, birth/reproductive trauma, parenting multiples and intercultural parenting.
If you’re interested in working together, you can book a Free Consultation to see if we’re a fit.
My Approach
As a parent to three (including twins), I particularly enjoy supporting individuals navigating the complexities of fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting. My approach is compassionate and individualized, aiming to help clients rediscover their inherent strengths and find self-compassion during challenging times. My own experiences with parenthood inspire my commitment to assisting others on similar journeys.
After more than a decade in education, a difficult and bumpy transition into motherhood, and a period of profound burnout, I decided to become a psychotherapist. I am intuitive, compassionate, and non-judgmental, and I deeply love this work.
I am curious about how people adapted to and survived painful experiences in their lives, and how those survival mechanisms are no longer serving them. I am particularly interested in how parenthood and mid-life reveal our own unhealed childhood pain, and in supporting clients through their fear, anxiety, shame, and anger to peace, self-understanding and compassion, and freedom.
Many of us live predominantly in our heads, stuck in an endless battle between “rational” and “irrational” thoughts, and fighting our feelings. This inner tension intensifies and perpetuates anxiety, depression, anger, and overwhelm. I enjoy helping adults, teens, and tweens to develop increased awareness and understanding of their emotions and accompanying physical sensations, so that they can then see the connection between their thoughts and their feelings, and experience relief, clarity, and increased agency.
I am soft and kind but direct. I will gently challenge you to address what you might prefer to avoid. And I do like to laugh. If that sounds like we might be a good fit, I look forward to meeting with you.