Dr. Julia Sen is a clinical and counselling psychologist with over 20 years of experience. She has created a full-time private practice with a growing waiting list and has focused on fertility counselling, parenting and working with our inner child. Over the last two years, Julia has created transformational group programs for parents and for anyone interested in discovering the magic of their inner child. Her mission is for everyone to know and feel like they belong. She is invited regularly to speak about parenting on virtual platforms and has published the book “Too tired to parent? Take the C.A.R.” to help parents learn how to become self-caring, aware and reflective people.
Julia is known for finding the possibility in every situation and as such is known as The Possibility Psychologist™. Since she was a young girl, Julia has been in awe of Henry Winkler, particularly for his role as The Fonz in the TV series Happy Days. She believes the Fonz’s ability to make anything happen influences her wonder and belief that anything is possible.
FWM: You have spent over 20 years as a clinical and counselling psychologist. Share your background.
I’ve been blessed to have been studying and working in the field of psychology since 1993. I studied at the University of Toronto and had my two children while completing my PhD.
When I first began my private practice, I focused on fertility counselling. The concept of seeking emotional support for infertility at the time was not popular, yet it was and is such an integral part of the process. Through my work in fertility, I provided supportive counselling, couples work, grief and trauma counselling as well as third party donor assessments. Fertility clinic and client referrals filled my practice.
Over the years many of my fertility clients were becoming parents and continued on the journey with me, but this time to work with them on parenting.
Ever since I was a little kid, I loved children. I always wanted to make sure that children were well. As a psychologist, I specialized in adults, yet I knew that I really wanted to positively impact children. I realized the best way to do that would be by working with their parents. I decided to write a book on parenting, after making my own transformation as a parent, and in the last two years I have started converting my practice into group transformation programs for parenting and re-parenting the self, which has been very exciting and extremely meaningful.
FWM: What is a “Possibility Psychologist?”
I decided to call myself The Possibility Psychologist™ when my clients started making comments that I always see the possibility in situations. When I reflect on why that may be, I realized since I was a young girl I was in awe of Henry Winkler in his role as The Fonz in the TV series Happy Days. I was fascinated with how he seemed to be able to do anything, like turning on a jukebox with the side of his hand. Obviously, I knew that life didn’t work quite the way Fonzie made it look, but it opened my mind to the idea of possibility.
So, The Possibility Psychologist™ is a term that I feel is very accurate to who I am, what I want to represent in the world and explains the impact I want to create for people.
FWM: Why are people coming to you today? How is your approach unique?
As a psychologist, I feel incredibly grateful to work deeply with clients. I believe in providing a warm, safe, and supportive environment for everyone where I use a balance of scientific evidence with playful wisdom in my practice. It is less common for a psychologist to bring a holistic view to their work, and this is what I do every day. My ultimate vision is to awaken the wisdom within each of us to create a world where we know we all matter. I have always had a very special place in my heart for children and the spirited child in each of us, so I have focused on compassionately helping people recognize the importance of taking care of themselves in order to parent their children or themselves from a place of calm and kindness.
FWM: You have created transformational group programs for parents and for anyone who is interested in discovering the magic of their inner child. Explain.
I believe there is an innate wisdom within each of us, but our life experiences may have hidden our access to it. My programs, whether directly for parents or specifically for uncovering our inner child, focus on transforming clients from chaos to calm, awakening the wisdom within once again. The groups are small and safe so both growth and connection can easily be created. Over my many years in practice I have seen one truth, with compassion, presence, and a little bit of guidance, we can unlock the wisdom and calm within each of us. It really is a magical experience.
FWM: Can you share a few motivational stories?
The best way to share these stories is from the people themselves. So, I’m going to share a couple of testimonials people have given me about the transformation that they’ve experienced.
I have worked with Dr. Julia Sen for several years receiving individual therapy. I was extremely excited to have the chance to work with her in her group transformation program, Awakening the Wisdom Within – the Inner Child, as I felt coming together with other like-minded women would be incredibly expansive for me. I was absolutely right! The skills I learned within the group container have changed my life, and I don’t say that lightly. Life is very different now, 6 months later, and I feel like a very different person. Not only has my perspective on many personal issues changed, I’ve also become more resilient and aware of how I can support myself. I feel like I’m operating on a higher frequency, no longer stuck in victim mode. The techniques are easy to understand and I come back to them time and again when my life requires it. I highly recommend Dr. Sen and her group program! If you are hesitant – feel the fear and do it anyway! You won’t regret it.
- R.S.
The weight of a very long struggle with infertility strained many parts of my life and before I knew it I was sitting in front of the only person who would be able to pull me from my downward emotional spiral. Through our work together Dr. Sen made me realize that I had both the power and the tools to deal with the obstacles that had landed me in her office on that blessed day.
I did become a mother and realized that my healing had just begun and that Dr. Sen would be one of the most instrumental people on my journey. Dr. Sen’s passion for emotional wellness and inner peace coupled with her desire for human truth has been life changing for me. I thank you Dr. Sen for your guidance and sharing your deep wisdom with me and I will be eternally grateful for you.
- G.F.
I also want to share that I’ve done a lot of work on myself as well. I believe we must practice what we preach. I’ve changed my parenting from a much more traditional/old school approach to being an open and self-reflective parent. I’ve also worked on opening up my own inner child, and I believe that I have connected with my authentic self again. I’ve worked at creating a space where she can feel safe to come out and play, where the world of possibility exists.
FWM: Tell us about your book “Too tired to parent? Take the C.A.R.”
I transformed my own parenting after I recognized the impact that I was having on my children. Their little faces were looking familiar – they looked like I remember feeling as a child at times. I did not want to be doing that to my children, so I started to reflect on and change my parenting. For the book, I broke down my process into small and easy steps. It’s a very short book. And it’s very short on purpose; parents don’t feel like they have any time, so another long book isn’t going to help them make changes they want to make. So, to keep it compact, I focused only on tools that parents need based on research and science but kept the research details out of the book. Consider it to be like a straightforward manual for parents to activate their transformation from frustration, worry and exhaustion to calm, clear and energized so they can parent their children to reach their highest potential.
It’s available on Amazon for anyone who is interested: https://www.amazon.com/Too-Tired-Parent-Take-R/dp/1794449205/
FWM: Since COVID changed the world, what are you seeing at your practice?
The practice has been extremely busy. The levels of fear are significantly higher. People are feeling a lot more confusion. And at this point, everyone is feeling exhausted. It’s very difficult. This is an unknown even for us as psychologists, this is all uncharted territory. In my practice, the focus is a little bit more on the brain, specifically the fear centre, and how to soothe and comfort our system rather than trying to make sense of it all.
FWM: What do you enjoy the most about your work?
This is a hard question because I love so much about my work. I love the people that I meet. The clients I work with are such incredible human beings who are willing to look inward and make the changes they need to make. They take ownership of their part and learn how to be kinder and more compassionate to themselves and others. I see them as an inspiration and role models, every time I get to work with them.
I also truly feel that through my work, my compassion for the world and even myself has increased. Being able to run the transformation groups recently has been life changing. It’s so meaningful to see the impact that the transformation has on my clients and their families. I tend to be a very heart-centred human and so to see their hearts changing in such positive ways, lighting up, opening, feeling more safety, feeling greater calm, is so fulfilling
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAydNyAZRTFoIEVtTY-oJ3Q
Parenting IG https://www.instagram.com/drjuliasenparenting/Parenting IG https://www.instagram.com/drjuliasenparenting/
Personal IG https://www.instagram.com/drjuliasen/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/drjuliasenWebsite: https://drjuliasen.com
