THERAPY FOR ANXIETY, TRAUMA, AND RELATIONSHIP CHALLENGES

You don’t need to do this on your own.

FRED WALTER, PSYCHOLOGIST

I’m a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in anxiety, trauma, and relationship-focused work.

I work with adults like you from diverse backgrounds, online in Toronto and throughout Ontario.

You’ve been doing your best to cope with what is wearing you down and leaving you feeling stuck.

Perhaps you’ve been

  • Trying to "push through" feelings of fear and sadness, when another part of you wanted to run the in the opposite direction.

    • putting off dealing with what is worrying you

    • ignoring strong feelings you fear might overwhelm you

    • with your loved ones

    • work, and

    • what is important to you.

You’ve tried other forms of support

Self-help and motivational content may have ignited glimmers of hope in you but follow-through and meaningful change have both eluded you.

While friends and family may be well-meaning, you don't want to:

  • be lectured,

  • burden them, or

  • have to figure out what parts of their support are biased.

And while you may have gained some relief and knowledge from a narrowly focused skills-based therapy in the past, you are currently looking for a psychologist that you can:

  • unpack,

  • discuss, and

  • make sense of broader, more layered issues with.

How I can help

I work with adults like you who are looking for a psychologist who will…

  • see them as a whole person - not just a collection of symptoms

  • be interested in what goes “right” - not just with what goes “wrong”

  • respect their right to make choices for themselves, and 

  • walk alongside them as a fellow human

Therapy with me is focused on what is meaningful and relevant to you as the multifaceted individual that you are.

There is no such thing as a theoretical “average person” and I will never treat you like one.

For this reason, every client will have a unique experience working with me.

What it’s like to work with me

In our first session:

  • I will ask you more about what has brought you to therapy, some of the background to your current concerns, and (if applicable) about your previous therapy experiences.

In the next 2-3 sessions:

  • we’ll discuss your personal and family history.

This will help me start to gain a broader perspective of who you are as a person and about some of the many significant influences in your life.  

Our starting point at the beginning of each session is:

  • discussing and exploring whatever is at the top of your mind, and then

  • allowing the conversation to develop from there.

Let’s start with honesty and see where it takes us. As soon as we make room to be surprised by something new, we also allow ourselves the opportunity to grow as individuals.

I am no stranger to emotional pain and suffering

My lived experience and professional practice in South Africa and Canada have given me the privilege of working with a diverse range of clients from all four corners of the globe; many of whom have faced personal adversity and experienced high levels of trauma.

These traumas include: 

  • facing life-threatening violence,

  • racialized trauma,

  • painful experiences during childhood, and 

  • marginalization and discrimination due to culture, religion, and sexuality.

My own lived experience and work with creative, successful and driven adults like you has taught me that:

There is life after trauma and other forms of emotional pain and distress. I know this in my bones.

I will carry that knowledge when you are unable to see, believe in, or even imagine that tomorrow may be different from today.

Therapy is an unfolding process and deeper change takes time.

A new day brings with it the possibility of fresh perspectives and new insights.

We’ll take things one step at a time and at a pace that feels right for you.

As your psychologist, I will meet you where you are.

Are you ready to take the next step?

  • Click here and provide me with your general availability for appointments during the week.

  • You and I will meet for your first session to discuss what has brought you to therapy.

  • We will meet weekly to facilitate the consistency, trust, and depth that paves the way for meaningful change.

Education and Licensure

  • MPsych in Clinical Psychology (UWC)

  • BSocSc (Hons) specializing in Psychology (UCT)(distinction)

  • BSocSc in Sociology (distinction) and Psychology (UCT)

  • College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (Lic. No. 7218)

Training

  • Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy

  • Mindfulness

  • Group Therapy

  • Contextual Psychology

Professional Associations

  • American Psychoanalytic Association (Committee Member of the Psychoanalysis in the Community Committee)

  • Group for the Reading and Study of Psychoanalysis

  • Ontario Psychological Association