Clare Wowryk Franklin, MA. DCP Can. 

Senior Counsellor/Psychotherapist

Director of Continuing Education and Resource Development

As someone who is naturally empathetic and genuinely passionate about my work, I bring authenticity, honesty, curiosity and compassion to each therapeutic relationship. Using a collaborative approach to treatment, I endeavour to meet the unique needs of each individual client or couple. I believe in providing a validating space for my clients to feel safe in when choosing to be vulnerable and engage in self-exploration. I felt called to do my Masters of Counselling and Psychotherapy after experiencing the benefits that therapy had on my own life. 

 

I take a particular interest in working with personality disorders,

mood disorders, narcissism and narcissistic abuse. I work with individuals and couples affected by narcissism, focusing on helping each person understand their patterns, take responsibility for their behaviours, and improve communication and connection. While change in deeply ingrained traits can be challenging, I support clients in making meaningful, practical shifts that strengthen self-awareness, boundaries, and relationship health.

 

I work from a Contructivist perspective, which involves collaboratively exploring and reconstructing meaning with clients, emphasizing their lived experiences and personal realities. I also use CBT to help clients uncover how their internalized beliefs and created meanings are acting as a barrier to achieving their ideal self, and memory reconsolidation techniques to help the brain update old emotional experiences so that painful or unhelpful feelings no longer control how we think and act.

 

As the Director of Continuing Education and Resource Development for Riverbend Counselling, I take considerable interest in enhancing our quality of service and competency, and pursuing continued learning. In addition to my new role as Director of CE, I am a Doctoral student at the University of Yorkville. My research is in treatments for borderline personality disorder that go beyond symptom management to achieve and sustain longterm recovery and remission from the disorder.