PASSION LED US HERE

Individual | Couples | Family Therapy | Teen + Adolescent | Parenting Counselling

Vivian Noehring

Founder  |  Clinical Director
Registered Psychotherapist  |  Registered Nurse

No one should have to try to navigate personal challenges alone. My passion in therapy is to partner with my clients to create a trusting relationship that can foster healing, personal growth, and positive life change. Therefore, it is my pleasure to extend hope, and a path toward healing and wholeness to anyone caught in life’s struggles.

My ongoing pursuit and passion lie in providing mental and physical support to those undergoing emotional and physical turmoil. I value genuineness, thoughtfulness, and kind humour in my therapy practice. Guided by empathy and compassion, I provide a safe, respectful therapeutic atmosphere where we explore your struggles, skill sets, victories, and dreams.

As therapy progresses, we will do some exploring to see what’s going on under the surface. I will work with you to identify the places of isolation and hurt in your life. We’ll collaborate to identify healthy coping skills and learn new tools that will ultimately help you reach your goals.

During my career as a registered nurse, I have volunteered on several crisis-focused medical missions, witnessing the effect and toll of mental distress. A particular experience brought my heart back to helping people care more about their mental well-being. In 2002, I accompanied an ENT/Reconstructive plastic surgeon to remote areas in China, where we performed corrective surgeries on babies and young adults born with cleft lip and palate birth deformities. Many families reported being shunned and ostracized by their communities due to the physical differences between their children and themselves. The extent of this prejudice also meant that individuals were excluded from receiving medical care, receiving a primary education, or participating in the greater community.

I was struck by the families’ resilience and endurance while experiencing unjust behaviour and ridicule from their communities. I thought of the perseverance and enormous motivation to seek medical attention at our outreach clinic.

In 2005, with the Canadian Medical Association of Toronto (CMAT), I embarked on another medical mission to Pakistan for 21 days, shortly after a deadly earthquake. The trauma that affected these people was far beyond physical wounds, as they were traumatized by grief, death, the devastation of their homes, and the struggles ahead.

Collectively, these experiences provided me – with first-hand teaching moments. More significantly, each experience taught me the depth, breadth and range of social challenges. Each moment has led me to become a more able, empathetic, objective and compassionate professional. 

Approaches: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing – EMDR, Relational therapy 

Areas of Focus

Training and Certifications


Meet the Team


Sly Walters

Counsellor | Certified Sports Psychologist CSP, APS, CSC 

I have worked with many Toronto athletes, some of whom have gone on to compete in the Olympics. These experiences have shown me the importance of mental wellness. Often the separating factor between athletes (with the same physical capabilities) was their mental well-being. I want each of my clients to reach their full potential. And instead of being held back by your mental health, I want to work with you to transform it into a tool you can use to succeed and reach your full potential. I would be pleased to help you if you are an aspiring athlete that believes your mental health is holding you back from obtaining tremendous success in your sport or profession.

My personal philosophy related to therapeutic treatment involve consciousness, mindfulness with integrated sports psychology. I believe that establishing trust and creating a comfortable and judgement-free environment are critical for you to effectively grow and heal. My easygoing and mellow communication style, creates a calming and supportive environment. This allows clients to feel at ease, and creates a connection- which is critical for trust. Once I have earned your trust, and identified areas you would like to improve we can work together to develop tools and a plan to help you achieve what you want in life.

There is a perceived disconnect between athletes/sports and your personal mental health treatment (assuming you are not an athlete). However both have struggles they need to overcome, through goal setting and practice. My background and experiences have given me a unique insight on how to help you identify and overcome hurdles. Once the areas you are struggling in are identified I want to work with you to enhance your performance and success. We will work together to empower you to have control of your life, be confident in your capabilities, and work through anything that is stopping you from reaching your potential. In a nutshell, I want to empower to have the life you want for yourself.

Areas of Focus

Training and Certifications

Rosa Antunes-Casey

Registered Psychotherapist OCT, RP

Everyone has a different story and faces challenges that are unique to them. I prioritize and recognize the importance of individualizing with each client. This entails moving at a speed you are comfortable with, allowing me to earn your trust and work with you to improve your mental health and well-being. I provide a non-judgemental, safe space to let you be completely transparent and vulnerable.

Like anything worth doing, therapy can be complex. Please remember that therapy is not a quick fix but an ongoing process that requires time, consistency and effort. If you are willing to commit to the operation of healing and self-improvement, I am confident that we can work together to address the challenges you currently face. I take a strength-based approach; while acknowledging and addressing weaknesses, we focus on your strengths and capabilities to empower you throughout this process.

I am motivated by my journey with self-growth. I understand how challenging and even isolating it can be at times. It takes self-awareness to recognize why you are the person you are today. I look forward to helping you take the courageous steps forward to be your best self; the person you envision yourself to be.

Approaches: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, Gestalt Therapy, Mindfulness, Narrative Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy.

 

Areas of Focus

Training and Certifications

Melissa de Benedetti

Registered Psychotherapist – Qualifying 

In my therapeutic approach, I strive to cultivate a safe space for clients to share and work with challenging thoughts and feelings. I do so by creating a non-judgemental environment which encourages free discussion and self-exploration. I am a very warm and comforting person, while at the same time, able to provide constructive feedback and guidance.

Regret, guilt, insecurity, uncertainty, and confusion are common for everyone to feel from time to time. To address such feelings, I will guide you using a person-centered approach, which serves to increase self-acceptance, personal growth and expression. We will collaborate to tailor the best individualized treatment for you, which might include cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and mindful self-compassion among other modalities. 

I believe people were born to feel satisfied, manage challenges effectively and to feel optimistic about their lives. It would be my honour to work with you to create solutions which cultivate more fulfillment in your life.

Approaches : Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, Emotional Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Internal Family Systems.

Areas of Focus

Training and Certifications

Bara Al-Obaidy

Registered Psychotherapist – Qualifying 

In my therapeutic approach, I prioritize balance. We have all struggled from time to time with balancing different aspects of our life and the burnout that occurs when our life is out of balance. To achieve balance in our lives, mindfulness is critical. In therapy and everyday life, it is essential to be aware of yourself and your surroundings to ensure your day-to-day activities contribute to the person you want to be.

“If it’s out of your hands, it deserves freedom from your mind too.” – Ivan Nuru.

Throughout my work life and management experience, I have gained much experience working with people and the ability to recognize patterns in people’s lives. With individual
therapy, I take a wholistic and humanistic approach, acknowledging that you are the expert on your own experiences and your perceptions are key. Therefore, I take the time to fully understand your truth and help you navigate where you want to be. In couples counselling, I work with your relationship to repair commitment and communication.

If you are considering therapy, we will work towards a collaborative process. The level of effort and commitment to therapy are essential for the outcomes you desire and I am ready to join you on your journey to a brighter future. 

Areas of Focus

Training and Certifications

Jennifer Johnston

Registered Nurse | Psychotherapist

My purpose is to help the client through self-discovery and empowerment with compassion and encouragement by providing individuals with the tools needed to create the life they seek. I value the interactions with my clients forming a trusting and deeply compassionate relationship in a welcoming, safe environment and working together collaboratively with empathy, honesty, and compassion at the centre of our work and partnering to reach your unique goals and facilitate growth, exploration and transformation.

Let’s take your first steps on this new journey.

“The truth is: Belonging starts with self-acceptance. Your level of belonging can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance, because believing that you’re enough gives you the courage to be author=tic, vulnerable and imperfect.” – Brene Brown.

Approaches: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness

Areas of Focus

Training and Certifications

Nechama Drookman

Registered Psychotherapist – Qualifying

My name is Nechama, and I am a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). After 20 years of experience and training in the Education field, I expanded my profession to aiding others through talk therapy and counselling.

As a therapist, I strive to extend my caring, optimistic, and empathetic nature with diverse therapeutic approaches to my clients. Since no two individuals are identical, therapy requires a customized approach with one or a combination of therapeutic modalities for treating distinctive issues. Methods such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Emotional Focused Therapy (EFT), Solution Focused Therapy, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), and Mindfulness, with a client-centered approach are a few psychotherapeutic modalities I employ in therapy.

 
It gives me great pleasure and satisfaction to give back to the community by helping others through self-discovery and development, aspiring to reaching their personal goals, and ultimately to become the best versions of themselves. I am confident that while we all have our strengths and areas that require development, the foundation to self-improvement is to accept our imperfections, love ourselves, and be ready for positive change.

Areas of Focus

Training and Certifications

Yan Deng

Registered Psychotherapist – Qualifying

“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice Johnson Reagon

I am a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) in Ontario. I see individual clients with Depression, Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), interpersonal relationships, parenting, Emotional distress, Stress management, and life transition issues using CBT, DBT, EFT and Mindfulness models. 

I received training to provide counselling to both adolescent and adult clients. I have 5 years of clinical research experience at the Department of Psychiatry at Queen’s University in addition to my counselling psychology education training. 

My interest focuses on promoting mental health and helping immigrants build resilience and intergenerational conflict during the acculturation process. 

I provide service in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Areas of Focus

Training and Certifications

Mohamad Shabib

Canadian Certified Addictions Counsellor | Registered Psychotherapist – Qualifying 

I am originally from Syria, and my journey as a mental health counsellor started when the war took place back in March of 2011. I have witnessed what trauma is and how much it can impact several aspects of our lives. I have helped many people enter a safe and non-judgmental space to reach a healthy therapeutic connection.

I would like to congratulate you for your courage to seek counselling. You might currently be in a dark spot and hesitant to seek help. It is okay, take your time and rest assured that you are not alone in this. It takes courage to be vulnerable and you are on your way there. I have been in your spot before and my healing journey guided me to help others overcome complex trauma. You don’t need to be controlled by your past anymore. Our healing journey will help you be your authentic self again, you will feel lighter after processing the past and more in control of your future. Allow us to collaboratively create a non-judgmental space and move to a healthier future.

I’m in my final year, doing my Master of Arts in counselling psychology. I already have a graduate diploma in addiction treatment and prevention, a bachelor’s degree in public health, and several certificates in different treatment modalities. Most recently, I finished my training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

Areas of Focus

Training and Certifications

Mariam Hussain

Registered Psychotherapist – Qualifying 

Have you been feeling confused, unsatisfied or overwhelmed lately? If you are going through any personal difficulties don’t feel alone, I am here for you! These are common feelings that everyone goes through, but need to be better understood from preventing them to building up. Sometimes all you need is someone to talk to.

I offer a safe and non-judgemental space for you to explore your thoughts and feelings. Collaboratively, we will identify patterns in your life and work towards finding clarity and peace. I use a client-centered approach with various counselling techniques that will be unique to each person.

Everyone could use some support at times. If you need help clarifying personal goals, managing life and emotions, I would invite you to reach out for support. I provide a free initial consultation session.

Areas of Focus

Training and Certifications