Lindsay – Shift Psychological
What do you make / sell? Tell us about yo’ self.
I am a psychologist working at Shift Psychological, a psychology practice that is focused on reducing stigma and providing the type of therapy that we would want to receive ourselves. Shift was founded by Andrea McTague in Edmonton and she created the Shift therapy protocol that we follow at both Shift locations. The protocol focuses on providing our clients with widespread and lasting change that gets at the root cause of whatever is stopping them from living their most awesome life!
How long have you had your business?
Shift Psychological has been open in Calgary for just under one year.
How did you get started?
Andrea started Shift after reflecting on her dissatisfaction with her own therapy experience. Like most therapy seekers, she looked through the directory of therapists in Edmonton, each profile providing essentially the same information as the last, and then spent many sessions wondering what the game plan was and why she just spent her last hour and $150 on that?! So she created the Shift protocol, a combination of two types of therapy with lots of research supporting their effectiveness (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and EMDR) and sought out to create a therapy practice where people would actually enjoy spending their time. The focus is to reduce the stigma, stuffiness, and mystery around therapy so that more people will be inclined to seek the help they deserve, and maybe have a laugh or two with us while they are at it!
Who or what inspires your work?
As a Shift therapist, I am incredibly inspired by what Andrea has created at Shift. I have had experiences in a number of different types of therapy over the course of my doctoral training, but most therapies provide strategies to cope in the moment, but fail to address the underlying cause of the problem. Not to mention that the therapy is often delivered in a setting that is cold, by people who are warm but can be difficult to relate to. I love that at Shift, we are encouraged to be ourselves and have a bit of fun with our clients and to let them know that we are no different from them, we just happen to have some awesome techniques that we want to share with them!
What do you dream for your business in the future?
I dream that Shift Psychological will become well known in Calgary and across Canada. That people will know when they come to Shift, they will be taking steps towards the life they always dreamed of, but never thought they could achieve! It may sound cheesy, but we have something really great to offer and want to help as many people as we can!
What’s your favourite social media platform and why?
I love Instagram because is allows us to share our personality and sense of humour, while also providing information to folks about why they may be feeling stuck in their lives and give hope that something can be done about it!
How do you pick yourself up when things go wrong?
To me, there is no better medicine than a good laugh with friends! Sometimes you just need to have the shower, do your hair, put on the cute outfit, and go laugh with your bests.
What’s one thing no one knows about you? Give us an interesting fact!
I recently passed my final licensing exam to become a registered psychologist, so that means no more studying!!! So now I am in the market for some new hobbies and am thinking of buying a guitar to go with my habit of singing all. the. time……any pointers on learning the guitar would be great!
If you could have any super power what would it be?
Hmmm, time travel wouldn’t be the worst super power to have!
What are your social media handles? Please include links.