THERAPY PRACTICE

In my therapy practice, I work with both individuals and couples. I support individual clients through a wide range of life transitions and mental health challenges, including those related to relationships, parenting, peri-/menopause, and aging. In couples therapy, I create a safe and supportive space where partners can work through relational injuries and betrayal, improve communication, and strengthen their connection and intimacy.

Dr. Pai-Spering

Areas of practice

Life transitions

Parenting 

Career change

Menopause

Aging

Grief

Relationships

Conflict

Negative patterns

Betrayal

Sex & intimacy

Connection

Personal challenges

Anxiety / depression

Trauma & PTSD

Sleep

Work-life balance

Stress / burnout

Emotionally-focused therapy (EFT)

Emotionally-focused therapy (EFT) is one of only three evidence-based therapies to treat couples in distress, according to the American Psychological Association. EFT is based on decades of cross-cultural research on adult attachment.

It focuses on how people experience the relationship with their partner and aims at changing negative patterns in relationships in order to feel more secure with each other.

In addition to my university training as a psychologist, I am extensively trained in Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) for both individuals and couples with additional training to treat couples who have experienced infidelity or are struggling with sex and intimacy. I have completed additional training in evidence-based approaches such as Gottman Method Couples Therapy (Levels 1-2), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness practices.

As your therapist, I will guide you to go into your emotional experience as a couple. You will learn to understand and organize your feelings about yourself and your partner and learn new ways of interacting with each other. Couples who complete EFT often feel safer and more secure with each other. This does not mean that they never fight but they usually recover faster and are able to reconnect with each other after a fight. They might also experience an increase in intimacy and overall mental and physical health.

Benefits of EFT


A white check mark inside a solid red circle.
A white check mark inside a solid red circle.

Science-based treatment that has been shown to significantly reduce relationship distress

White checkmark inside a red circle, indicating approval or completion.

Applicable to couples from diverse backgrounds — EFT is based on a theoretical model of universal adult attachment bonds and needs

A white check mark inside a solid red circle.
A white check mark inside a solid red circle.

Improves physical and mental health — reduces depressive symptoms in partners with depression and is effective in treating symptoms of trauma in partners with post-traumatic stress disorder


EFT fits with criteria for gender-sensitive interventions as well as feminist therapy

White checkmark inside a red circle, indicating approval or completion.
A couple hugging.

Hold Me Tight® Workshops

Together with my colleagues, I co-facilitate Hold Me Tight® Workshops for couples.

These workshops are a science-based psychoeducational experience for couples, based on the revolutionary work of Dr. Sue Johnson. Grounded in over 30 years of psychological research on adult attachment, Hold me Tight® can improve relationship satisfaction by enhancing connection and communication. Through lectures and guided exercises, couples will learn about the patterns that they are stuck in and experiment with new ways of connecting.

A couple walking in a park.

LGBTQ+ Affirming

Both in my work as a university professor and as a clinical counsellor, I am committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for people of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, identities and any aspect of social location that affords a greater or lesser privilege or a greater or lesser experience of marginalization and oppression.

I feel responsible for interrupting harm and continuous violence towards the lands that we live on, the Indigenous peoples, and towards our own mind and body.

Dr. Pai-Spering in her UBC lab.

My therapy practice is deeply informed by my extensive scientific background in brain processes that shape how we think, feel, and behave. This perspective enhances my ability to help clients make sense of their experiences and supports a compassionate, evidence-informed approach to healing and change—even when challenges are long-standing or recurring.

Request an appointment