n.d. #2364

Guiding Belief

“Small, sustainable choices create lifelong wellbeing.” Helping individuals build healthier lives through nutrition, movement, education, and sustainable lifestyle change.

Meet Tammy Tammy MacDonald believes that wellness is built one choice at a time. Rather than pursuing perfection, she encourages clients to develop realistic, sustainable habits that support lasting physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing.

As a Naturotherapist, Nutrition & Fitness Coach, and Certified Yoga and Pilates Instructor, Tammy brings a practical, whole-person approach to health. She believes that nutrition, movement, mindfulness, and education work together to create meaningful change, empowering individuals to feel stronger, healthier, and more connected to themselves.

Known for her warm, encouraging, and approachable style, Tammy creates a welcoming environment where clients feel supported without judgment. Whether someone is looking to improve their nutrition, increase energy, navigate menopause, reduce stress, or develop healthier daily habits, Tammy works collaboratively to create realistic wellness plans that fit each person’s unique lifestyle and goals.

She believes wellness is not about restrictive rules or quick fixes. It is about creating sustainable habits that help people thrive throughout every stage of life.

Who Tammy Supports Tammy works with: • Adults • Seniors • Women navigating perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause • Individuals seeking healthier, more balanced lifestyles

She is especially passionate about supporting women through hormonal transitions while helping individuals build practical habits that improve long-term health and overall wellbeing.

Areas of Focus Nutrition & Healthy Living Holistic Nutrition Helping clients develop realistic nutrition strategies that improve energy, digestion, vitality, and overall wellbeing while supporting long-term healthy habits.

Lifestyle & Habit Change Supporting individuals in creating sustainable routines that promote lifelong health, confidence, and balance.

Energy, Stress & Resilience Helping clients better understand how nutrition, movement, sleep, and stress influence energy levels and emotional wellbeing while developing practical strategies that restore balance.

Women’s Health Perimenopause, Menopause & Healthy Aging Providing education, encouragement, and practical lifestyle strategies that help women navigate hormonal changes with greater confidence, resilience, and wellbeing.

Bone Health & Healthy Aging Supporting long-term health through nutrition, movement, and lifestyle practices that promote strength, mobility, and vitality throughout every stage of adulthood.

Mind-Body Wellness Yoga & Pilates Using mindful movement, breath, and body awareness to improve flexibility, strength, balance, stress management, and overall wellbeing.

Mindfulness & Lifestyle Balance Helping clients create healthier relationships with themselves through self-awareness, movement, restorative practices, and intentional self-care.

Community Wellness & Education Tammy believes education empowers people to take an active role in their health. She facilitates workshops, wellness programs, and educational sessions that provide practical tools, encouragement, and community support for individuals seeking healthier, more balanced lives.

Programs include: • Women’s Wellness & Menopause Education • Healthy Lifestyle Workshops • Yoga & Pilates Classes • Nutrition & Wellness Education • Mindfulness & Stress Management Programs

What Wellness Looks Like with Tammy Tammy believes that lasting wellness is created through small, consistent changes rather than dramatic transformations.

Her approach is practical, compassionate, and personalized. She works alongside clients to better understand their lifestyle, goals, health concerns, and daily routines while developing realistic strategies that support long-term success.

Rather than focusing on restrictions or perfection, Tammy encourages progress, self-compassion, and sustainable habit change. She believes every individual has the ability to improve their health when they are given the knowledge, encouragement, and practical tools to move forward with confidence.

How Tammy Works Tammy integrates evidence-informed wellness practices that support whole-person health, including: • Holistic Nutrition • Lifestyle & Behaviour Change Coaching • Women’s Health Education • Yoga Instruction • Pilates Instruction • Mindfulness-Based Wellness Practices

Her work emphasizes education, collaboration, balance, and practical strategies that fit naturally into everyday life.

What You Can Expect Tammy strives to create a wellness experience where every client feels: • Welcomed without judgment • Encouraged rather than overwhelmed • Educated and empowered • Supported in creating realistic lifestyle changes • More confident in caring for their health • Motivated to build lifelong wellness habits

Whether helping someone improve their nutrition, navigate menopause, increase physical activity, reduce stress, or develop healthier daily routines, Tammy’s goal is to help every client feel stronger, more energized, and more confident in their ability to care for themselves.

n.d. #2364 Guiding Belief “Small, sustainable choices create lifelong wellbeing.” Helping indiv... Read More

LCT23-007, CCC. Founder, Clinical Director & Family Therapist

Guiding Belief “Awareness creates choice. Choice creates change.”

Helping individuals, families, and communities build healthier relationships—with themselves, with one another, and with the life they want to live.

Meet Cara Cara Beth Elliott believes that meaningful change begins with understanding. When people gain greater awareness of their emotions, relationships, behaviours, and the stories they tell themselves, they become empowered to make choices that create healthier, more connected, and more fulfilling lives.

As the Founder and Clinical Director of Graystone Counselling & Consulting, Cara has dedicated more than 15 years to supporting children, adolescents, adults, couples, families, and organizations through life’s challenges. Her professional journey began in education, where she developed a deep understanding of child development, family systems, communication, and emotional wellbeing. Today, her work integrates counselling, family therapy, organizational consulting, and community mental health, allowing her to support clients across every stage of life.

Known for her warm, grounded, and collaborative style, Cara creates a therapeutic environment where clients feel genuinely heard, respected, and supported. Whether someone is navigating anxiety, addiction, grief, family conflict, relationship challenges, or significant life transitions, she works alongside them to understand not only what is happening, but why. Through greater awareness, practical strategies, and compassionate guidance, Cara helps clients build resilience, strengthen relationships, and create meaningful, lasting change.

Cara has developed a strong area of focus in family reunification and court-involved family work. She collaborates with parents, children, legal professionals, schools, and community agencies to rebuild trust, strengthen attachment, improve communication, and support the safe restoration of parent-child relationships. Her work emphasizes child-centred practice, emotional safety, and thoughtful, gradual relationship repair.

Beyond the therapy room, Cara is passionate about strengthening community mental wellbeing. She develops psychoeducational groups, workplace wellness initiatives, leadership training, and community mental health projects that promote emotional resilience, self-awareness, and meaningful connection.

Who Cara Supports Cara works with: • Children (6+) • Adolescents • Adults • Seniors • Individuals • Couples • Families

She also partners with schools, organizations, businesses, and community groups to strengthen mental wellbeing, healthy relationships, and psychologically safe environments.

Areas of Focus Emotional Wellbeing Anxiety, Depression & Stress Management Developing emotional resilience while learning practical strategies to manage anxiety, depression, and the challenges of everyday life.

Anger Management & Emotional Regulation Understanding emotional patterns, recognizing triggers, and developing healthier ways to respond with confidence, self-awareness, and self-control.

Grief, Loss & Life Transitions Providing compassionate support through loss, change, uncertainty, and life’s most difficult transitions while fostering hope, healing, and resilience.

Motivation, Personal Growth & Life Direction Helping clients gain greater self-awareness, clarify their values, overcome barriers, and move forward with confidence, purpose, and meaningful goals.

Relationships & Families Family & Relationship Therapy Strengthening communication, rebuilding trust, improving connection, and helping couples and families navigate challenges together.

Parenting Support Supporting parents in strengthening relationships with their children while navigating emotional, behavioural, developmental, and family challenges with confidence and compassion.

Family Reunification & Parent–Child Relationships Supporting families experiencing separation, conflict, disrupted parent-child relationships, or court involvement. Cara works collaboratively with parents, children, legal professionals, and community partners to rebuild trust, strengthen attachment, improve communication, and create emotionally safe pathways toward healthier family relationships.

Conflict Resolution & Relationship Support Helping individuals, couples, families, and organizations develop respectful communication, collaborative problem-solving skills, and healthier approaches to conflict.

Recovery & Behavioural Change Addiction & Recovery Supporting individuals and families affected by substance use, gambling, and behavioural addictions through recovery-focused counselling, relapse prevention, and long-term resilience.

Leadership & Organizational Wellbeing Organizational Mental Health & Leadership Consulting Partnering with workplaces, schools, and organizations to strengthen leadership, foster psychologically healthy environments, improve communication, and promote employee wellbeing through evidence-informed consultation, training, and mental health initiatives.

Community Leadership Cara believes mental wellness extends beyond the counselling office. She is passionate about creating opportunities for education, prevention, and connection within the broader community.

In addition to her clinical practice, Cara develops therapeutic groups, educational workshops, workplace training, and community mental health initiatives that encourage resilience, emotional awareness, and meaningful conversations about mental wellbeing.

She is also the co-creator of The Voices Within Project, a community initiative dedicated to raising awareness of the powerful conversations happening within our own minds while promoting self-compassion, resilience, and hope.

What Therapy Looks Like with Cara Cara believes that healing begins with awareness. Her approach is collaborative, practical, and deeply relational. She helps clients understand the connections between their thoughts, emotions, behaviours, relationships, and life experiences while developing practical tools that support meaningful, lasting change.

Rather than focusing solely on problems, Cara works alongside clients to recognize patterns, strengthen relationships, build emotional resilience, and develop the confidence to move forward with greater clarity and purpose.

She believes every individual and every family has the capacity for growth. Therapy provides an opportunity to slow down, gain perspective, strengthen connection, and make choices that better reflect the life they want to create.

How Cara Works Cara integrates evidence-informed approaches that are thoughtfully tailored to each client’s unique goals and needs, including: • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) • Solution-Focused Therapy • Family Systems Therapy • Mindfulness-Based Strategies • Strengths-Based Practice

What You Can Expect Cara is committed to creating a therapeutic experience where every client feels: • Heard with compassion • Respected without judgment • Safe to explore difficult conversations • Empowered to make meaningful choices • Equipped with practical strategies for everyday life • Strengthened in their relationships • Confident in their resilience and capacity for growth

Whether she is supporting a child learning to manage emotions, helping parents reconnect with their children, guiding couples through relationship challenges, assisting individuals in recovery, or partnering with organizations to strengthen workplace wellbeing, Cara’s goal is always the same—to help people build healthier relationships and create lasting, meaningful change.

LCT23-007, CCC. Founder, Clinical Director & Family Therapist Guiding Belief “Awareness crea... Read More

n.d. #24-6960

Guiding Belief “Healing begins when the body feels safe enough to let go.”

Helping individuals reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems, and rediscover their natural capacity for healing.

Meet Melanie Melanie LeClair believes that healing is more than overcoming symptoms—it is about reconnecting with ourselves in a way that feels safe, grounded, and authentic. She recognizes that our bodies often carry the effects of stress, trauma, and life’s experiences long after the events themselves have passed. Through compassionate, body-centred care, Melanie helps clients reconnect with their innate capacity for healing while fostering greater balance between the mind, body, and spirit.

As a bilingual Naturotherapist with advanced training in trauma-informed yoga, breathwork, Reiki, and Peruvian shamanic practices, Melanie brings a compassionate, integrative approach that honours both modern understanding of nervous system regulation and traditional healing wisdom. Her work is deeply rooted in creating emotionally safe spaces where clients can explore healing at their own pace, always with respect for their unique experiences, beliefs, and personal goals.

Known for her calm, intuitive, and grounded presence, Melanie meets each client with warmth, curiosity, and acceptance. Whether someone is seeking support for stress, emotional overwhelm, trauma recovery, nervous system regulation, or personal growth, she works collaboratively to help clients reconnect with themselves through gentle, embodied practices that encourage resilience, self-awareness, and lasting wellbeing.

Who Melanie Supports Melanie works with: • Adults • Seniors • Individuals seeking trauma-informed, body-centred support • Individuals interested in holistic approaches to emotional wellbeing and personal growth

She is especially passionate about helping clients reconnect with themselves through nervous system regulation, somatic awareness, and whole-person healing.

Areas of Focus Trauma Recovery & Emotional Healing Complex Trauma & Emotional Healing Supporting individuals in gently processing emotional experiences through trauma-informed, body-centred practices that prioritize safety, compassion, and resilience.

Nervous System Regulation Helping clients understand their stress responses while developing practices that promote calm, emotional balance, and greater resilience.

Somatic Awareness & Mind-Body Connection Supporting clients in reconnecting with their bodies, increasing self-awareness, and recognizing how physical sensations, emotions, and experiences are interconnected.

Holistic Healing Breathwork Using intentional breathing practices to encourage relaxation, emotional release, grounding, and nervous system regulation. Reiki & Energy-Based Healing Supporting relaxation, balance, and self-awareness through gentle energy-based practices that complement holistic wellness. Trauma-Informed Yoga Using mindful movement, breath, and body awareness to support emotional regulation, self-compassion, and a greater sense of safety within the body.

Personal & Spiritual Growth Mindfulness & Embodied Living Helping clients cultivate greater presence, self-awareness, and connection with themselves through body-centred mindfulness practices.

Spiritual Exploration Supporting individuals who wish to incorporate spiritual practices into their personal healing journey in a respectful, client-led, and culturally mindful way.

Community Healing & Group Programs Melanie believes healing is strengthened through connection and shared experience. She facilitates group programs and workshops that encourage emotional wellbeing, nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and personal growth within supportive community settings.

Programs include: • Somatic Healing Circles • Breathwork Workshops • Trauma-Informed Yoga • Women’s Healing Circles • Mindfulness & Embodiment Workshops

What Healing Looks Like with Melanie Melanie believes that the body holds an incredible capacity for healing when it is met with compassion, safety, and curiosity.

Her approach is gentle, collaborative, and deeply respectful of each person’s unique experiences. Rather than asking clients to push through difficult emotions, Melanie helps them develop a greater awareness of their body’s signals while learning practical ways to restore regulation, build resilience, and reconnect with themselves.

She understands that healing looks different for every individual. Whether through breathwork, mindful movement, somatic practices, or holistic approaches, Melanie works alongside each client to create an experience that honours their comfort level, values, and personal goals.

How Melanie Works Melanie integrates a variety of trauma-informed and holistic approaches that are thoughtfully adapted to each individual’s needs, including: • Somatic Healing Practices • Trauma-Informed Yoga • Breathwork Facilitation • Reiki • Mindfulness & Embodied Awareness • Peruvian Shamanic Practices (when appropriate and aligned with client interest)

Her work is grounded in compassion, collaboration, emotional safety, and respect for each person’s lived experience and healing journey.

What You Can Expect Melanie strives to create a healing experience where every client feels: • Safe and supported • Heard with compassion • Connected to their body • Grounded during times of stress • Empowered to trust their own inner wisdom • Respected in their unique beliefs, experiences, and healing journey

Whether someone is recovering from trauma, seeking greater emotional balance, exploring holistic healing, or simply longing to feel more connected to themselves, Melanie’s goal is to help each client discover a greater sense of calm, resilience, and wholeness.

n.d. #24-6960 Guiding Belief “Healing begins when the body feels safe enough to let go.” Helpin... Read More

LCT-C26-039.

Children, Adolescents & Adult Therapist

Guiding Belief “I believe meaningful change begins when people feel safe enough to be fully seen, heard, and accepted for who they are.”

Helping children, adolescents, and adults discover their strengths, find their voice, and create meaningful, lasting change.

Meet Jamie Jamie Bromley believes that meaningful change begins with connection. When people feel genuinely heard, accepted, and understood, they become better able to understand themselves, overcome life’s challenges, and move toward lasting growth. She is passionate about creating a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental environment where children, adolescents, and adults feel comfortable exploring their experiences, building emotional resilience, and developing the confidence to move forward.

Jamie understands that beginning counselling can feel overwhelming. Her goal is to create a therapeutic relationship where clients feel safe to be themselves—knowing they will be met with compassion, curiosity, and respect. She believes therapy is not about fixing people, but about helping them recognize their strengths, better understand themselves, and create meaningful change that reflects their values, goals, and hopes for the future.

Her background in psychology, youth mental health advocacy, and clinical counselling has strengthened her passion for supporting emotional wellbeing across the lifespan. Through clinical placements and counselling internships, she has gained experience in intake assessments, individual counselling, treatment planning, youth mental health programming, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Earlier in her career, Jamie advocated for student mental health by developing awareness initiatives, leading stress management workshops, and promoting emotional wellbeing within schools and the community.

As a neurodiversity-affirming and LGBTQ+ affirming therapist, Jamie is committed to providing inclusive, respectful care where every individual feels welcomed, valued, and empowered to be themselves.

How Jamie Can Help Populations Served • Children • Adolescents • Adults

Areas of Focus Anxiety, Depression & Stress Management Helping clients build emotional resilience while developing practical strategies to navigate anxiety, depression, and everyday stress.

Emotional Regulation Supporting individuals in understanding their emotions, responding with confidence, and developing healthier coping strategies.

Self-Esteem & Self-Compassion Helping clients reduce self-criticism, strengthen self-worth, and develop a more compassionate relationship with themselves.

Trauma & Difficult Life Experiences Providing trauma-informed care that promotes emotional safety, healing, resilience, and post-traumatic growth.

Life Transitions Supporting individuals through changes related to school, career, relationships, identity, family, and personal growth.

Relationships & Communication Strengthening healthy communication, boundaries, trust, and meaningful relationships with others.

Youth Mental Health Helping children and adolescents navigate emotional, behavioural, academic, social, and developmental challenges while strengthening confidence and resilience.

Identity Development & Personal Growth Supporting clients in discovering their strengths, clarifying their values, and building the confidence to create a life that feels authentic and meaningful.

What Therapy Looks Like with Jamie Jamie believes healing happens through connection, self-awareness, and compassion. Her approach is collaborative, strengths-based, and tailored to each person’s unique experiences, goals, and abilities. Rather than focusing solely on problems, Jamie helps clients understand the thoughts, emotions, relationships, and life experiences that influence their wellbeing while building practical skills that support lasting change.

She believes every person possesses strengths that can become powerful resources for healing. Together, therapy becomes an opportunity to develop resilience, strengthen self-understanding, build healthier relationships, and move forward with greater confidence and hope.

How Jamie Works Jamie’s work is grounded in evidence-informed, client-centred care and integrates: • Person-Centred Therapy • Trauma-Informed Practice • Strengths-Based Therapy • Mindfulness-Based Strategies • Collaborative Goal Setting

Every treatment plan is individualized to reflect each client’s unique strengths, experiences, and goals while fostering a therapeutic relationship built on trust, collaboration, and respect.

What You Can Expect Jamie strives to create a therapeutic experience where every client feels: • Heard without judgment • Safe to be authentic • Respected and accepted • Empowered to make meaningful choices • Equipped with practical tools for everyday life • Confident in their strengths and ability to navigate future challenges

Whether supporting a child learning to understand big emotions, an adolescent discovering their identity, or an adult navigating life’s uncertainties, Jamie’s goal is for every client to leave therapy feeling more understood, more hopeful, and more confident than when they first arrived.

LCT-C26-039. Children, Adolescents & Adult Therapist Guiding Belief “I believe meaningful c... Read More

LCT-C24-080, CCC, C-DBT, RHN

Individuals 18+ & Couples Therapist

Guiding Belief “Lasting wellness begins when we care for both the mind and the body.”

Helping individuals and couples build emotional resilience, strengthen relationships, and create lasting wellbeing through a whole-person approach to mental health.

Meet Colleen Colleen Doucette believes that emotional and physical wellbeing are deeply connected. Our thoughts influence our behaviours, our emotions affect our physical health, and the way we care for our bodies shapes how we experience the world around us. Lasting change happens when we recognize and support the whole person.

As a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC), Licensed Counselling Therapist – Candidate (LCT-C), Certified Dialectical Behavioural Therapist (C-DBT), and Registered Holistic Nutritional Consultant (RHN), Colleen brings a unique perspective to counselling by recognizing the important relationship between emotional wellbeing, physical health, lifestyle, and nutrition. While her role at Graystone is focused on counselling, her background in holistic nutrition enriches her understanding of the many factors that influence mental health, emotional resilience, and overall wellbeing.

Known for her compassionate, calm, and collaborative style, Colleen creates a safe and supportive environment where clients feel comfortable exploring life’s challenges without judgment. Whether someone is struggling with anxiety, emotional eating, relationship concerns, stress, self-esteem, emotional regulation, or creating healthier habits, she works alongside each client to develop meaningful goals that feel realistic, sustainable, and personally empowering.

Colleen believes healing is not about striving for perfection. It is about developing self-awareness, building practical skills, cultivating self-compassion, and creating a balanced life that supports lasting emotional wellbeing.

Who Colleen Supports Colleen works with: • Adults (18+) • Seniors • Individuals • Couples

She is especially passionate about supporting individuals and couples who recognize the connection between emotional wellbeing, relationships, lifestyle habits, nutrition, and long-term health.

Areas of Focus Emotional Wellbeing Stress, Anxiety & Depression Helping clients better understand overwhelming emotions while developing practical coping strategies that strengthen resilience and emotional wellbeing.

Emotional Regulation & DBT Skills Teaching practical Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills—including mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness—to help clients respond more effectively to life’s challenges.

Self-Compassion & Emotional Resilience Supporting clients in moving away from self-criticism and toward greater self-acceptance, confidence, and emotional balance.

Relationships Couples Counselling & Relationship Wellness Helping couples strengthen communication, deepen emotional connection, navigate conflict with greater understanding, and develop practical relationship skills that foster trust, resilience, and lasting connection.

Mind-Body Wellness Emotional Eating & Relationship with Food Helping clients understand the emotional patterns that influence eating behaviours while developing a healthier, more compassionate relationship with food and their bodies.

Lifestyle Habits & Emotional Wellbeing Supporting clients in understanding how sleep, stress, nutrition, movement, and daily routines influence emotional wellbeing while developing sustainable lifestyle habits that support long-term mental health.

Mind-Body Integration Helping clients recognize the connection between emotional health, physical wellbeing, and everyday behaviours while fostering greater balance, resilience, and self-awareness.

Community Wellness & Groups Colleen believes that growth often happens through shared learning and supportive community. She facilitates therapeutic groups and educational workshops that combine practical skill-building, emotional wellness, mindfulness, and healthy lifestyle education to help participants develop healthier relationships with themselves and others.

Programs include: • Emotion Regulation & DBT Skills Groups • Mindful Eating & Body Awareness • Lifestyle & Mental Wellness Workshops • Stress Management & Lifestyle Balance • Women’s Wellness & Empowerment Groups

What Therapy Looks Like with Colleen Colleen believes that healing begins with understanding the relationship between our thoughts, emotions, behaviours, physical wellbeing, and relationships. Her approach is compassionate, collaborative, and practical. Whether working with an individual or a couple, Colleen helps clients understand the emotional patterns, communication styles, lifestyle habits, and behaviours influencing their wellbeing and relationships while developing practical skills that support meaningful, sustainable change.

Rather than focusing on temporary solutions, Colleen encourages clients to build self-awareness, strengthen emotional resilience, develop healthier habits, improve relationship patterns, and cultivate self-compassion. She believes lasting wellness is created through small, intentional changes that honour both the mind and the body.

How Colleen Works Colleen integrates evidence-informed counselling with a whole-person perspective, creating personalized care that reflects each client’s unique goals, strengths, and life experiences. Her work incorporates: • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Principles • Mindfulness-Based Strategies • Client-Centred Counselling • Whole-Person Wellness Principles • Behaviour Change & Lifestyle Coaching

Colleen’s background as a Registered Holistic Nutritional Consultant (RHN) complements her counselling practice by providing additional insight into the relationship between lifestyle, physical health, and emotional wellbeing. While her focus at Graystone is counselling, this broader perspective allows her to support clients in understanding how everyday habits can influence overall mental wellness when clinically appropriate.

What You Can Expect Colleen strives to create a therapeutic experience where every client feels: • Heard without judgment • Supported with compassion • Equipped with practical skills • Empowered to make sustainable lifestyle changes • More connected to their emotional and physical wellbeing • Confident in their ability to create lasting change

Whether supporting an individual learning to regulate overwhelming emotions, helping someone improve their relationship with food, guiding healthier lifestyle changes, or working with couples to strengthen communication and emotional connection, Colleen’s goal is to help every client build a life—and relationships—that feel healthier, more balanced, and more fulfilling.

LCT-C24-080, CCC, C-DBT, RHN Individuals 18+ & Couples Therapist Guiding Belief “Lasting we... Read More

LCT-C26-036 Children, Adolescents & Adult Therapist

Guiding Belief “Making space for who we are and what we experience creates room to move toward what matters.”

Supporting children, adolescents, and adults in building psychological flexibility, making space for difficult experiences, connecting with their values, and taking meaningful action toward the lives they want to live.

Meet Wijdane Wijdane Akachkach believes counselling should honour the whole person—their experiences, culture, identity, values, strengths, and the world in which they live. With a background in psychology and a professional career in music, acting, and writing, Wijdane brings creativity, curiosity, and openness to her therapeutic work. She recognizes that people experience and express themselves in different ways and believes counselling is most meaningful when it reflects the individuality of the person sitting in front of her. Her approach is warm, collaborative, and person-centred. Wijdane creates space for clients to explore their thoughts, emotions, relationships, and experiences without judgment while developing greater self-understanding, self-acceptance, and practical strategies for navigating everyday life.

Wijdane has a particular interest in supporting clients navigating anxiety, depression, self-esteem, burnout, communication and relationship challenges, cultural adjustment, life transitions, ADHD, as well as smoking and vaping cessation.

As a culturally responsive and LGBTQ+ affirming therapist, Wijdane is committed to providing inclusive and respectful care. She welcomes immigrants, newcomers, BIPOC individuals, and clients from diverse cultural backgrounds and recognizes the important role that culture, identity, language, belonging, and lived experience can play in emotional wellbeing.

Fluent in English, French, and Arabic, Wijdane can provide counselling in the language in which clients feel most comfortable communicating and expressing themselves.

How Wijdane Can Help Populations Served • Children • Adolescents • Adults

Areas of Focus Anxiety, Depression & Stress Management Helping clients better understand their emotional experiences while developing practical strategies to manage anxiety, depression, stress, and overwhelm.

Self-Esteem & Self-Acceptance Supporting clients in recognizing their strengths, reducing self-criticism, and developing a more compassionate and accepting relationship with themselves.

Burnout Helping clients recognize patterns of emotional and mental exhaustion, explore contributing factors, and develop healthier boundaries and strategies for balance.

Communication & Assertiveness Supporting clients in expressing their thoughts, feelings, needs, and boundaries with greater confidence and clarity.

Relationships Helping clients explore interpersonal patterns, strengthen communication, establish healthy boundaries, and develop more meaningful connections with others.

Cultural Adjustment, Identity & Belonging Supporting immigrants, newcomers, and individuals navigating cultural adjustment, identity, belonging, changing roles, and the experience of adapting to a new environment.

Life Transitions Providing support through periods of change and uncertainty related to relationships, family, education, career, culture, identity, and personal growth.

ADHD Supporting clients in better understanding their individual experiences, strengths, challenges, and needs while developing strategies that work for them.

Smoking & Vaping Cessation Helping clients explore habits, triggers, motivation, and patterns while developing practical strategies to reduce or stop smoking and vaping.

What Therapy Looks Like with Wijdane Wijdane believes therapy begins with curiosity rather than judgment. Her approach is collaborative, culturally responsive, and individualized to each client’s experiences, needs, and goals. She helps clients explore the connections between their thoughts, emotions, behaviours, relationships, culture, and life experiences while identifying what matters most to them. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, Wijdane works alongside clients to develop greater self-awareness and acceptance while building practical skills that support meaningful change. Therapy may involve learning new ways of relating to difficult thoughts and emotions, strengthening communication and boundaries, navigating cultural or life transitions, or taking steps toward personally meaningful goals.

How Wijdane Works Wijdane’s work is grounded in person-centred, culturally responsive care and integrates: • Person-Centred Counselling • Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) • Trauma-Informed Counselling • Mindfulness-Based Strategies • Culturally Responsive & Socially Just Counselling Her approach is individualized to reflect each client’s experiences, culture, identity, values, strengths, and goals while fostering a therapeutic relationship built on collaboration, respect, and acceptance.

What You Can Expect Wijdane strives to create a therapeutic experience where every client feels: • Heard without judgment • Comfortable being themselves • Respected in their culture and identity • Supported through change and uncertainty • Encouraged to recognize their strengths • Empowered to make choices aligned with their values • Equipped with practical strategies for everyday life

Whether supporting a young person building confidence, an adult navigating anxiety or burnout, a newcomer adjusting to a new culture, or someone exploring identity, relationships, or personal change, Wijdane’s goal is to provide a space where clients can better understand themselves, recognize their strengths, and move forward in ways that feel meaningful and authentic to them.

LCT-C26-036 Children, Adolescents & Adult Therapist Guiding Belief “Making space for who we ... Read More