Strength-Based Therapists in St. Catharines, ON
Shereen Ishag
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Virtual psychotherapy across Ontario for teens (12+), adults, couples, and families. I work with clients experiencing relationship difficulties, emotional disconnection, anxiety, grief, and trauma-related concerns. I draw from emotion-focused and attachment-based perspectives, including EFCT-informed work, as well as other integrative approaches.
Grace Gao
Registered Social Worker
Grace is passionate about creating accessible and culturally responsive mental health support, particularly for individuals who may feel hesitant to seek formal counseling services. As a bilingual professional fluent in English and Mandarin, she values creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment where clients feel heard and respected.
Denise Smith
Registered Social Worker, BSW, MSW, RSW
Are you feeling overwhelmed and anxious with balancing work, relationships and/or parenting? Maybe you’re feeling unmotivated, disconnected from yourself and your loved ones and find your mood up and down. You might be struggling with a big life decision or change. It can be difficult to know how to move forward. I’ve been there and I understand how stressful it can be.
Melanie Lee
Registered Psychotherapist
Trauma-focused psychotherapist and EMDR specialist helping adults, young adults, and couples across Ontario. I integrate EMDR, somatic and parts work, polyvagal theory, DBT, and CBT to help clients harmonize their nervous system, heal from past experiences, and transform into their most authentic selves. Virtual sessions available.
Rachelle Trudel, RP / PA, CCC - *Psychothérapeute bilingue*
Registered Psychotherapist / Psychothérapeute autorisée
Welcome! I support my clients in addressing the effects of their childhood wounds on their lives in order to improve their self-esteem and relationships. I use my knowledge in CBT, SFBT, attachment theory and mindfulness to support my clients in a collaborative, pragmatic, goal-oriented, compassionate and trauma-informed way. I look forward to meeting you!
Michelle Keough
Master of Clinical Social Work, Registered Social Worker
Feeling disconnected from your partner has got you feeling discouraged and frustrated in your relationship. You're tired of having the same arguments continue to happen in your relationship with no understanding. Being stuck in conflict has lead to you feeling disconnected from your partner and is holding you back from creating a secure loving bond. You no longer need to feel alone in your rela...
Janalyn Dodds MSW, BSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker/ Psychotherapist
I am a Registered Social Worker and psychotherapist with The Support Station, a Canadian-based, woman-owned organization that believes cost shouldn't be a barrier to accessing quality mental health and wellness support. Each client's session fees are adjusted according to not only their monthly income, but also any bills and debts paid out regularly get considered as well.
Amanda Rennick-Hazen
Registered Psychotherapist
I enjoy using a variety of techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Solution Focused Strategies, Mindfulness Meditation, Trauma Informed, Compassion Focused, & Emotion Focused. Depression & Sadness Anxiety & Worry Work , Home, & School Stress Grief & Loss Divorce & Separation Unexpected life transitions, unexpected change, lost opportunities
Abby Tait
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
You might come to therapy feeling stuck in familiar patterns - ways of coping, thinking, or relating that once made sense but now feel hard to shift. You may be thoughtful and self-aware, yet find yourself overthinking, avoiding certain emotions, or feeling disconnected from who you are or where you’re headed. Questions about identity, values, and purpose often sit quietly underneath these experi…
Tanja Ivic
Registered Social Worker
*Accepting new virtual clients across Ontario, supporting teens and adults navigating anxiety, trauma, addiction patterns, identity and life transitions.
Christine Nichols
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
You deserve the peace that comes with living authentically. On your journey to finding your purpose, you may be experiencing stress, anxiety, low-mood, or challenges with your self-worth. These experiences can make life feel overwhelming, and it’s easy to feel disconnected from the person you truly are. A better, more connected life is possible. As your therapist, I provide a genuine, compassion…
Manisha Grewal
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
I offer a compassionate space to address both immediate struggles and deeper patterns. Together, we’ll build tools to manage symptoms in the present while exploring past experiences, identity, and meaning. My approach blends existential therapy, parts work (IFS), and ACT, and is inclusive, culturally sensitive, and LGBTQIA+/BIPOC affirming.
Katelyn Matias
Registered Psychotherapist
Hi, I’m Katelyn Matias, a Registered Psychotherapist and the Founder of Anchor & Bloom Psychotherapy. My approach to therapy is trauma-informed, relational, and grounded in attachment theory. I believe that our experiences, relationships, and nervous system responses shape how we understand ourselves, navigate emotions, and connect with others.
Khysandra Lee
Registered Psychotherapist
Alysha Leal
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Life can throw us curveballs that may seem impossible to navigate or process through emotionally. I understand the courage it takes to seek support, and I am here to walk alongside you every step of the way. Regardless of where you are in your journey, I will meet you there and work collaboratively with you to get to where you want to be.
Charmaine McIntosh
Psy.D., R.P.
Hello and Welcome to Sojourn Wellness, a virtual practice. Charmaine is a Registered Psychotherapist and Certified Health and Life Coach. Our approach is holistic, collaborative and person-centred. We provide coaching, psychotherapy, and assessments such as psychoeducational, immigration, psychological for mental health, motor-vehicle accidents (MVA), long-term disability (LTD), and workplace…
Mahum Ahmed
Registered Social Worker
Struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, or PTSD? You may feel overwhelmed or stuck and want deeper understanding—not just symptom relief. I offer compassionate, tailored therapy using evidence-based approaches like CBT. Together, we’ll build emotional regulation, stronger relationships, and a more fulfilling, empowered future.
Brock Vaughan
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Brains are messy. Therapy doesn't have to be.
Johanna Benoit
Registered Psychotherapist
NIHB provider, specializing in CPTSD and trauma, perinatal grief and loss, PTSD, anxiety, depression and borderline personality disorder.
Emma Hartley
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), BA (she, her)
Are you looking for a therapist that knows what it's like to feel lost or overwhelmed and how to find your footing again? Noticing yourself feeling more anxious, "just tired", and craving a space to slow down and reconnect with a sense of meaning or purpose? Trying to make sense of shifts in mood, questioning careers, exploring relationships, parenting and identity, or a major life transition?
How do therapists in St. Catharines, ON compare?
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Frequently Asked Questions About Strength-Based
What is strength-based therapy?
Strength-based therapy is an orientation in therapy that deliberately focuses on the client's existing resources, strengths, values, capabilities, and resilience — rather than primarily on pathology, deficits, and problems. It is not denial of difficulties; it is a choice to place equal or greater weight on what is working, what the person has overcome, what they value, and what they are capable of. Strength-based approaches include Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Positive Psychology therapy, narrative approaches, and many humanistic frameworks.
How does strength-based therapy differ from traditional approaches?
Traditional approaches often focus heavily on problems, symptoms, deficits, and what is wrong. Strength-based therapy shifts the lens: rather than "what is your problem and what caused it," it asks "what do you want to be different, what resources do you have, and what has worked before?" This is not bypassing real difficulties — it is choosing to mobilize the person's existing capacity alongside addressing their challenges. The approach is often experienced as more validating and energizing than deficit-focused approaches.
What is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)?
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is one of the most widely researched strength-based approaches. Developed by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg, SFBT focuses on identifying and amplifying what the client does when the problem is less present (exceptions), describing in detail what their preferred future looks like (the miracle question), and building on their existing strengths and resources. SFBT has evidence for depression, anxiety, family therapy, school settings, and diverse populations. It is brief — often 3–8 sessions.
Is a strength-based approach appropriate for serious mental health concerns?
Yes — strength-based approaches are not limited to mild concerns or wellness coaching. Identifying and mobilizing resilience and existing resources is valuable alongside evidence-based treatment for depression, anxiety, trauma, and serious mental illness. A strength-based lens does not mean ignoring suffering — it means holding both the difficulty and the capability simultaneously. For very serious presentations, strength-based approaches are most effective as part of a comprehensive treatment plan rather than as the only approach.
Who benefits most from strength-based therapy?
Strength-based therapy tends to resonate particularly with people who feel pathologized or whose sense of self-efficacy has been eroded by chronic difficulties; with people who prefer a future-focused, action-oriented approach over extended exploration of the past; with children and adolescents for whom building on strengths is developmentally appropriate; and with people from cultural backgrounds where talking about problems or expressing distress is less natural than focusing on action and solutions. The approach can be deeply empowering when done well.