Sex-Positive, Kink Allied Therapists in Toronto, ON

Many people hold the belief that challenges with emotional and mental well-being are a result of difficulty in coping, functioning, or adaptability. We may attempt to use willpower, intellect, and behavioural changes to tackle these issues; if these attempts fail to bring us inner peace or lasting change, we can begin to feel ashamed, alone, and stagnant. It is my belief that challenges with mental health, emotion, and relationships do not exist in a vacuum. These are more than personal failings at coping and functioning. Once we settle into this understanding, we can begin to uncover the deeper questions of your healing work.

I am a registered social worker focusing on helping people address relationships concerns, sex and sexuality, infertility and family building, as well as anxiety and depression. I strive to empower clients to forge their own path toward healing with kindness, empathy, humour, and creativity. I welcome members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, all relationship structures, including non-monogamy and polyamory, and am committed to fostering an anti-oppressive, sex/ kink -positive, trauma-informed practice.

I believe we are doing the best we can with the tools available. From my perspective, trauma can get locked in the body if there isn't enough safety to respond in the moment. I will support you in building on the wisdom you already have, and will creatively explore with you the places you feel stuck, shaky, or unmet. Through a relational and experiential process, I will bring attention and compassion to your suffering and untended needs. You can expect me to be warm, direct, steady, and responsive. Additionally, I am Queer & Trans affirming, kink -aware, and knowledgeable around polyamory/non monogamy.

I am a Registered Social Worker with experience providing counselling support for both individuals and groups. I offer a therapeutic process that is Holistic, Feminist, Anti-oppressive, Trauma-informed and Client-centered. Together we can explore and understand the spaces in your life where you may feel stuck, gently fostering desired growth. Using a non-judgemental, compassionate approach, I support clients in developing awareness of their thoughts, feelings, body sensations and current coping skills. I draw on a number of therapeutic modalities, giving space for each person's unique capacity to heal.

I work with a wide variety of concerns, including depression, anxiety, grief and loss, trauma, and phase of life adjustments. I have a special interest in working with individuals, couples, and other relationship systems on issues related to sexual health and function, intimacy, compulsive/problematic sexual behavior, sexual trauma recovery, and gender identity exploration and/or gender transition support. I am affirming and knowledgeable of LGBTQ+, poly/ENM, and kink identities.

Perhaps you are experiencing some inner conflicts that are keeping you stuck? Or previous coping strategies are no longer serving you? Or maybe something is off that you can’t seem to name? Through exploring your thoughts, feelings and body sensations we can see what patterns and ways of being you would like to keep, let go of, (re) discover and grow. Using compassion and humour, we’ll work together to understand your reactions and how to work towards chosen responses to help navigate you to a different place.

I am glad you made it here. Maybe you want to work on experiencing your emotions with greater ease, navigating sex and relationships, making peace with painful history or just have someone listen to what you say. Therapy can offer a chance to notice patterns, move towards acceptance, create change or just check in with yourself. I take a non-pathologizing approach to struggles and see them as a painful but common part of the human experience. I often work using trauma and attachment informed emotion focused therapy that also uses a relational, intersectional feminist and systemic lens. Together we can work to make sense of things.

The first step to an effective therapeutic journey is feeling accepted and understood. I offer a calming, compassionate, and non-judgmental presence as we work together. My goal is to understand you, and to help you understand yourself.

In a safe and caring environment, we will work to help you change those aspects of yourself that are getting in the way of your having a more fulfilling life. Characteristics that may have served you well in the past may no longer work.

Being human means knowing confusion, loss, and uncertainty, but what feels heavy or overwhelming need not be held alone. It takes courage to seek help, to push against stigma, and to break out of silence or isolation. The relationship between therapist and client(s) can offer a safe space to be heard, and to make sense together of the thoughts, feelings and patterns that are occurring in your life and your relationships. Together we can explore new ways of connecting that may bring greater understanding and compassion, and strengthen your capacity to connect and to manage life's difficulties.

May update: I am accepting new clients. I specialize in supporting individuals experiencing challenges including: anxiety, depression, substance use, gender, sexuality and queer issues, relationship challenges, boundary setting, stress management and navigating life transitions. As a therapist I feel honoured to support others grow and connect to their values. My approach is warm, collaborative, honest and empathic. I strive to create space where my clients feel safe, seen and supported.

Looking for support? Therapy provides an opportunity to express big feelings, talk through challenges, explore patterns of behaviour, develop greater self-awareness, and try different ways of being and relating. I practice contemporary Gestalt therapy that is experiential, relational and embodied. I was first drawn to Gestalt because it embraces an egalitarian relationship between client and therapist, takes a non-pathologizing approach to mental health, and invites creativity. I emphasize the development of self-awareness as a way to increase choice, flexibility, acceptance, and ultimately wellbeing.

Your conversations with a therapist should help you to explore your situation, look for alternative perspectives and find solutions or new strategies. Whether you are discussing sexuality issues, anxiety, depression, bipolar, trauma, or life transitions, you should feel supported, understood and challenged to explore all the different aspects of the situation. My goals for therapy are to help you increase coping strategies, increase communication and negotiation skills, increase self-esteem, increase your awareness of your strengths and to process difficult situations like grief and loss or the experience of a traumatic event.

We all have our own histories and desires for our futures. At times these personal narratives can feel like a resource and at other times a hindrance. Sometimes we feel like we’re stuck or are moving backwards when we want to go forwards. How do we stay present in our day-to-day lives when we are visited by the voices of the past or images of the future? How do we find and listen to the voice of strength, wisdom and resiliency that lives in each one of us, when that voice seems to be silent? I don’t offer pat answers, but instead offer space and guidance to help you to deeply explore the issues and questions that want to explore.

As a queer, Trini-Canadian woman, I combine my knowledge of psychology with my intersectional feminist values and lived experiences when supporting my clients. I specialize in working with LGBTQ and BIPOC (racialized) clients as well as intersectional identities. In addition to expertise in culturally-sensitive therapy, I'm also well-versed in issues related to queer and trans health, polyamory/non-monogamy, and kink /BDSM culture.

When life begins to feel challenging and overwhelming, it can be difficult to create space for calm and stillness. We may even seek to avoid the quiet altogether, fearing the thoughts that arise or the emotions we keep buried beneath the surface. It often feels easier to distract ourselves from our thoughts or to numb and detach from the challenging emotions that inevitably emerge. Therapy can provide us with a space to turn inward and deeply connect with ourselves, allowing us to bring awareness to our patterns, better understand our needs, move towards acceptance, or even work towards change.

I am a queer femme of colour who is working to support collective healing and liberation by offering individual counselling. My work is centred in an intersectional feminist approach to therapy drawing from somatics, narrative and evidence based practices. My approach is to support individuals to build upon existing strengths and daily practices to ensure that they have the tools to live their life in alignment with their own values and desires. I see my role as creating a container to support a person in developing deeper accountability and consent in their relationship with themselves and with others.

I am a (gender)queer politicized psychotherapist and somatics practitioner whose work is grounded in embodied healing and social justice. My practice is informed by anti-racist and anti-oppressive praxis; queer and feminist politics; body and sex positive values; kink awareness; harm reduction; and trauma-informed frameworks. I employ a holistic approach that is relational, trauma-informed and anti-oppressive.

I am a registered clinical social worker, primarily working with people to address concerns related to anxiety, depression, sex and sexuality, low motivation, anger, and relationship difficulties. I have worked for many years, providing services to diverse LGBTQ+ communities, as well as post-secondary students. I aim to create a therapeutic space that is anti-oppressive, sex/ kink -positive, trauma-informed, and values the principles of harm reduction.

I am a queer and non-binary psychotherapist, offering a holistic approach to healing that understands the interrelatedness of body, mind and spirit. My practice is grounded in a trauma-informed perspective, with an anti-oppression lens, and a critical disability approach to wellness. I empower clients to build on their strengths by connecting them to their own embodied wisdom.