Barbara Levine

À propos

Barbara Levine graduated from the McGill Counseling Psychology program in 1998 and joined the Order of Psychologists in 2007.

She has worked both within the public school system and in private practice.  Much of her experience has been counseling and evaluating adults and adolescents suffering from trauma, abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), depression, ADHD/ADD, low self-esteem, issues of sexuality, living in a dysfunctional family and other life issues.  In addition to working with individuals, she has co-facilitated groups dealing with drug/alcohol addiction and grief. She has also developed and facilitated self-esteem and social skills groups for adolescents.

For the past five years, she has also been evaluating and working with special needs populations; in particular, adolescents and young adults with Intellectual Disabilities, Autism, PDD and Down’s syndrome.  She has also worked extensively with people with learning disabilities.

Career counseling is another significant part of her practice wherein she has worked with both adults and adolescents with and without learning disabilities.  Particularly, she has experience in guiding people with limited formal education towards careers that do not require a long-term academic commitment.

Her Approach:
Coming from a Counseling Psychology background, her approach can be described as strength-based and client-centered.  Her approach integrates elements of Cognitive Behavioural and Psychodynamic therapy, as well as Personal Construct Psychology.   Her belief is that the client approaches therapy in a fragile, vulnerable, and often damaged state and accordingly, it is essential that the client feel supported and dignified at all times.  The therapist must help the client to identify obstacles, work through impeding emotions, and arm them with new strategies.  The effort should be collaborative and not didactic. The client has a story to tell, “a personal narrative”, which is borne of his/her particular history and life experience.  Clients who have had complicated lives, will often have trouble envisioning positive outcomes to their life story, which in turn can impede and prevent growth and self- fulfillment. The job of the therapist is to empower the client so that he or she can find new ways of being in the world, one that benefits them and those around them.  The future should be one of possibility.

She sees clients at the Montreal ADHD Clinic Monday (from 8:00-5:00) and Wednesday evening, either for ADHD assessments or counseling. She is also affiliated with IVAC.