Mark Weitz
MSW

I am committed to providing counselling services that enable people to feel more empowered, engaged and available to the challenges we all face. Whether you are dealing with anxiety, depression, stress, grief/loss, adjustment to a major life change or health concern, we will work collaboratively to identify how you are suffering and develop an actionable plan for developing greater personal insight and growth. My goal as a psychotherapist is to provide you with the means to positively change your mood, increase your resilience and develop greater coping skills.

I am a licensed social worker with 17 years of clinical practice involving individual counselling for non-senior adults and seniors, caregiving counselling andhealth system navigation. I use an integrative approach combining Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, problem-solving and mindfulness and compassion-based principles.

My aim is to provide a warm, empathetic space within which we can identify where you are feeling challenged, clarify and build on your strengths and allow for new learning and positive change. I also believe that psychotherapy should create opportunities for greater insight and be practical and applicable to the specifics of your situation.

Shirley Nussbaum
Registered Psychotherapist

Shirley is a Registered Psychotherapist and a Registered Hypnotherapist. She graduated from York University with an honours BA in Psychology and received her Certification in Psychology from the Transformational Arts College.

Shirley has been Practicing for 11 years. She deals with many life issues including grief, addiction, anxiety and depression. She sees people on an individual basis, as well as couples and families.

She strives to create a non-judgemental, safe environment where people feel free to be open and honest. One of Shirley’s primary goals as a therapist is to help people figure out what is holding them back from living their best possible life and assist them in creating positive change.

Faina Ben David
MSW

I am an experienced clinician who has been helping clients work through grief, loss and bereavement for over 15 years. The loss of someone you care about can affect your mood, sleep, and relationships. Sometimes this can lead to feelings of guilt, shame, intense sadness, anxiety and depression; with all this pain, life can feel so sore.My role is to sit with my clients and work through the emotional roller coaster of loss and grief.

We explore the meaning and values that the loved one brought into your life, and what has been left behind after the loss; together we search for new ways to find meaning. During the counselling process, I help navigate my clients through theirgrief, find healthy coping skills and identifyissues that require problem-solvingskills. We willdraw on your strengths, resiliency, and hope.

I provide effective therapy in a supportive and confidential environment. I feel privileged to be invited into your life, your challenges and transitions. I encourage you to call for a free 15 minute consultation.

Lesley Suchter
RSW

Lesley has more than 10 years of clinical social work experience with children, adults, and families in individual counselling and group facilitiation environments.

Her clinical work has been in both the private and public sectors in the areas of managing anxiety, building self-esteem/confidence, recovery and grief therapy and bereavement education. Lesley has extensive knowledge of community services and resources within the continuum of care and proven ability to collaborate effectively within an interdisciplinary team and community program

Jillian Hosey
RSW, EMDR

Jillian is a Certified EMDR Therapist and EMDRIA Approved Consultant with extensive experience providing comprehensive assessment and treatment to persons of all ages who are struggling with experiences of trauma, including traumatic grief, PTSD and complex PTSD, attachment trauma and symptoms of dissociation/dissociative disorders. Jillian is a registered Social Worker trained in Trauma Focused CBT, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR).

She values the mind-body connection and an integrative approach to healing. She is also a founding partner of the Healing Therapy Alliance in Toronto, a collective of integrative psychotherapists, wellness therapists, and addictions counsellors in that values a collaborative, team-based approach to healing the whole person and is grounded in neuroscience and trauma-specific, evidence-informed practices.

Sari Shaicovitch
RSW

Sari is a registered social worker who specializes in anxiety, depression, infertility, reproductive loss, crisis intervention, and self esteem. She has undergraduate degrees in both Psychology and Social Work, as well as a graduate degree in Educational Counselling Psychology and Special Education.

Sari has also received extensive training in both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Infertility Counselling. Sari is currently a member of the Ontario College of Social Workers, the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society (CFAS), the Canadian Counselling and Special Interest Group, and is Affiliated with the Infertility Network.

Sari has worked as a counsellor and social worker for more than twenty years. Working with adolescents and adults, she helps clients identify where they are struggling and to formulate personal and realistic goals for change. Sari also facilitates a monthly fertility support group.

Andrea Kwan
RSW, Psychotherapist

Andrea Kwan, MSW, is a Registered Social Worker/Psychotherapist whospecialises in grief counselling and education. She supports individuals coping with grief and loss (death and non-death), particularly those who have experienced sudden, unexpected and/or out – of – order loss. She also provides education about grief and loss and how to work with grieving individuals and communities through an anti – oppressive and diversity lens. She has experienced multiple personal losses, including the deaths of her parents in the Indian Ocean Tsunami.

Through her own healing process, she has found her way to walking alongside others in their grief. She is committed to creating safe and inclusive spaces where bereaved individuals can grieve authentic ally and holistically.

Bruce Freedman

Bruce is a Chartered Financial Analyst, providing financial consulting services for companies and individuals. Originally from Montreal, Bruce spent 15 years in Asia in investment research and fund management roles. Bruce enjoys writing and is a frequent contributor to online and print publications on investing (as well as less serious matters). Bruce is currently developing a workshop and automated program for do-it-yourself investors.

Roy Blachowitz

Roy received his medical degree from the University of Cape Town, South Africa in 1985. He then spent two cold years working as a Family Physician in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He joined Thornhill Medical Centre in 1991 after completing a family medicine residency at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Toronto teaching medical students in his practice. He is also on active staff at Mackenzie Health Hospital working in the Continuing Care Department and provides home based palliative care in the community.

Fern White

Fern is an accomplished business-to-business marketing consultant. She specializes in building strategies that educate and nurture customers in order to win long-term loyalty. Fern builds customer-focused programs, employing a mix of traditional marketing methods and digital/social marketing to drive engagement, enhance customer satisfaction and strengthen customer retention.

Stephen Margles

Stephen is the owner of Jade Metals Corp., a privately-owned steel wholesaler in Toronto. Stephen graduated with Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto. He is the former Treasurer and Co-Chair of the Board of Directors at the Toronto Heschel School. He also volunteers his time as a baseball coach and team manager with youth teams at North Toronto and North York associations.

Eileen Jadd

Justine Silver

Justine has brought together her years of experience as a highly motivated, detail-oriented professional Event Planner and her deeply personal experience as a griever to co-create Good Grief! Bereavement Healing Services. Originally from Houston, TX, Justine made Toronto her home in 1996. She was married for five years to her beloved husband, Stewart Silver, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in 2011. With the support of her family, friends, professional counsellors and fellow grievers, she was able to access tools and techniques to help her begin to move forward in her life. Now, working closely with her sister, she is putting her extensive non-profit sector experience and her strong organizational, planning, negotiation and management skills to work to develop and deliver invaluable not-for-profit community resources to grieving men and women throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Justine currently lives in Toronto with her cherished Boston Terrier, Shmooley.

Andrea Warnick
BA Nursing, MA Thalantology

Andrea is a Registered Psychotherapist whose passion lies in helping families and communities support people of all ages who are grieving the illness or death of someone close to them.
With a degree in nursing, a Masters degree in Thanatology (the study of dying and death) and years of nursing and counselling experience both in Canada and abroad, Andrea brings to her work a rare mixture of medical and psychosocial expertise.
Andrea developed and teaches the Certificate Program in Children’s Grief and Bereavement at the Hincks-Dellcrest Centre in Toronto. She is a member of the clinical team at Canadian Virtual Hospice (CVH) where she responds to questions about children and grief asked by professionals and family members from across Canada. At CVH Andrea was also the project lead for the development of KidsGrief.ca, a free online grief resource which was launched in November of 2017. In addition to her education and consulting work, Andrea has grief counselling practices in Toronto and Guelph.

Andrea Skitch
MSW, Psychotherapist
EMDR Certified

Andrea has 8 years experience in private practice assisting people with a variety of circumstances, including loss of a loved one or dealing with chronic illness. She has experience as a hospital social worker in Toronto, including palliative and cancer care areas. She now focuses on trauma in her practice, as well as other issues. Her main approach to the work is relational and holistic. As a certified EMDR practitioner, she uses a variety of therapeutic approaches to assist clients in moving through painful experiences towards healing. She works mostly with adults in west Toronto.

Mandy Levitt
MA

My approach to therapy is empowering and compassionate and focuses on giving clients the means to enhance their understanding of themselves and their predicament, and explore possible ways to understand, manage and relieve their distress and suffering. I am an active and engaged therapist, who listens deeply and provides direct feedback or tools to help clients achieve relief and lasting and meaningful change. Within the context of unconditional acceptance and non-judgement, this means clients can develop more adaptive ways of coping, relating to others, develop deeper connections and be responsible and in control of themselves and their emotions.

My approach is informed by an Integrative Psychodynamic understanding, complemented by additional training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Transactional Analysis, and Grief Therapy. I also see couples in difficulty, to improve communication and emotional connection, to transition through difficult life challenges and recover from other attachment hurts. I have a number of years of experience with adolescents who are struggling. I see Parents of children of all ages to assist them with difficulties and help them understand their children’s needs so as to meet them in more appropriate ways. I have experience in Palliative Care as well as grief work.

At times, I work with clients to better understand their past experiences and early emotional injuries. This often leads to greater insight into the interpersonal patterns they learned which may now be contributing to and sabotaging their adult emotional predicaments.

Qualifications: M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Registration: C.R.P.O. (College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario)

Years of Practice: 1995 – Present

Specializing in:
Depression
Anxiety
Personality Struggles and Disorders
Other Mental Health/Illness and family support
Relationship difficulties
Family conflicts
Coping skills, Life Changes and Adjustment
Support for Caregivers
Palliative Care and Grief
Trauma Debriefing and P.T.S.D.
Personal Growth and Work/Life Balance
Life Coaching

Lysa Toye, MSW, RSW, ExAT

Lysa Toye is a Registered Social Worker/Psychotherapist, Expressive Arts Therapist and EMDR practitioner. She has worked in paediatric and adult health, mental health, and palliative care agency settings for over a decade and in private practice for nearly a decade, specializing in palliative, grief and complex trauma work with children, youth and adults. Her practice offers counselling and psychotherapy using a variety of relational, integrative therapeutic modalities, including EMDR, Brainspotting, mindfulness and compassion-based approaches, somatic approaches and expressive arts therapy.

Lysa has taught extensively, authored several book chapters and online resources on grief, and currently co-teaches in the SickKids/Sarana Institute’s Mindfulness and Compassion in Healthcare and End of Life Care Certificate Program, in the SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health Certificate Program in Children’s Grief and Bereavement and in Wilfred Laurier’s Grief and Bereavement Certificate Program on Religion, Spirituality and Self-Care.

Lysa is passionate about supporting children, youth, adults and families living through adversity, grief and trauma to grow and give voice to their experiences through mindful, whole-body awareness, creativity, art-making and the natural world.

Tara Noble, MSW, RSW EMDR Therapist

Tara has a Master of Social Work degree and over 20 years experience working with individuals, children, youth and families facing a variety of complex challenges. Throughout her career, Tara has worked within child welfare, family law, and adult and children’s mental health as well as grief and palliative care. Tara has a private practice in Toronto where she provides support to individuals, children, youth and families preparing for death of a loved one, as well as counselling that supports the grieving process. Whether you are seeking individual support, assistance for your child, or guidance in parenting through grief, Tara provides empathic interventions for individuals faced with the many challenges of grief. Counselling assists individuals and families to integrate grief in a way that promotes resilience and healthy futures. Tara utilizes an attachment and family systems lens to support positive change. She is trained in many counselling modalities including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, trauma therapy and EMDR.