Book an Appointment at Hamilton Location - Virtual & In Person
Welcome to Vital Minds Psychotherapy! Our compassionate therapists provide both online and in-person therapy, utilizing a holistic and collaborative approach to treatment. We are dedicated to fostering a secure and nurturing environment that promotes healing and encourages personal growth.
If you cannot find an ideal time or date for you, please feel free to email us at info@vitalminds.ca or give us a call during normal business hours at 905-618-7777 and we will see what we can do!
We recommend booking multiple sessions to confirm your slots in advance!
Welcome to Vital Minds Psychotherapy!
Free Consultation
Our free consultation is designed to create an open space for you to connect directly with a therapist. During this initial conversation, you’ll have the opportunity to discuss your concerns and explore potential therapeutic approaches. This session is a valuable time for you to assess if the therapist's expertise and style align with your needs and preferences.
Affordable Therapy Psychotherapy Interns
The affordable therapy program is offered at a low cost with Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology students. They hold their Registered Psychotherapist Qualifying license, but they are still completing their education and hours for their practicum placement. Our students are trained a wide range of evidence-based therapeutic modalities. Many of our students also have extensive experience in the mental health field, health care, and frontline support.
Please note that student therapists may not be suitable for those with active psychosis, addiction or eating disorders.
In Person Therapy
Join us at our beautiful location in Hamilton, Ontario! Connecting with one of our in-person therapists offers you the opportunity to engage in face-to-face therapeutic sessions, fostering a supportive and interactive environment.
Online Therapy
Explore our dedicated team of online psychotherapists, each committed to providing compassionate and personalized care. With diverse specialties ranging from anxiety and depression to relationship issues and trauma, our professionals offer a safe and supportive environment for healing and growth.
Couples Therapy
Strengthen your relationship through our couples therapy sessions. Designed for partners seeking to improve communication, resolve conflicts, and deepen emotional intimacy, our compassionate approach helps you navigate challenges together. In a safe and supportive environment, you'll learn practical strategies to enhance understanding and connection, fostering a healthier and more fulfilling partnership. Whether you're facing specific issues or simply want to grow closer, our experienced therapists are here to guide you on your journey.
Family Therapy
Kelly Byrne
Life’s challenges can leave even the strongest individuals feeling uncertain, overwhelmed, or disconnected. Whether someone is navigating parenting struggles, loss, health concerns, or major life transitions, Kelly believes each person deserve support and understanding. She offers a compassionate space where people can explore their experiences, rebuild confidence, and develop tools to create meaningful change. With her guidance, individuals can move toward greater balance, clarity, and fulfillment.
Drawing on her 30-year teaching career and diverse life experiences, Kelly supports individuals and families navigating ADHD, parenting, addiction, grief, peri/menopause, and significant life changes. Her approach integrates mindfulness with CBT, ACT, DBT, and SFT, providing practical strategies grounded in empathy and respect.
Kelly meets each person where they are and gently guides them toward greater resilience, balance, and self-awareness. Through collaboration and mindfulness, she helps remove barriers that may be keeping them stuck. She believes everyone can build a life that reflects their values and strengths and she is committed to supporting them every step of the way.
Life’s challenges can leave even the strongest individuals feeling uncertain, overwhelmed, or dis... Read More
Kasandra Lauzon (Virtual Only)
To work with Kasandra, means to feel respected, heard and validated in a non-judgemental, safe environment. Each session, the goal is to support and make you feel seen and supported. Kasandra values the courage it takes to open up and share your story, and she makes it a priority to acknowledge the strength, resilience and motivation you carry throughout life’s challenges.
Kasandra believes therapy is a collaborative journey. Together you will work together, with compassion, curiosity and teamwork to better understand experiences, patterns in order to grow and heal. Kasandra will create an environment that allows you to explore challenges from the past and possibilities ahead at your pace.
Kasandra’s professional philosophy is rooted in belief that healing occurs when one feels safe enough to explore internally, while being supported externally. She will strive to meet you where you are - whether that means to help understand emotions, transitions in life or reconnect you with your authentic self. Together, you will cultivate a space that is welcoming towards growth and strength.
Kasandra’s approach is integrative and person – centred, drawing from motivational interviewing, solution focused brief therapy and humanistic. She will tailor each session to your needs. Kasandra believes that integrating the mind and body can create change that lasts.
To work with Kasandra, means to feel respected, heard and validated in a non-judgemental, safe en... Read More
Arianna Velocci
Arianna is committed to supporting you in gaining a deeper self-awareness, navigating life’s challenges with confidence, and developing self acceptance. With a strong emphasis on empathy, Arianna strives to create a safe, non-judgmental space where you feel truly seen and supported—wherever you are on your healing journey.
Arianna believes that everyone holds the capacity to heal and overcome their challenges with the right skills and tools to work through even the most difficult of circumstances. Healing is not meant to be a solitary process, and she is honoured to walk alongside her clients as they grow, heal, and work towards improving their mental health.
Arianna’s therapeutic approach is collaborative, integrative, and holistic, drawing from evidence-based modalities such as CBT, ACT, EFT, MBCT, the Gottman Method, person-centred, and somatic therapy. She will work closely with you to help you understand your unique needs and goals, and together develop a personalized treatment plan that aligns with your vision for growth.
Arianna has a special interest in areas such as boundary setting, perfectionism, people-pleasing, attachment styles, trauma recovery, narcissistic abuse, ADHD, and women’s mental health. She also supports you working through anxiety, depression, self-esteem concerns, and relationship challenges. Arianna is trained in the Gottman approach and works with couples struggling with trust, communication and conflict resolution.
Arianna is committed to supporting you in gaining a deeper self-awareness, navigating life’s chal... Read More
Mrs. Stacey Ramsay-Bawden (Virtual Only) Registered Psychotherapist, Qualifying
Stacey is a compassionate therapist with over 25 years of experience as a teacher, working closely with teens, young adults, and their families. Stacey has a deep understanding of the challenges people face, inspired by her time spent supporting individuals struggling with mental health, she pursued a counseling degree to enhance her ability to foster meaningful change in others.
Embracing a person-centered, humanistic approach, Stacey believes that you are at the heart of the therapeutic process. Together, you’ll work to build your self-esteem, nurture self-acceptance, develop healthy relationships, and strive towards becoming the best version of yourself. With a solution-focused perspective, she emphasizes your strengths and future aspirations, collaborating to find effective strategies that align with your goals.
Stacey specializes in supporting individuals dealing with anxiety, fatigue, perfectionism, and burnout. She is also passionate about guiding those navigating major life transitions or chronic illnesses. Additionally, she has valuable experience working with individuals with ADHD, Autism, and learning difficulties. With her unique blend of personal and professional experience, Stacey is committed to helping you on your journey toward a healthier, more fulfilling life.
Stacey is a compassionate therapist with over 25 years of experience as a teacher, working closel... Read More
Emma Weber
(She/Her/Hers)
Emma believes that a safe, supportive, and genuine connection is the foundation for meaningful change. She is passionate about supporting individuals through perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, including depression, anxiety, and OCD. Emma also works with individuals facing similar challenges outside of the perinatal period. She understands that feeling truly seen and heard can help you access what is needed to make therapy successful.
She takes a flexible approach, primarily drawing from CBT and ERP, while also integrating principles from IPT, ACT, and EFT as appropriate to meet your individual needs. Using these tools, Emma helps you identify unconscious patterns in your thoughts and behaviors, develop practical strategies to manage symptoms, and build confidence in yourself and your decisions. She creates a warm, holding space where you can explore what feels too scary or overwhelming to express elsewhere.
She believes you are the expert of your own life, and her role is to support you in building the skills and insight to create a life that aligns with your values.
Emma believes that a safe, supportive, and genuine connection is the foundation for meaningful ch... Read More
Diana Ostap
Working with Diana feels relaxed, supportive, and genuine. She creates a calm, welcoming space where clients can take a deep breath and be themselves, free from judgement or shame. Her goal is for every person to leave each session feeling seen, understood, and a little lighter. Diana shows up as her authentic self in session, believing that real healing happens through genuine connection and mutual respect. She views the therapeutic relationship as a partnership built on trust and equality, where clients are the experts of their own experiences.
Diana’s professional philosophy is rooted in compassion and curiosity. She understands that each person’s story is layered and complex, and that therapy is not about fixing people but about creating space for understanding, acceptance, and change. She believes that everyone deserves to feel accepted as they are and supported as they grow, and she brings a steady, compassionate presence to help make that possible.Diana uses an integrative and flexible approach, thoughtfully drawing mindfulness-based, trauma-informed, emotion-focused, and cognitive-behavioral therapies. She collaborates with each client to tailor sessions to their unique goals, values, and pace. Whether exploring deep-rooted patterns, learning new coping tools, or developing emotional awareness, Diana creates space for clients to feel seen and empowered.
Diana works with teens and adults who are navigating mood disorders, personality disorders, and neurodivergent experiences. She is especially passionate about supporting people who have felt misunderstood, stigmatized, or disconnected. Diana is committed to providing affirming care for members of the LGBTQ+ community. She understands how important it is to have a therapist who welcomes your full identity and helps you feel comfortable being yourself. She also stands as an ally to sex workers and others whose voices are too often overlooked or judged.
Working with Diana feels relaxed, supportive, and genuine. She creates a calm, welcoming space wh... Read More
Patricia Herrera (Virtual Only)
Languages and creative expression (art, music) reveal how everyone offers a unique perspective on the world. With a background in psychology, Spanish literature, and the visual arts, Patricia brings a rich and culturally diverse viewpoint to her work. Over the past decade, her primary focus has been on bearing and raising four children, navigating the profound transitions of postpartum life (and loss), while nurturing family, friends, and working on her own personal growth.
Patricia has lived and served in various capacities and in many countries worldwide. This has deepened her understanding of resilience, empathy, and global interconnectedness. She is now integrating these lived experiences into a new chapter as she pursues a career in psychotherapy, dedicated to guiding others through their complex challenges. Patricia brings a warm, light-hearted energy to the therapy room, using authenticity, gentle humor, and a relational approach to help you feel at ease. Grounded in a humanistic strengths-based and integrative framework, she wants you to leave the sessions feeling refreshed, seen, and inspired to engage in meaningful change. Her approach fosters honesty, heals wounds with care, inspires action, overcomes obstacles, and creates lasting change.
Patricia specializes in working with individuals, couples and families dealing with relationship issues, divorce, family conflict, parenting, anxiety, trauma and PTSD. She has a special interest in women’s issues including Pregnancy, Prenatal, Postpartum depression and other Perinatal and postnatal concerns.
Languages and creative expression (art, music) reveal how everyone offers a unique perspective on... Read More
Sarah Morrone
(She/Her/Hers)
Working with Sarah is an empowering process, centered on fostering trust and genuine connection. Her goal is to help clients navigate challenges, achieve personal growth, gain self-awareness, and develop effective tools to create lasting change. Sarah’s previous work was with children & families as a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE) and family support worker. Through this experience, she gained a deep understanding of human development, family systems, and the importance of co-regulation. Sarah has since shifted her focus on cognition and psychology, helping individuals understand the relationship between their brain and body; how their thoughts, behaviours, and beliefs affect their nervous system; and how these experiences ultimately impact their well being. Utilizing a holistic approach Sarah integrates practical evidence-based techniques such CBT, ACT, Somatic therapy, and mindfulness with humanistic approaches such as psychodynamic therapy.
By creating a non-judgmental space designed to spark deep self-exploration and trust, her aim is to foster a connection that feels human and relatable, allowing you to explore your emotions and experiences openly. Sarah specializes in helping individuals navigating challenges like stress, worry, anxiety, or depression, seeking support in finding balance and clarity. As a member of and ally to the LGBTQIA2S+ community, Sarah understands the unique challenges faced by this population. She also works with parents managing the stress of raising young children, women facing life transitions, and neurodivergent individuals seeking to thrive in a world that often feels overwhelming.
Working with Sarah is an empowering process, centered on fostering trust and genuine connection. ... Read More
Cassandra DeLorenzis
(She/Her/Hers)
Registered Psychotherapist, Qualifying
Working with Cassandra is a collaborative and empowering experience. Her goal is for you to feel heard, supported, and more confident in your ability to navigate life’s challenges. She creates a warm, safe space where you can explore your challenges and strengths, using a mix of reflection, skill-building, and meaningful conversation. Using a combination of evidence-based techniques, Cassandra will help you foster emotional growth and self-awareness. Her holistic healing approach integrates CBT, EFT, and psychoanalysis to support your emotional growth and healing from all angles through a nonjudgmental, and collaborative lens, allowing you to feel comfortable exploring your thoughts and emotions at your own pace. Cassandra wants you to leave each session feeling resilient, with practical tools and insights to support your healing journey. Her top areas of interest include relationship issues, anxiety, and emotional regulation. She will help you explore your emotions, break free from unhelpful patterns, and foster healthier connections!
Cassandra also helps individuals and couples navigate challenges related to managing stress, overcoming negative self-beliefs, and improving communication within relationships.
Working with Cassandra is a collaborative and empowering experience. Her goal is for you to feel ... Read More
Jordan Best
Jordan is an empathetic therapist who believes in the power of a safe and genuine therapeutic connection in eliciting meaningful change. She understands that feeling truly seen and supported can help you navigate life’s challenges. She takes a flexible, personalized approach, with a holistic focus to suit your unique needs. Jordan is passionate about supporting you in exploring the root causes of your struggles and gaining insight into the patterns that shape your life. Her aim is to help you build emotional resilience, heal past wounds, and develop practical tools for lasting well-being and growth.
You can expect an empathetic and genuine space where you feel safe to identify patterns, regulate emotions, gain insight, and develop practical strategies using evidence-based approaches like ACT, CBT, DBT, and mindfulness. Explore how past relationships and experiences shape the way you connect with yourself and others. By building self-awareness and healing past wounds, you can create more fulfilling relationships and a stronger sense of self. Using mind-body strategies, you can challenge unhelpful patterns, manage stress, reduce dysregulation and navigate difficult emotions, working towards lasting change that aligns with your values and well-being.
Jordan is an empathetic therapist who believes in the power of a safe and genuine therapeutic con... Read More
Sarah Fawaz Registered Psychotherapist, Qualifying
Sarah’s journey has been shaped by cultural shock, adaptation, and the search for belonging. Navigating a new environment pushed her to reflect deeply on identity, connection, and what it means to feel grounded. Through that process, she began to rediscover herself and find a sense of community, which informs the work she does today. She brings that lived experience into the therapeutic space, offering a safe place for you to explore your own path with curiosity and compassion.
Sarah’s goal is for clients to leave each session feeling lighter than when they came in. She believes that even small steps forward are meaningful progress. Sessions with her are warm, light, and grounded in safety. You’re welcome to show up as you are, whether that means laughter, reflection, seriousness, or all of the above. She takes a person-centred approach, allowing you to lead the way, while gently offering challenges when helpful. Whether we talk, sit in silence, or engage in mindfulness activities, the pace is always yours. Sarah notices the small things: your words, body language, and what’s left unsaid, and uses these insights to support deeper understanding.
She works from a humanistic and mindfulness-based framework that is compassionate, flexible, and client-centred. Her role is to walk alongside you, to hold space for your story, your emotions, and your process. She believes therapy should never feel pressured. With Sarah you can sit in silence, explore difficult thoughts or try different exercises, whatever feels right for you at the moment. While she will always follow your lead, she also gently offers insight and encouragement when it feels supportive. You are the expert of your experience and she is here to help you connect with it more deeply!
Sarah’s journey has been shaped by cultural shock, adaptation, and the search for belonging. Navi... Read More
Laura Bruno (Virtual Only)
Laura’s approach is calm, grounding, and collaborative. She believes that each person is the expert in their own journey, and her role is to walk alongside them—helping to build insight, develop realistic coping strategies, and cultivate self-compassion. She provides a neurodivergent-affirming, client-led space where all parts of a person are welcome. Together, Laura and her clients work at a manageable pace, focusing on emotional regulation, resilience, and practical tools that support everyday functioning.
With over 19 years of experience in public education, including special education, and a background in psychometry, Laura brings a deep understanding of how learning, identity, and mental health intersect. She is especially passionate about supporting neurodivergent individuals—particularly those assigned female at birth—who have experienced late diagnosis, chronic overwhelm, and the exhaustion that comes with masking and feeling misunderstood. Her clinical interests also include supporting individuals navigating infertility and reproductive trauma, as well as those seeking more mindful and intentional use of technology.
Laura integrates DBT, CBT, mindfulness-based strategies, and a strengths-focused lens to create an approach tailored to each client’s unique needs. Her sessions are validating, structured when needed, and flexible enough to reflect the individual. Together, she and her clients may explore patterns such as masking, people-pleasing, emotional burnout, or sensory overload, with the goal of fostering deeper self-understanding rather than self-judgment.
Laura’s approach is calm, grounding, and collaborative. She believes that each person is the expe... Read More
Sarah Sousa
Sarah is a dedicated and passionate therapist with a background in education, bringing over 12 years of experience as an international high school teacher. Through years of working closely with adolescents and families, she has gained a deeper understanding of supporting individuals dealing with life’s challenges. She offers a grounded, kind, and culturally aware space where you can explore your thoughts and feelings in a non-judgemental atmosphere. Working with her is gentle, thoughtful, and collaborative.
Her hope is that you leave each session feeling seen, supported, and a little more connected to yourself. Sarah believes that true healing begins when we slow down, honour our emotions, and begin to unlearn the roles and beliefs society has told us we need to play.
Together, we’ll create space to feel more deeply, speak more honestly, and move toward living in alignment with who you really are, not just who you’ve had to be. Sarah’s work is rooted in the belief that we are not broken, we are often just carrying pain, pressure, or patterns that are no longer serving us. She supports you by identifying your emotional needs, exploring where disconnection may have taken root, and learning how to set boundaries that protect your energy and joy.
Whether you’re an adolescent navigating identity and pressure, or an adult seeking clarity, healing, or permission to slow down, Sarah would be honoured to support you on your path. Sarah uses an integrative, person-centered approach grounded in emotion focused therapy (EFT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and other evidence based modalities. Her goal is for you to feel more grounded, self-aware, and empowered by the end of each session. Sarah sees therapy as a space to reconnect with your inner self and to unlearn what no longer serves you.
Sarah is a dedicated and passionate therapist with a background in education, bringing over 12 ye... Read More
Makayla Ciuffreda Registered Psychotherapist, Qualifying
Makayla has always been deeply passionate about mental health and loves supporting individuals who are struggling. Her natural ability to connect with youth on a deeper level, create a safe space for them, and to empathize is seemingly effortless. Makayla excels in working with a younger population including children, preteens, teens, and their families to offer a comprehensive and collaborative treatment. She has a special interest in working with anxiety, ADHD, stress, emotional regulation, eating disorders, self-esteem, depression, and life transitions. Makayla prioritizes creating a supportive space where her clients can feel heard, understood, and empowered. Her goal is for her clients to feel validated and more confident in their ability to manage their challenges. Ultimately, she strives to help them build resilience and gain a sense of hope in their healing journey.
Makayla places an emphasis on resilience, helping her clients recognize their strengths, facilitate growth, and develop the ability to bounce back from adversity. Her approach focuses on teaching her clients practical tools and strategies to overcome and navigate life’s challenges. She draws from several evidence-based modalities, utilizing an integrative approach while maintaining a core focus on CBT. To create a more individualized treatment plan, she also includes other interventions and techniques from ACT, SFBT, DBT, and Strengths-Based therapy.
By tailoring each session to your unique needs, preferences, and goals, Makayla will help to foster self-awareness of your own cognitive processes, help to improve coping mechanisms, and support you while you uncover your strengths to create lasting emotional change.
Makayla has always been deeply passionate about mental health and loves supporting individuals wh... Read More
Alexis Banyai
(She/Her)
Ivana Stanic MSW, RSW
Ivana is a compassionate and insightful therapist who takes a holistic, collaborative approach to healing. She supports individuals and couples through various challenges including intimacy. She tailors evidence-based practices to each client’s unique needs, ensuring therapy is personalized and effective. Ivana’s background in sociology and social work has deepened her understanding of social inequality, mental health, and systemic challenges. Her training enables her to assess and intervene in complex situations, offering support and advocacy to individuals and couples. With a trauma-informed background, Ivana creates a safe, non-judgmental space where clients feel seen and heard. She meets clients where they are and works alongside them to set and achieve meaningful goals.
Ivana’s approach to therapy is grounded in a trauma-informed, holistic perspective that emphasizes the importance of individualized care. She blends evidence-based practices such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), The Gottman Method, Sex Therapy, SFT and mindfulness with a compassionate, client-centered framework. Ivana believes in meeting clients where they are, respecting their unique experiences, and working collaboratively to build resilience, foster self-compassion, and help them live authentically. Her ultimate goal is to guide clients toward healing their relationships through emotional healing, self-awareness, and a life that aligns with their values and aspirations.
Ivana is a compassionate and insightful therapist who takes a holistic, collaborative approach to... Read More
Amanda Lazenis
Working with Amanda is a supportive and collaborative experience where you are invited to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with yourself. Her goal is for you to leave each session feeling seen, validated, and equipped with meaningful tools to navigate life’s challenges. Amanda’s approach is centered on creating a safe and encouraging space where you can explore your thoughts, emotions, and relationship dynamics without judgment. She believes therapy should feel both grounding and empowering, a place where genuine growth and healing can truly begin.
Amanda takes an integrative, client-centered approach that draws on CBT, SFBT, Strengths-Based Therapy, and EFT for couples. With a strong trauma-informed background and a commitment to cultural sensitivity, her sessions are collaborative and practical, focusing on identifying patterns that may be holding you back and developing strategies to foster resilience, emotional regulation, and self-compassion. Her experience supporting women from diverse cultural backgrounds has strengthened her dedication to creating an inclusive space where every client feels understood and valued. She works with clients to set meaningful goals that reflect their values, guiding them toward greater awareness, confidence, and connection.
Amanda works with individuals and couples who are navigating anxiety, stress, relationship issues, and major life transitions. She helps clients manage anxious thoughts, strengthen communication, and create deeper, more fulfilling relationships. When working with couples, Amanda uses EFT to help partners understand each other’s emotional needs, repair disconnection, and build closeness. Her gentle, curious style encourages honest conversations and helps clients feel supported as they explore new ways of relating to themselves and others.
Working with Amanda is a supportive and collaborative experience where you are invited to slow do... Read More
Vanessa Rouleau (Virtual Only)
Vanessa supports individuals and couples navigating a wide range of challenges, including grief, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, major life transitions, and sexual concerns. She recognizes that each person’s journey is unique and works collaboratively to create a personalized path toward healing and growth.
Drawing on years of experience as a Sexologist and now practicing as a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), Vanessa brings both a humanistic-existential and science-informed lens to her work. Her approach integrates cognitive behavioral therapy techniques with the core values of unconditional positive regard, empathy, and congruence, fostering a compassionate and non-judgmental space where clients feel supported and free to explore their inner world.
Starting therapy can feel daunting, but Vanessa meets you with warmth and openness. Whether you’re facing something new or carrying a long-standing weight, she offers steady support at every step of the process. In therapy, you’re invited to show up just as you are. No pressure, no expectations, just an open, caring space where your experience is honoured. You don’t have to face it alone. Vanessa will walk beside you as you move toward clarity, resilience, and a more hopeful future.
Vanessa supports individuals and couples navigating a wide range of challenges, including grief, ... Read More
Julie Desjardins
As an experienced Clinical Supervisor and Registered Psychotherapist, I am deeply committed to fostering the next generation of competent, ethical, and reflective mental health professionals. My approach to supervision is grounded in a commitment to coaching, mentoring, and professional consultation. My general philosophy is that supervision is a collaborative, supportive, and growth-oriented relationship, where I strive to support clinicians in their learning, growth, and development of a personal and ethical style of psychotherapy and counselling.
I focus on creating a supportive space where you can confidently explore clinical challenges, process complex cases, and address any feelings of imposter syndrome or burnout. My goal is to move you from competence to confidence. Supervision is a vital part of professional development and requires a mutual willingness to learn and reflect.
With 18 years of practice in the mental health field (since 2007), I have worked in diverse clinical settings, including Youth Net Hamilton, a Montreal Women’s shelter, a Community Sexual Assault intervention centre, an EAP crisis support centre, and as Director/Supervisor of my group practice in Ottawa (since 2017). I have several years of experience supervising and training student therapists and early-career clinicians, averaging over hundreds of hours of direct supervision.
My clinical expertise is focused on treating:
Symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress/burnout. Life’s and parenting challenges, grief/loss, student performance, mental health crisis. Behavioural and emotional aspects of ADHD/ASD/neurodivergence. The impacts of relational challenges in couples, parents, and families. Domestic violence, partner abuse, and childhood abuse. Co-parenting and high-conflict separation.
I am formally trained and experienced in supervising the following modalities:
Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical-Behavioural Therapy (DBT) Eco Therapy or Walk & Talk Therapy Trauma-informed, Solution-Focused, Strength-based, and Compassion-Focused Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT and EFiT), Attachment-theory, and Gottman Method
I hold a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University (2012). I am registered to practice in Ontario as a Registered Psychotherapist (Independent Practice) with the CRPO (#008983). I have been a Certified Canadian Counsellor and Supervisor (#14010) with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) since 2016. I have also completed a 30-hour supervision coursework and meet CRPO’s requirements for clinical supervision.
As an experienced Clinical Supervisor and Registered Psychotherapist, I am deeply committed to fo... Read More
Mary Vuksanovic Registered Psychotherapist
Mary is an expert in anxiety-related disorders, specializing in health anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, and post-traumatic stress. She uses an integrative, science-based, and psychodynamically informed approach that targets maladaptive thinking patterns, unwanted urges or compulsions, and nervous system dysregulation.
Mary helps clients create new neural pathways by reconstructing unhelpful thought patterns, engaging in more adaptive behaviours, and developing effective skills to cope with internal distress. Clients learn how to self-regulate to reduce physiological arousal, improve stress hormone regulation, stabilize mood, and enhance overall functioning.
Mary’s approach emphasizes resilience through experiential learning within session, empowering clients to move beyond the burden of anxiety, trauma responses, and intrusive symptoms that interfere with living fully. Her primary clinical focus is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), with advanced specialization in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for the treatment of OCD, health anxiety, panic, phobias, and trauma-related shock that can result in cognitive changes and nervous system disorientation.
Post-traumatic stress can trigger involuntary physiological and psychological responses, including persistent hypervigilance and a chronic state of fight-or-flight. Through a combination of cognitive restructuring, exposure-based therapy, somatic nervous system regulation, and psychodynamic exploration, Mary supports clients in reducing distress while developing a deeper understanding of the emotional, relational, and developmental factors that contribute to their symptoms.
In addition to symptom relief, Mary works with clients to process complex emotions such as fear, shame, grief, and self-doubt that often underlie anxiety-based disorders. For comprehensive and individualized treatment, she may integrate Psychodynamic Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Solution-Focused Therapy to help uncover root causes, increase insight, foster acceptance, and create meaningful, sustainable change.
Mary is an expert in anxiety-related disorders, specializing in health anxiety, obsessive-compuls... Read More
Destiny Melo
Destiny was inspired to pursue psychology while growing up in a family that was affected mental health struggles. Witnessing the pain and challenges of mental health first-hand, created a passion for helping others. With additional experience in behavioural therapy, Destiny is able to support individuals that struggle with behavioral difficulties and emotional regulation. Destiny has a special interest in working with individuals with mood disorders, addiction, neurodivergence and trauma. Her ability to building trust with individuals that struggle with such complexities allow her to support individuals in crisis, including self harm and suicidality, and with de-escalating individuals who are in a aggressive or agitated state.
Destiny is driven to help individuals overcome their challenges, heal, and help find transformative change. Working with her will be a collaborative and client-centered experience. Sessions will be tailored to your unique needs and experience. Her goal is for you to feel accepted, understood, and more optimistic about your ability to overcome your challenges. Destiny will not only help you understand the root cause of your struggles but also explore your strengths, build self awareness and establish realistic goals. Her sessions elicit transformative change using evidence-based techniques, honest communication and active listening, to help you develop practical skills and tools to maximize resilience. Destiny’s approach combines cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and emotion-focused therapy (EFT). Through this integrative approach you will explore and process emotions, foster emotional healing, and identify and create more adaptive thinking patterns and habits. Destiny will also help you build emotion regulation skills and teach you how to focus on the present through mindfulness practices.
Destiny was inspired to pursue psychology while growing up in a family that was affected mental h... Read More
Melora Andrews Registered Psychotherapist, Qualifying
Melora understands how vital it is to feel safe, heard, and supported when being vulnerable and exploring personal experiences. Her goal is to foster a trusting therapeutic relationship with her clients where they feel empowered to explore their personal experiences at a pace that is comfortable for them. Her hope to support her clients in working through navigating life’s transitions, challenges, and emotional well-being. Her goal is to help build confidence, develop strategies and tools and empower her clients to make lasting change.
Your session with Melora will be a safe space for you to share, and will consist of a collaborative and client-centred approach. She utilizes a tailored approach to support you in recognizing the root cause of the challenges that you are facing and the patterns that are impacting your quality of life.
Her main areas of focus include anxiety, burnout, perfectionism, life transitions and self-esteem, women’s issues, relationship issues and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). She utilizes a collaborative and client-centred approach drawing from different therapeutic modalities tailored to fit your unique needs. These may include ACT, DBT, CBT, SFBT and EFT.
Melora understands how vital it is to feel safe, heard, and supported when being vulnerable and e... Read More
Amanda Spallacci
Amanda is dedicated to helping individuals, couples, and families navigate life’s challenges with compassion and understanding. Her journey into therapy began with a PhD where she explored women’s memoirs to understand how personal and cultural narratives shape our understanding of trauma, identity, and relationships. She spent years teaching university courses on gender, race, trauma, and memory, deepening my understanding of how societal structures and lived experiences shape self-esteem, coping mechanisms, and interpersonal relationships. This foundation, along with specialized training in Counselling Psychology, inspired her to shift from the academic context to working directly with clients. She uses this comprehensive knowledge to support individuals, couples, and families as they navigate trauma, identity struggles, healing, and connection in their lives.
Therapy with Amanda is warm, collaborative, and rooted in respect for each client’s unique experiences. She believes true healing happens in a space where you feel heard, understood, and supported. Her approach is integrative and person-centred, drawing from trauma-focused therapy, emotionally focused therapy (EFT), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). She also incorporates culturally sensitive and feminist perspectives, recognizing the ways systemic factors influence mental health. Whether you are navigating addiction, trauma, relationship struggles, postpartum challenges, infertility, or anxiety, Amanda tailors each session to meet you where you are, so you can work together on the path toward the change you seek.
Amanda is trained in supporting survivors of emotional abuse and gaslighting, as well as those navigating anxiety, depression, addiction, self-esteem challenges, and women’s health concerns, including postpartum mental health and infertility. Her goal is to help you let go from the patterns that no longer serve you, cultivate emotional resilience, and build a stronger connection with yourself and others. You don’t have to navigate this alone, Amanda is here to offer you validation, guidance, and practical tools to support your healing.
Amanda is dedicated to helping individuals, couples, and families navigate life’s challenges with... Read More
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Located at: 849 Upper Wentworth St, 2nd Floor, Suite 209, Hamilton
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Need Help? 905-618-7777 info@vitalminds.ca