“Knowing oneself comes from attending with compassionate curiosity to what is happening within.”
GABOR MATÉ
Riley Strom (she/her)
Before describing my academic credentials, I want you to get to know me as a fellow human, someone who wants to walk with you through this journey of discovery and growth. I have been in your shoes and know what it feels like to struggle, feel stuck, and receive counselling support.
My desire to journey with those who are struggling was born out of my own healing and supportive experience as a client. My passion in counselling is to create a relationship built on safety, trust, and hope; a place where people feel first and foremost, accepted just as they are and invited to grow in new and meaningful ways. I consider it a privilege to be able to walk with someone through their fears, stuck points, and hurts, and witness their healing and restoration.
My extensive training as a therapist enables me to journey skillfully with people through a variety of struggles including but not limited to anxiety, depression, self-esteem, self-harm, life transitions, body image, relationship concerns, stress and burnout, chronic illness and pain. I have advanced skills and training in the areas of trauma—both childhood relational trauma and single incident trauma. My therapeutic approach involves incorporating attachment work, emotion-focused therapy, various trauma and body-based therapies, EMDR, Lifespan Integration, mindfulness, and meaning and insight based therapies. However, I tailor my approach based on the specific goals and strengths of the client, to ensure therapy is a good fit for them.
All the therapy I do is evidence-based and designed to be empowering, with a focus on de-pathologizing the person. Continued education, research, and supervision are core values of mine, so I regularly attend and receive training in the services I provide.
PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE AND DEGREES:
• REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPIST, THE COLLEGE OF REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPISTS OF ONTARIO (CRPO)
• MASTER OF ARTS IN COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY
• BACHELOR OF ARTS IN LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATIONS
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:
• CERTIFIED EMDR THERAPIST WITH EMDR CANADA
• ADVANCED TRAINING IN ATTACHMENT FOCUSED EMDR
• EMOTIONALLY FOCUSED COUPLES THERAPY EXTERNSHIP
• OBSERVED EXPERIENTIAL INTEGRATION (OEI) TRAUMA THERAPY
• SAND TRAY EXPERIENTIAL THERAPY
• CERTIFIED SMART RECOVERY FACILITATOR
• ASIST CRISIS INTERVENTION AND SUICIDE PREVENTION
• FUNDAMENTALS OF AEDP + AEDP IMMERSION TRAINING
• LIFESPAN INTEGRATION TRAUMA THERAPY - LEVEL 1
• DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY ESSENTIAL SKILLS
• INDIVIDUAL AND TRAUMA THERAPIST SINCE 2015
• INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS
Eric Strom (he/him)
Therapy is a rare moment in our crowded, busy world. It is a time to pause, reflect, and share space with someone who will listen and help us look deeper into the areas where we feel stuck or alone.
I know how intimidating it can be at first to sit down with a therapist and talk about yourself. I work from the foundation that we are all trying our best to navigate the journey of life with the only strategies we know. Sometimes those ways work well for us, and other times they don’t. It is important that there is no judgment or criticism in our work together. Working with me, we will co-create a space of listening, learning, and growth that serves as the base for our work together. I am passionate about issues surrounding life transitions, anxiety, emotional intelligence, vocation, and unhealthy coping mechanisms. My therapeutic training allows me to draw from a variety of therapy modalities suited to help clients working through the above issues, and much more. Such modalities include Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples and individuals, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP). This knowledge base helps me frame issues through a personal, humanistic lens that validates and recognizes the individual’s specific experiences, while also acknowledging the systems and relational patterns clients participate in that can contribute to distress and stuckness. Each client receives an evidence-based personalized, integrative treatment perspective and plan because even though we all experience suffering from time to time, no two people are exactly alike. If my work with clients can reduce the aloneness we all feel at times, then I believe a core human need is being fulfilled.
PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE AND DEGREES:
• REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPIST (QUALIFYING), THE COLLEGE OF REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPISTS OF ONTARIO (CRPO)
• MASTERS OF DIVINITY IN CLINICAL COUNSELLING
• BACHELOR OF ARTS IN MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:
• EMOTIONALLY FOCUSED THERAPY FOR INDIVIDUALS (EFIT) TAUGHT BY DR. SUE JOHNSON
• AEDP IMMERSION TRAINING
• DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOR THERAPY ESSENTIAL SKILLS
• ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY: FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS
• COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY ESSENTIAL SKILLS
• ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY AS A BRIEF INTERVENTION TAUGHT BY DR. RUSS HARRIS
• RELATIONAL TRAUMA: PSYCHODRAMA AND EXPERIENTIAL INTERVENTIONS FOR TREATING CHILDHOOD WOUNDS TRAINING
Krista Abraham (she/her)
We all experience periods in our lives when we feel we are not living the best version of ourselves. Therapy can be an opportunity for self-discovery so that we do not have to go through that journey alone.
My goal as a therapist is to provide a safe and supportive environment where you can explore your internal struggles without judgement. I believe you to be the experts on your own life, and I am here to work collaboratively towards a better understanding of what is needed to move forward. I value the importance of empowerment and using the strengths of those I work with.
My style of practice focuses on a diverse clinical style that includes working from a strengths-based, anti-oppressive view using evidence-based interventions geared towards your individual client needs.
My clinical career has been working with both short and long term therapy in the hospital setting helping clients through grief, loss, trauma, and crisis intervention. I have experience with both youth and adults in education and community settings, with struggles including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression, self image, separation, developmental, and emotional regulation barriers. In addition, as a physician assistant, I have a knowledge and understanding of illness and how it impacts us physically, mentally, and emotionally. Through my personal and professional experience in women’s health, I have gained an understanding and passion for empowering individuals through their struggles of pregnancy, parenthood, life and role transitions, eating disorders, relationships, and sense of self. I am committed to ongoing education, research, and training to best support my client’s needs.
PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE AND DEGREES:
• MASTERS OF SOCIAL WORK
• BACHELORS OF SCIENCE PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT
• ONTARIO COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORKERS AND SOCIAL SERVICE WORKERS (OCSWSSW)
• ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS (OASW)
• CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS (CAPA)
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:
• DIALECTICAL BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (DBT)
• COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY (CBT),
• BRIEF SOLUTION FOCUSED THERAPY (BSFT),
• MOTIVATIONAL INTERVIEWING (MI)
• NARRATIVE THERAPY
• SUICIDE RISK ASSESSMENT TRAINING
• TRAUMA AND VICTIMIZATION TRAINING
• BEHAVIOURAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TRAINER CERTIFIED
Glen Watkinson (he/him)
I believe that vitality and the chance to flourish happens when it’s safe enough to honestly be yourself. I consider it a privilege to accompany people through their pain, coping, self-discovery, healing, transformation, and joy.
For the last 15 years I have served my community in the field of social services, working alongside people living through trauma, substance use and addictions, poverty, mental health dual-diagnoses, developmental disabilities, and criminality.
My areas of clinical care include trauma, abuse, violence, PTSD and C-PTSD, anxiety, depression, dissociation, substance use and addictions, shame, anger, grief, relationships, sexual and gender identity, and spiritual abuse, deconstruction, and integration. I seek to embody a clinical stance that is compassionate, curious, anti-oppressive, and non-pathological. My approach uses an attachment-based, trauma-informed framework, which means my work is often experiential, and emotionally and relationally focused. I work with individuals and couples.
After hours, I enjoy time spent with my family, making music, cooking, playing sports, a good cup of tea, writing, and celebrating with friends.
PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE AND DEGREES:
• REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPIST
• COLLEGE OF REGISTERED PSYCHOTHERAPISTS OF ONTARIO (CRPO)
• ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS (OAMHP)
• MASTERS OF DIVINITY IN CLINICAL COUNSELLING
• HONOURS BACHELOR OF MUSIC
• MINOR IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:
• ACCELERATED EXPERIENTIAL DYNAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY (AEDP) - LEVEL 2
• EMOTIONALLY FOCUSED THERAPY (EFT) - EXTERNSHIP
• CERTIFIED CLINICAL TRAUMA PROFESSIONAL (CCTP) - LEVEL 1
• INTERNAL FAMILY SYSTEMS (IFS)
• COMPASSIONATE INQUIRY (CI)
• FAMILY SYSTEMS
• NARRATIVE THERAPY
• MINDFULNESS, COMPASSION, AND PSYCHEDELIC ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY TRAINING
• SOCIO-CULTURALLY ATTUNED JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION TRAINING
• ASIST CRISIS INTERVENTION AND SUICIDE PREVENTION
