Dr. Tamara Biederman
I hope that as you read through the website, you will gain some sense of who I am and what I do. I am a clinical psychologist registered with the College of Psychologists of Ontario. I received my Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Western Ontario in 2001. After graduating, I spent some time working at London Health Sciences Centre in the departments of behavioural medicine, cardiac rehabilitation, and women's health. A good deal of my training and experience lies within the field of behavioural medicine. Basically that means that I work to help people adjust to physical illness and the changes that it brings to their lives. I have been working almost exclusively in private practice for the past 20 years while consulting with programs such as the workplace trauma program.
I work from a cognitive behavioural perspective which, as I practice, has a few main components. One is a focus on the here and now. I am interested in what is going on today and if there is something that I can teach you that will help you cope differently, respond differently, or communicate differently that could make tomorrow a better day. The focus is on the present, not the past, unless there is something from your past that is bothering you today.
Another component is that, when we have completed an assessment and agree on what piece of work we will do together, there is an expectation that you will do some homework. For example, I may give you a relaxation strategy to try. You would go into your own life and try it on- come back and tell me what works what doesn't work; keep using the ones that work, stop using the ones that don't. Therapy is a process of accumulating the skills that work for you. It is a cooperative process and requires that we share ideas and feedback to ensure that we are on the right track for you. The problems that people present with are as variable as the people themselves. Despite this, there are some common themes that bring people into treatment. For a list of the kinds of issues that I help clients with, please see the services section of this website. Over the years I have welcomed several qualified associates into my practice. I have made efforts to choose associates that share my perspective with respect to clinical practice but also have clinical skills that are unique to them. Please read up on my associates to determine whether one may be the right fit for you.