Terry Brennen M.A.

Terry Brennen is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, Registration #403, and a trained Psychotherapist with a diverse background, having been a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for 15 years before completing his Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology and continuing studies via a number of post graduate trainings specifically in Attachment Based/Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (AB/IS-TDP).

Terry is qualified to supervise practitioners who are wanting to or are studying in an IS-TDP core group, or practitioners who may want to enhance their therapy skills. Terry has extensive training in Marital/Relationship therapy and is a certified Advanced Imago Marital/Relationship Therapist and certified Imago work shop presenter for couples and single individuals.

Terry has also extensive training in Substance Misuse/Addiction and is a certified Substance Abuse/Addiction Counsellor/Therapist and is a trained Substance Misuse/Addiction Interventionist.

Terry has been instrumental in the design and implementation of Spousal Assault Programs for both men and women and has more than 25 years experience working with multicultural populations, diverse relationships/gender populations, gay/lesbian, Life Style and the Kink community.

Terry worked in and developed Employee Assistance Programs with the R.C.M.P., Telus, and more recently for the City of Vancouver (VCEAP), and has been trained as a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing therapist. He has also designed courses for many other organizations, the R.C.M.P., Ishtar Transition Society, British Columbia Ministry of the Attorney General, City of Vancouver Employee Assistance Program.

Testimonials and Endorsements

Terry Brennen has studied AB/IS-TDP through the Southern California Society for IS-TDP. The people of Vancuover, BC are indeed lucky to have Terry representing IS-TDP in the Northwest. He completed our four year training program and is highly skilled and very talented in helping patients access their unconscious trauma and rapidly as well as thoroughly repair early attachment trauma. Terry is also an IEDTA eligible supervisor for professionals who may decide to use him as a supervisor. The technique of IS-TDP is a difficult technique to master: Terry has shown his mettle and has earned my strongest professional endorsement.

- Robert J. Neborsky, MD Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, UCSD and UCLA (Hon) Schools of Medicine, President Sourthern CA Society for IS-TDP, Distinguished Life Fellow American Psychiatric Association


After having spent countless years in therapy with no success, I finally found Terry Brennen who practices AB/IS-TDP. I had ten sessions with him and feel a clear shift has happened in my life. He helped me realize how my emotional overwhelmness and recurring feelings of helplessness and despair were a defense; they were my parent’s negative voice talking and I was seeing others and myself through their eyes. He helped me experience that this is not me, and that I CAN be myself, regardless of what I went through as a child. I feel lighter now and more assertive in my relationship and with my career choices.

If you have been struggling with low self-esteem, emotional overwhelmness, rage/anger or any other issue nobody could help you with, then I strongly suggest you work with Terry Brennen. He is very skilled at this form of therapy, and he is genuinely loving and supportive, while at the same time able to hold his stand when there is resistance.

- M.W. Vancouver, BC