Online Counselling for Ontario

Hi, I’m Marla (they/them). Exploring consensual non-monogamy (polyamory, open relationships, etc.), gender, and sexual orientation are my specialties. I work predominantly with couples and non-monogamous constellations (partnerships of more than 2). My aim is to offer accessible, wholistic, non-judgmental support services. My work is informed by anti-oppression, anti-racist, intersectional feminist, and harm-reduction philosophies. I aim to co-create respectful, safer spaces where peoples’ identities are understood within the framework of their own experiences and social context.

I have a formidable passion for helping you build and energize a joyful, loving & creative life. My clients are high functioning, gifted, and imaginative individuals, plus HSPs. I am naturally engaged, authentic & direct. Unlike therapists who are silent and write on a pad, aloof & distant, I listen with curiosity & empathy to provide ample feed-back when you request it. You will feel at ease. I will provide you with personalized therapy, using the best technique that can help you with imagination, intuition, warmth, & effectiveness from Narrative, image-based, Psychodynamic, CBT, DBT therapies, & Mindfulness modalities.

I am a Mi’kmaw, queer therapist and registered social worker offering online therapy that is queer affirming, anti-racist, sex positive, body neutral, feminist, and trauma informed. I integrate an awareness of mental health, addiction, and stigma through lived experience into my practice and embrace a warm sense of humour in my practice that can make therapy seem less intimidating. I work with youth and adults addressing a range of concerns including depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, and intergenerational trauma. I am also experienced in providing affirming support to those who are exploring gender and/or sexuality.

Just existing in today's world can feel overwhelming on top of whatever unique stressors you may be facing. While it might be tempting to downplay your challenges as insignificant or "not that bad", everyone deserves a space to be seen and understood. As a therapist, my job is not to to analyze, diagnose, or pathologize you. Instead, I approach our sessions with genuine curiosity, aiming to understand the meaning you attach to your experiences and ask questions that may help to shift your outlook on the challenges you’re facing.

I am a social worker who believes in the power of persons and peoples: I work with clients to create opportunities for healing and growth. I have a varied background including crisis intervention, addictions recovery, women's issues, LGBTQ+ concerns, Parts work and Somatic Experiencing. I understand the importance of melding mindfulness techniques with talk therapy. In practice, I work to combine a solid knowledge of the roots of trauma while providing a safe and welcoming environment, creatively combining these aspects of care to customise healing journeys in partnership with clients.

Working with clients across Ontario and Nova Scotia - As a trans, non-binary, queer, neurodiverse, adoptee, living with disabilities, I bring a unique perspective to working with clients who are experiencing challenges regarding gender, sexual orientation, sexuality, disability, identity, relationships, and with people who have experience with adoption and/or the child welfare system. I work with adults and youth, their families, and social circles to provide support and guidance as they navigate transitions and challenges in their lives. I am a qualified secondary assessor for Transition-Related Surgeries for OHIP coverage.

You may come to therapy because you feel lost, alone, angry, confused, empty, fearful, betrayed, or hopeless. Or not. You may be struggling with anxiety, depression, identity, relationships, unwanted thoughts and feelings, addictions, shame, or guilt. Or not. You may come to therapy because you want to understand how your early experiences are shaping your life. Or you may be curious about the therapeutic process, more generally. Or not.

I practice trauma-informed somatic & relational psychotherapy. Relational psychotherapy values how the relationships in our life, from birth to death, impact how we understand ourselves, each other, our connections, ruptures and how we engage in daily experiences. Body-centered therapy uses the body to access, resource and heal unresolved trauma. Developing somatic resources, increases our capacity to feel safe in our bodies, gain a deeper knowing of ourselves, feel resourced & to heal. Together we will explore, what's happening in your life, where you struggle, your hopes, and how to move towards healing & thriving.

Welcome! I am a queer-identified Registered Social Worker, with over ten years of experience providing counselling support for individuals, couples, and families. I support people in deepening awareness of their thoughts, feelings, body sensations and adaptive ways of coping. Together we can explore the spaces in your life where you may feel stuck, gently fostering compassion, while moving toward desired growth. My practice is guided by a lens that is Anti-Oppressive, intersectional and feminist. My therapeutic approach is eclectic, drawing on various evidence-based therapeutic modalities to discover what aligns with your needs.

Do you want to find a way out of the stress, fear, and sadness that you’re going through? Find some peace and comfort? Maybe you feel hopeless and overwhelmed. It can be scary and tiring, an uphill battle, and you feel like you will collapse and shatter at any time. When you face all this fatigue, despair, and frustration, you wish you could confide in a trusted person and get some support. I can be that support person for you, so that you can make sense of your world, find peace, and reclaim control. You don’t have to feel so helpless anymore.

I am a neurodivergent non-binary lesbian therapist that operates a 2SLGBTQ+ and neurodiversity-affirming trauma-focused practice. I work from culturally informed, intersectional, anti-racist, feminist, and HAES values. I provide strengths-based, client-centered holistic therapy that fosters connection to the whole self. We can explore your values and intersecting identities, build self-compassion, set boundaries, explore access and accommodations, and heal from complex traumas. Together we can build a relationship based on trust and compassion that recognizes and empowers your lived experiences and authentic self.

I understand psychic and emotional crises as your body’s best effort to cope with what it is experiencing. All of our behaviours and impulses make sense if we bring a warm curiosity to the bigger picture of your life, your body, your mind and your lived experience. I work to co-create a space where you new stories about yourself can emerge, stories that are more expansive, generous and allowing of what you have lived through. Whether you are working through addiction, compulsive behaviour and thinking, anxiety, depression, grief, ruptures or general existential confusion, I am here to hold it with you.

I embrace that the symptoms you are experiencing are part of a larger whole. Together, we can work to create healing, meaning and clarity for you, on a mental, emotional, somatic and spiritual level. Our sessions are informed by your unique position within time, culture and the fabric of our society. I am 2SLGBTQ aligned, ENM informed and work from a harm reduction, anti-capitalist, feminist lens. I have experience working with depression, anger, anxiety, self-esteem, relationships, people pleasing, life transitions, substance use, BPD and more. Consent is a big part therapy and I welcome your no, as much as I welcome your yes.

I support people in exploring what it means to live authentically to themselves. We can explore topics of anxiety, depression, trauma, self-esteem, neurodiversity, family/relationship issues, sexuality, and gender. In the past, I have had the honour of working as a sex, kink and BDSM educator, teaching workshops with a focus on communication, harm-reduction, and pleasure. Other topics of interest have included radical body acceptance, navigating non-monogamy, and dating. My work is rooted in anti-oppressive, trauma-informed, intersectional feminist values. I am a queer person and second-generation settler with Lebanese ancestry.

If you need help with connection, communication, emotional regulation and overcoming narcissistic influences let's talk. With over 25 years experience as clinical counsellor I focus on what works to help you understand yourself and train the skills to improve your life. I'm warm, present, active and empathetic. In a short time with me individuals and couples experience breakthroughs. I provide direct guidance toward greater clarity, healthy boundaries, focus and wisdom by addressing life skills you haven't mastered. Internet rabbit holes won't facilitate change, but I will. You really don't have to do this alone anymore.

I am a Registered Psychotherapist with the CRPO (008887). Explore your relationships and sexuality in a space free of judgement. I take a non-pathologizing, non-judgmental, holistic approach to sex counselling and sex therapy. I provide sex therapy and sex counselling for individuals or within relationship counselling or couples therapy that incorporates an understanding of how our sexuality is shaped by the relationship between the mind, body, spirit, and larger society. I believe there are limitless ways to live a pleasurable life when practiced in a compassionate, caring, consensual environment with or without sex.

As a queer/gender diverse immigrant of colour, you are tired of just coping and getting by in your relationships. You want to be true to yourself and grow healthier connections but find some conversations too difficult. You are dissatisfied with where you are and feel stuck. You are unsure if your experience will be heard and understood if you ask for help.

You have a power within you to overcome obstacles, and thrive within the life you want for yourself. Starting counselling can be scary, intimidating and overwhelming, and that is okay. At Art of Thriving I help to create space where we can go on a journey together towards building a stronger relationship with yourself, uncovering the power that lives within you, and building towards your goals. If you are looking to decrease your stress, build a healthier and more loving relationship with your body and soul, and embark on a journey designed specifically for you, then you’re in right place.

Relationships can bring us immense joy as well as incredible pain. Sometimes the way we have been doing things isn't working and it's hard to know where to go next. I invite clients who are experiencing tough transitions, parenthood and family planning, exploring gender, queerness, or dealing with the pain that comes with anxiety, grief, and loss. I seek to support clients to connect with their authentic voice, and to try new things- to discover what might possible for them in relationships with others, and with themselves. My practice is guided by anti-oppressive, trauma informed, and harm reduction principles.