Rebekah Bender
(she/her)
Occupational Therapist, Psychotherapist
OT Reg. (Ont)
Rebekah officially came to be part of our team in January of 2022. Joining us with a full list of client's waiting for her, she was worth the wait.
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Rebekah's experience as an Occupational Therapist brings a new and valuable approach to Psychotherapy that we have never had. We are all learning so much from Rebekah about how to thrive in our lives.
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Rebekah has a wealth of experience and brings out joy, pleasure and laughter into her Psychotherapy in ways her clients are loving.
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Rebekah offers both In-person and online appointments, and is looking forward to some group facilitation.
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Rebekah is with us on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in person. Rebekah currently is accepting clients for her wait list only.
About Rebekah
As an Occupational Therapist, I work with my clients to support them to engage in the activities that are meaningful to them. The term “occupation” to me means any activities that you spend your time doing or any roles you take on. From work to school, engaging in relationships, eating meals, parenting, or exploring activities that provide joy and meaning, anything that a person does is an “occupation”. In therapy, it is important for me to understand how your daily activities are impacted in order to support healing and meaningful engagement. I believe that understanding what brings meaning to your life provides an important foundation for therapy. I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Health Studies from the University of Waterloo and my Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from McMaster University. I am a current member with the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario. I have clinical experience working with individuals with a variety of mental health related concerns including anxiety, stress, disordered eating, depression, and emotion regulation difficulties. I have worked with clients to discuss many topics including but not limited to returning to work, wellness at work, wellness at school, life / role transitions, building self-care and rest into daily life, and exploring new activities that promote meaning. My goal is to work with each client on their specific goals in order to promote a client-centered and strengths-based approach.
Approach: When working with clients, I strive to understand who each person is, what creates a sense of meaning in their life, and how their environments impact them. Working with clients to identify their strengths and challenges, their environmental supports (both social and physical contexts), and their meaningful activities/ roles allows us to identify specific areas to address and then create meaningful change. I have training and experience using CBT and DBT skills, and will collaborate with each client to determine an approach that is best for each person’s specific goals.
What Made you want to work with CCP?
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I first met Carly when I was a student, and she was speaking at a conference on health advocacy. I was immediately struck by her knowledge, passion, kindness and approach when discussing psychotherapy and eating disorders. A few years later, we connected again, and these qualities continued to stand out to me. Joining CCP means working alongside a group of compassionate, thoughtful, and hardworking individuals with goals that align with mine professionally. I am excited to work with this team as I believe this environment creates space for meaningful work.
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What is the most rewarding part of your job as a therapist?
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I become incredibly excited when clients recognize meaningful progress has been made in their life. I set intentional goals with clients at the beginning of therapy, and check on the progress we’ve made regarding these goals at various points throughout sessions. These check-ins often provide opportunities for clients to reflect and recognize that they have made meaningful change even when they perhaps did not realize it themselves. Seeing clients recognize and celebrate progress of any kind is very rewarding.
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What’s the most surprising thing about you?
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I enjoy participating in many different types of activities or “occupations”, many of which have been important pieces of my own personal mental health journey. While there are too many things I enjoy to list, one that sometimes surprises people is I really enjoy making music and am a part of a ukulele/ singing trio. This is a way for me to connect with people socially and have a creative outlet for myself. While I am certainly an advocate for engaging in activities that bring joy and meaning, I am also a huge advocate for rest, setting boundaries in life, and finding balance between activities and rest. This is an art that I am continually trying to work on for myself individually, and one that I continually explore with my clients.
