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A forest path elading you on the road to healing with counselling in Waterloo Ontario

Hi, I'm Laura (she/her).
It's really nice to meet you.

Photo of a female therapist providing trauma therapy in Waterloo Ontario

Almost all therapist bios start with modalities they use, trainings they’ve done, and their “specialities”. In a world that celebrates productivity and outcomes, we believe this communicates competence and conveys to potential clients ‘I’m good at what I do’.  But I’ve come to understand that it is not my professional achievements that make me a good therapist, but rather it is my humanness and authenticity. While my ongoing professional development is important to me and my practice (more on that below), I can confidently say that I will not be the best therapist for every individual who knocks on my (virtual) door. But, for those who do believe me to be a good fit for them, it is my humanness and the relationship and trust we build *together* that makes me so. My accomplishments are only a piece of the puzzle. I am a human first, and therapist second. So, before I tell you about myself as a therapist, I’ll tell you a little about who I am as a human.

Laura - The Human

I have been a big feeler and deep thinker my whole life. After many years of wrestling with that fact, I have come to see these traits - being an empath, a highly sensitive person (HSP) and an introvert - as tremendous gifts in both my personal and professional life. I have lived through my own “childhood stuff” and narcissistic abuse in my previous marriage. In present day, I live with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I take medication to manage my symptoms. I don’t share this to garner sympathy, I share this so you know that I get it.

 

I have been in and out of therapy since my early 20s, and I believe in the profound power of therapy as a tool (just one of many!) for healing and change. I know what it is like to be the client – to sit across from a therapist, craving change, and to hold space for the mixed bag of thoughts and feelings that can arise in therapy. I am passionate about my work as a therapist because I have experienced firsthand how transformative therapy can be. I have never and will never ask my clients to do something in therapy that I haven’t experienced myself.
 

Outside of my own personal healing journey, there are many other parts of me including being a wife and a mom. In the words of Glennon Doyle, being a mother is brutiful – brutal and beautiful. I know what it is like to be a mother in a world filled with pressures to do it perfectly. I really do understand the mental and physical demands on motherhood, the overstimulation, and the exhaustion because I’ve lived and am living it. I also understand the insurmountable joy and happiness that comes from raising a little one. Brutiful, indeed.

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Laura - The Therapist

I have been a registered social worker for 10 years. I am in good standing with both the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Services Workers and the Ontario Association of Social Workers. I graduated from the University of Toronto with my Master of Social Work degree in 2014, having specialized in mental health and addiction. Prior to starting Root and Flourish, I worked in a residential addiction treatment facility and in a post-secondary academic institution.  In January 2022, I made the leap to working in private practice full-time.
 

I've always had a love for learning and I consider myself to be a curious and inquisitive person. This love for learning and my desire to provide the best support for my clients has driven me to pursue further trainings and certifications in evidence-based therapies such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Emotionally-Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Experiencing (SE) and perinatal mental health (PMH). We are all unique and complex human beings, and I am adaptable in my therapeutic approach in an effort to meet your needs. If you’re ever curious about the trainings I’m currently participating in, or the books I’m reading, don’t hesitate to ask!

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Advanced Trainings

  • Brief Solution-Focused Therapy Certificate (2015)

  • Introduction to Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT; 2016)

  • Working with Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma (2017)

  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) Level 1 (2018)

  • CBT Level 2 (2018)

  • CBT for Anxiety (2020)

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a Brief Intervention (2020)

  • ACT for Depression and Anxiety (2020)

  • CBT for Depression (2021)

  • Emotionally-Focused Therapy Externship (2021)

  • Emotionally-Focused Therapy for Individuals Level 1 (2021)

  • Emotionally-Focused Therapy for Individuals Level 2 (2021)

  • Somatic Experiencing Beginning, Levels 1-3 (2021)

  • Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Foundations Course (2021)

  • Trauma-Focused ACT (2022)

  • EMDR Basic Training (2022)

  • Perinatal Mental Health – Components of Care (2022)

  • Perinatal Mental Health – Advanced Psychotherapy (2023)

  • EMDR for Chronic Pain and Illness (2023)

  • The Soul of Dissociation – A Comprehensive Course for EMDR Therapists (2023)

  • Perinatal Grief and Loss – Empty Cradle, Broken Heart (2023)

  • Canadian Certified - Birth and Reproductive Trauma Certificate (2024)

  • EMDR and IFS Parts Protocol: An IFS-Informed Approach to EMDR  (2024)

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