Rise up center for emotionally focused therapy

Welcome to Rise Up Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy, Coaching and Consulting. I am a Registered Psychotherapist, in Ontario, and the director and founder of Rise Up. My orientation is humanistic, person-centered, and attachment-based, and I integrate elements of Humanistic Neuro-Linguistic Psychology and Mindful Self-Compassion. I am trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy and work with individuals, 6+ years old, couples, and families. I am also a Certified Practitioner of the Art and Science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. My skills are suitable for individuals who have experienced trauma and family conflict. Working from an attachment point of view, I can help you connect with your inner child and help you make sense of your current experiences, your coping skills, and your action tendencies. This can have a positive impact on your relationships and your ability to reach your goals.

I am committed to empowering you to work towards your potential from my belief that every individual is unique and worthy of love and kindness. I believe in creating the balance that results in a smooth wheel of life in the following areas: your health, your career, your finances, your personal development, your romantic relationship, entertainment, family, and social life as well as your physical environment. I would love to start this conversation with you if this feels like the right time for you.

I am committed to providing you with the tools you need to improve your personal and professional relationships and to give yourself the time you deserve. I am honored to support you in creating goals from your values, and I will walk by your side, as you share your model of the world in session, as you, the expert on your life, work through the barriers to achieving your goals and accomplishing much more. 

Emotionally focused therapy is an experiential, present-moment therapy process which involves labeling present-moment emotions and tuning into present-moment bodily felt sensations. Emotionally focused therapy may include an attachment-based assessment which may explore your past relationships and childhood. Coming from a person-centered, humanistic perspective, every individual has a basic inclination to become fully functioning, to develop, and to grow psychologically. Of fundamental value to helping clients achieve that and to the success of therapy as well, is the relationship between the client and therapist. Working from a strong client-therapist alliance, and focusing on the here and now, my primary focus is working with the affective world of the client in supporting the client in moving toward self-actualization. 

I see each client as unique and seek to enter the phenomenological world of the client as a curious and open listener to the meanings within the client’s experiences. It is my honor to walk with you, seeking a view of your landscape in each therapy session, with a position of cultural humility, as I become a permanent student in realizing each client’s lived experience, in context. 

In Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT), I aim to build an alliance with both you and your partner and to keep your relationship and your safety at the forefront of my priorities in the therapy process. My goal, with your consent, and in working from an emotionally focused therapy orientation, is for you and your partner to learn a novel dance and work together to break the negative cycle of arguments, as you also begin to learn about and share your deepest fears and needs, in a corrective emotional experience. I will make every effort to support you and your partner to begin to share these fears and needs with each other. The hope is for you to begin to dance to new music in your communication and solving problems, together, becomes more manageable.

My skills are suited to provide support to your marriage if you are experiencing a crisis. This can look like a disconnect between you and your partner that extends over days or even months. This can involve supporting one of you to trust the other again, after infidelity or another stressful life event, including family conflict which may also involve your families of origin (in laws). This can also include challenges with re-marriage, impacting your relationship with your new partner and your children from your previous relationship. And it could include other challenges in relation to a change in your career or financial situation. I can also support your relationship in pre-marital counseling. 

I am a mother to three children (my oldest is already an adult) and I know how much support children need from us, parents, when we move due to a change of job or a change in the family's financial situation, when they start high school, move away for university or when a loved one passes. I enjoy the outdoors, gardening, and nurturing my roses and my indoor Jasmine plants. I have one Jasmine plant, at the entrance of my clinic, and it smells wonderful when it blooms. This is my hope of a first mindfulness experience for my clients, involving the sense of smell. 

I started building my knowledge base in psychology from when I was studying at McGill University in the late nineties when I began to study psychology as an elective, in the program of Bachelor of Science in Engineering. I later wanted to study the psychology of the human being from the moment of birth, something which prompted me to study Child Psychology. As I expanded my knowledge in psychology, I began to study the Psychology of Work and facilitate pieces of training in the workplace. I documented my experience in the book "Coach Inspire Empower. Change your focus; change your life,” which was published in 2011. 

I believe that much of what can be learned about the psychology of the human mind is found in the early years in which the human is an unconscious mind that efficiently creates core beliefs, as a result of experiences with parents and guardians. This has been solidified for me through the study and practice of Neuro-Linguistic Programming. My multicultural approach to therapy, allows me to view culture as diverse and migrating. I believe that irrespective of one’s ethnicity, one’s interactions with other cultures, be it in the form of travel or otherwise learned, cause the individual's culture to evolve and expand, in a beautiful way. I am avid for learning about my clients’ culture, from a respectful and admiring stance. I have traveled thoroughly over the years, something which I believe informs my therapy skills. I have made long-lasting friendships with individuals of various cultural and ethnic backgrounds; a priceless gift which life has gifted me. 

I am told that I am very warm and compassionate. I remember the excitement of writing the weekly motivational column in my high school’s weekly newsletter and the passion of leaving messages of life wisdom on the green board, (yes, it was green back then) when I was in middle school. The feeling of the chalk with which I wrote these messages (in cursive), gives me a feeling of genuine magic, even today. In my younger years, in elementary school, friends confided in me, when they were bullied or did not feel welcome after a move from another school.

I am honored that our roads have crossed and am happy to offer you a free consult to help you decide if I am a good fit for you, in your healing journey, and help answer any questions you may have about therapy. I collaborate with you to help you work towards your potential from my belief that every individual is unique and worthy of love and kindness. Talk soon.   

Reem Abdul Rahim, Registered Psychotherapist, RP

Director, Rise Up Center for Emotionally Focused Therapy, Coaching and Consulting

MA Counseling Psychology, Yorkville University

Registered Professional Trainer

Member of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)

Member of the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT)

Member of the Canadian Professional Trainer's Association, CPTA

Certified Coach in Neuro-Linguistic Personal Coaching (NLPC)

The International Institute for Neuro-Linguistic Personal Coaching (IINLPC)

Certified Practitioner of the Art and Science of Humanistic Neuro-Linguistic Psychology 

The International Network for Humanistic Neuro-Linguistic Psychology

Certified Practitioner of the Art and Science of Time-Based Techniques 

The International Network for Humanistic Neuro-Linguistic Psychology

Certified Practitioner of the Art and Science of Neuro-Linguistic Programming

Life Potential Developments,The International Institute of Neuro-Linguistic Personal Coaching

Author of  “Coach Inspire Empower. Change your focus; change your life” 

Child Psychology Diploma, Stratford Career Institute