Online Psychodynamic Therapy

Five Seas Integrative Therapy

Karen Baker, Registered Psychotherapist

A little about the process, approach and therapist.

A way to think about the therapeutic process.

Due to its unstructured nature and emphasis on extended, in-depth dialogue between therapist and client, psychodynamic therapy has been referred to as 'the long conversation'. While this is true, the conversation isn't aimless. There is a general shape to the work: building safety and steadiness first, recognizing patterns as they surface; later, working through harder material (grief, old wounds, feelings that got pushed aside) at a sustainable pace; over time, integrating what's been processed, allowing perspective to shift. With that shift, new choices (or even the capacity to choose) become possible.

In practice, this process is rarely linear. Different phases or types of work (disguised as or embedded in conversation) are visited in each session - investigating patterns, stumbling upon a trigger, and circling back to the steadying work is common. Most clients move back and forth between these elements more than once.

Not a Map, a Companion

While I do provide a steadying hand, or guidance, when needed, there's no fixed route to follow - I'm here to accompany you on a journey led by your innate drive toward healing. We will encounter different conditions as we explore various seas along the way; the waters can be calm, choppy, or deep, and each calls for different skills and preparations to navigate safely.

The five seas of the process. Arrows show that movement between them is fluid — sessions rarely follow a fixed order, and returning to earlier waters as new material emerges is expected, not a setback.

Therapeutic Waters We Navigate

Before we go deeper, we build safety and regulation - strengthening your capacity for mentalization and establishing a trusting therapeutic alliance.

Charting the Terrain:

Together we notice recurring patterns and currents in thoughts, behaviours, and defences, sometimes with symbols or dreams surfacing as unexpected signposts.

Entering the Shadowlands:

This is where exiled emotions and grief get processed, including traumatic memories, always at a titrated, sustainable pace.

Over time, insights become meaning, exiled parts get reclaimed, and a more coherent sense of identity consolidates.

When you feel ready, you set out, with earned security, autonomy, and resilience, prepared to continue on your way with confidence.

Trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy, my work is rooted in depth therapy (acknowledging the unconscious influences on our thoughts, feelings and behaviours). In practice, my approach to therapy is mind-body oriented, relational (intersubjective), evidence-based, and integrative. I draw on trauma research, somatic resourcing based on Polyvagal Theory, IFS-informed parts work, and attachment theory, with an appreciation for Jungian perspectives.

One idea central to my approach is that the narratives we tell ourselves, about who we are, what's possible, whether we're safe, aren't neutral observations. They're shaped by our physiological state in the moment. In shutdown, the story is often hopelessness or invisibility. In fight or flight, the story is threat, blame, or urgency. In a state of safety and connection, the story shifts toward curiosity, possibility, and genuine connection with others. The state comes first, the story follows. To shift the story, we have to shift the state. And to shift the state, we must include the body.

Prior to becoming a registered psychotherapist, I practiced for 13 years as a chiropractor, giving me a deep understanding of the body and an appreciation for the impact of stress on the nervous system. I found myself drawn to complex cases where patients' physical symptoms were perpetuated by emotional factors. It was this work that led me to pursue training in psychotherapy, which I completed at The Centre for Training in Psychotherapy (CTP) in 2022.

Beyond the academics, CTP operates on a philosophy that deep personal therapeutic work is crucial preparation for providing safe and effective therapy. The program, requiring a minimum of 6 years, is designed to ensure its students take the time to integrate this important work.

As advances in neurophysiology and trauma research confirm, establishing an embodied sense of safety is essential to effectively treat trauma. A trauma-informed approach recognizes that both mind and body are impacted by overwhelming stress, making a psychosomatic lens fundamental to healing.

I provide online psychotherapy to adults in Ontario and British Columbia.

Credentials & Education

DC (CMCC) | BSc (Queen's University)

Commonly Asked Questions

What are therapy sessions like?

There's no fixed agenda. We follow what's alive for you... what's been on your mind, what's been showing up in your body, your dreams, your relationships. Over time, patterns emerge and the work deepens. Sessions are 50 minutes.

Is this the right kind of therapy for me?

This work is psychodynamic and integrative - it asks you to slow down, turn inward, and stay with difficult material, drawing on multiple approaches depending on what's needed. It isn't a quick fix, and it isn't primarily skills-based (although we do develop skills). If you're looking for someone to help you understand yourself at a deeper level - not just manage symptoms but explore their roots - this may be a good fit. If you're unsure, the best way to find out is to reach out and have a conversation.

What is Psychodynamic Psychotherapy?

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is grounded in the idea that much of what shapes our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours happens outside conscious awareness. Rather than focusing only on current symptoms, it explores how past experiences, relational patterns, and unconscious dynamics continue to influence present-day life - with the aim of bringing more of that material into conscious understanding.

How does Psychodynamic differ from CBT?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) tends to focus on identifying and changing specific thoughts and behaviours in the present, often using structured tools and skills. Psychodynamic work is more exploratory - it asks not just what a pattern is, but where it came from and what it might be protecting or expressing. It tends to be less structured, more relational, and oriented toward understanding root causes rather than managing symptoms directly.

How many sessions will I need?

There's no set number. This work involves shifting deeply ingrained patterns. It takes time and practice to rewire how the nervous system holds and responds to difficult material. It's common to start noticing a shift around six months, though that varies. Most of my clients work with me for a year or more; some do a shorter stretch, and that's fine too. The pace is collaborative, but the decision is always yours — you can pause or end the work whenever it feels right.

About