MFT Solutions

Who I am

Hi. My name is Carl. I'm a psychotherapist.

I am licensed by the Province of Ontario to perform the controlled act of psychotherapy. You can read more about this here.

I specialize as a marriage and family therapist and a hypnotherapist.

I like to help people, and marriage and family therapy is helpful for a variety of problems.

Hypnotherapy helps by calming you down, helping you focus, and helping you find internal resources.

The world is a scary place. Most people are dealing with it by distracting themselves. Here are the top Google searches in Canada:

• steam machine (new game system)
• Pierre Poilievre resignation (political distraction)
• oilers vs flyers (sports distraction)
• akon (entertainment distraction)
• epstein files (political distraction)
• red cup day Starbucks (coffee!)
• Starbucks red cup day Canada 2025 (coffee!)
• Canadian travel advisory (is it safe to go the the United States yet?)
• marie gluesenkamp perez (no, it’s not)
• sour puss (alcohol)

Most people are searching for distractions. A few sensible people are looking for a good cup of coffee.

Two things are killing us right now.

One of these is too much distraction. Focus is important for us to be able to solve the problems that threaten to harm us and others. This can be painful, and distraction gives us relief from facing difficult problems. But too much distraction is not conducive to solving problems.

If we come from apes, we did not come from the happy ones. They died. We came from the worried apes. They survived. They survived by worrying about what might happen and by making plans to prepare for the worst.

The other thing is a false belief that we can live independently of other people. We can’t. We’re mammals. Mammals survive in herds. Independence is not a good survival strategy for a mammal.

Relationships are important.

Marriage and family therapy is a style of helping that focuses on relationships. Even when I'm seeing you alone, I'm thinking about how you relate to the people you say you are having trouble with, and looking for a way to help you with that.

In order to benefit from marriage and family therapy,
 You do not have to be married.
  You do not have to be in a relationship.
   You could come alone.
  You could be in a relationship.
 You could be married.
You can bring anyone you like with you to my office.

Hypnotherapy is based on focus. By focusing on one thing - your breathing, perhaps - you stop being distracted by steam machines and travel advisories. You unplug. You tune into yourself. Maybe you find something useful.

You will not cluck like a chicken.

And full disclosure: it's not something I do to you. It's something you do, naturally, yourself. Many times a day. Enter into trance.

I just facilitate it.

You will probably remember everything I say to you. No shiny watches. No "You are getting sleepy..." You might fall asleep...

What I do is fairly boring, and useful. I will help you to focus on the goal you are trying to achieve so that you can draw on your own inner resources (as well as mine) to achieve your goals.

I will be curious about how your relationships affect you and the thing that is troubling you. Also I will be curious about what you are doing right, and how we can help you do more of that.

You can come alone. You can bring your partner, child, parent, or friend.

I am an old white guy. I have been practicing since 1986 when I was a student chaplain at the Homewood Psychiatric Hospital. Nearly forty years. Time does fly.

Speaking of flying, I used to be a commercial pilot. Of very small planes.

I had a brief career as a medical researcher. Then I became a Baptist minister (the church drove me crazy so I learned to fly). Finally, a marriage and family therapist. Formal hypnotherapy training in the last seven years. Now I'm studying the "third wave" of CBT called ACT: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

I have spent more years in university than I did in high school. I'm a slow learner.

I have a sense of humour. Humour is a creative force for healing, and far more serious than seriousness. I won't laugh at you. But I will invite you to play.

"We meet awkwardly
I invite you to walk
I find you dancing."¹

Such is my hope for you.

What I can help with

Systemic hypnotherapy can by helpful for a number of troublesome conditions: anxiety, depression, addiction, and relationship problems. I have experience helping people with mental health disorders such as borderline personality, bipolar disorder, and psychotic disorders. These latter conditions usually also require that you seek medical treatment. I can offer additional support.

I can also help with anger management, and emotional regulation.

I can offer some help with pain management. I'm not a doctor; I do not prescribe drugs. I do offer psychotherapy for chronic pain, including hypnotherapy.

I also offer clinical supervision for therapists. I am an Approved Supervisor with AAMFT, and I meet CRPO's requirements for offering clinical supervision.

What it Costs

You can have an initial consultation for free.

Currently I charge $120 for a 50-minute psychotherapy session. There is no tax.

Clinical supervision costs less (therapists are starving).