KIRSTEN MEYER
PSYCHOTHERAPIST
ABOUT
Welcome – if there is anything you would like to know about my practice that you cannot find on this site, feel free to contact me. I am a Registered Clinical Counselor with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors and a registered Clinical Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa.
What kind of therapy I provide
I am comfortable working in a purely psychodynamic or cognitive behavioural mode (CBT) of therapy. I am also fully trained in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and have significant experience working with Mindfulness meditation. I am aware that it more common in today’s context for clients to require time-limited interventions, in these cases I typically draw on my training in various modes to deliver an overall eclectic form of therapy tailored to the client’s needs.
My special interests include: trauma processing, couples therapy, sex therapy, gender, sexuality, & mind-body connection.
Qualifications & training
I did my undergraduate training at the University of Cape Town, and completed my Masters degree in Clinical Psychology at Stellenbosch University (cum laude). My training was focused predominantly on psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural therapeutic (CBT) forms of psychotherapy, but I was exposed to many other forms too. I completed post-graduate training in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and am a fully qualified practitioner. I also have significant post-graduate experience working with Mindfulness meditation in both group and individual settings.
During my masters training I worked at the Welgevallen Clinic where I provided individual and group psychotherapy to a broad range of people in terms of age, race, and socioeconomic status. I went on to complete my internship at Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital and Groote Schuur Hospital (both in Cape Town), where I worked with adolescents and adults presenting with a vast array of challenges including anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, bipolar disorders (mania and depression), eating disorders (including anorexia and bulimia), somatic disorders (including chronic pain, conversion disorder and fibromyalgia), sleep disorders, psychotic disorders (including schizophrenia), dissociative disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, trauma-related disorders (including posttraumatic stress), personality disorders, intellectual disabilities, substance related disorders (alcohol and drug addiction) and disturbances of identity. In addition to these disorders, I had the opportunity to do medium-term therapy with clients who did not have psychiatric disorders, but were motivated to increase their self-knowledge and improve their relationships and lives. I also performed neurological assessments with adults presenting with various neurocognitive disorders.
I completed my community service with the South African National Department of Correctional Services in Paarl in the Western Cape. There I worked with male and female offenders presenting with many of the disorders listed above using individual and group interventions. In addition, I worked with clients presenting with highly complex trauma histories as well as sexual dysfunctions and paraphilic disorders (including paedophlia). I also developed a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workshop which I delivered to over 250 offenders.
Associations and affiliations
BC Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC)
Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)
Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF)
Cape Town Psychoanalytic Self-Psychology Group
