Dr. Suretha Swart, Registered Psychologist

My Practice

My practice focuses on individual and family therapy, consultation and psychoeducational assessments.

My clients include school-aged children, youth, post-secondary students, young adults and families. When working with children and youth, I often recommend family members attend some sessions as a way to enhance treatment and outcomes.

What Clients May Be Experiencing:

  • learning challenges at school or post-secondary institutions and/or possible giftedness
  • a need for identification of learning strengths and areas in need of support
  • a need for accommodations for tests/exams at school or post-secondary level
  • attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
  • school anxiety and refusal
  • difficulty adjusting to a particular source of stress, such as a major life change, transition or event
  • challenges of adolescence
  • parenting and/or family concerns
  • grief and loss
  • anxiety
  • depression

My Treatment Approach

I believe that the therapeutic alliance is the most important aspect of therapy. I work collaboratively with clients and from a strengths-based perspective. Together, we look at where you are in your life, and how you could move closer to where you would like it to be. We set mutually agreed upon goals for your progress and update these over the course of treatment. I have been trained in a variety of approaches and evidence-based techniques including: person-centred therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), play therapy and family systems therapy.

Psychoeducational Assessment

I provide psychoeducational assessments of clients referred for cognitive, academic, social-emotional or behavioural concerns. A psychoeducational assessment is a complex process resulting in an extensive report that details a client’s strengths and challenges in various areas (e.g., academic, language, social behaviour, adaptive skills and cognitive abilities), and provides recommendations. Typically, assessments involve the use of interviews, rating scales, standardized tests, informal evaluation, and history taking. A comprehensive assessment typically occurs over two to three sessions and may require approximately five to seven hours of face-to-face time, in addition to consultation with school personnel, scoring, integration, and report writing. A debrief/feedback session is also included, as well as one additional follow-up consultation session with parents and/or the school.