Dr. Méance - Multicultural Counseling and Testing Services

Our Story

Many people living in the Western world suffer from what Dr. Ghislene Meance calls the "Western Burn Out Syndrome. "After investing everything they had in this way of life they feel like the modern world has cheated them and they end up feeling completely burned out. They feel like a failure and do not know what else to do to build a life worth living. They are experiencing what Dr. Linehan calls “confusion about self.” They don’t know who they are, why they are here and what their purpose in life is. The theory behind the Western Burn Out Syndrome offers that the way of life in modern or industrialized countries is naturally anxiety provoking regardless of your personal vulnerabilities or strenght. Immigrants are particularly vulnerable to the Western Burn Out syndrome because the process of acculturation and integration demand significant emotional investment . The Multicultural Counseling and Testing Center’ is targeting this phenomenon and wants to help fight WBS with a diverse and culturally competent staff. We value individual differences and understand that it is not effective to place people in a “cultural box.” We are aware of our own diversity and remain sensitive to how the therapist’s cultural background and belief systems can influence his/her relationship with clients. We are non-defensive and open to feedback from patients. We do not believe clients can fail in treatment. We believe the therapist or the treatment can fail. We routinely consult with others in the field when we come across a clinically challenging case or experience in order to stay objective and have a different perspective.We believe that clients should be treated with respect and compassion with the assumption that they know themselves best. We believe clients should be empowered to find their own answers with a “little push.” Our job is to gently guide our clients to access their own strength and acquire skills needed to replace ineffective behaviors with effective ones. Our therapists are flexible when choosing which therapeutic approach to use in a particular situation. MCTC' staff is Rogerian at heart, which means we believe in using “Unconditional Positive Regard” in treating all clients regardless of the therapeutic approach being used. Our staff is pleasant, genuine and easy to talk to with a great sense of humor...