Parenthood · Partnerhood · Personhood
When you come home to yourself, your whole family benefits.
Therapy for parents who have given so much and want to feel like themselves again. Our children often reflect the parts of us that need care, inviting us to offer ourselves the same gentleness and compassion we aim to give them. As you reconnect with who you are, you show up for your family from a more steady, grounded place. In person in Waterloo Region. Virtual across Ontario.
MSW · RSW · PMH-C
20+ Years Supporting Parents
You are not falling short. You are carrying more than most people can see. Sometimes even you.
You may have read every parenting book and tried every regulation strategy. By 5pm, the patience is gone, and the quiet questioning of how today actually went has already moved in.
This is not therapy that hands you more scripts to memorise at 7am for the meltdown at 7pm. It is the slower work of understanding what is happening inside you, so the way you show up for your family, and for yourself, can finally feel different.
Less reacting. More choosing. Slowly, steadily, in your own time.
You love them deeply. You are also more depleted than you imagined possible, and the joy and the weight are sharing the same week. Both are true.
Does this sound familiar?
Two ways this often shows up.
From the outside, you are holding it together. Inside, you’re ready for more.
You are the CEO of this household, and you are exhausted from being the only one who knows what needs to happen next.
You promise yourself tomorrow will be different. Then tomorrow looks the same. Then you make the same promise to yourself again.
You have no village. It is all on you and your partner, and you are not sure your partner sees it the way you do.
You know what you are supposed to do. In the moment, you just cannot do it, and you do not know why.
None of this means something is wrong with you. It means something real is happening, and you do not have to make sense of it alone.
The parts of parenthood we don’t say out loud.
Parenthood holds a lot of feelings we are told not to talk about. The thought, more than once, that maybe this is not what you thought it would be.
The feelings parenthood asks you to keep quiet are often the ones that most need somewhere to land. The smaller and the larger ones. The ones that surprise you. The ones that do not match the picture you had of yourself as a parent. None of them make you a bad parent, and none of them have to stay underground.
You will not be talked out of what you are feeling here.
If parts of your experience feel hard to say out loud, this is a space where they can be said. We sit with what is true for you, find context for it, and work toward something that feels more like yourself.
Hi, I'm Heather.
I am a Registered Social Worker and Perinatal Mental Health Certified therapist with over 20 years of experience supporting parents and families across community, hospital, and private practice.
These days, I work most with parents who want to show up as the best version of themselves, and who love their kids deeply. The ones doing their very best every day, with little left over for themselves. The ones who love so deeply, yet feel so alone in it. The ones longing to reconnect with themselves, their partner, and their kids in this full and demanding season. The ones carrying the whole household and quietly running on empty.
I am also a mom. The early years with my two boys were some of the hardest of my life. I did not recognise myself. I felt things, including an anger that was new to me. And I would have given anything to have someone like me to talk to back then.
Parenthood is hard. You do not have to figure it out alone.
Find your way in.
Here is where most parents start. Choose what is closest to where you are, or keep scrolling if you are not sure yet.
What you might be carrying
When life brings more than parenting
Chronic illness support is woven into Life transitions, and infertility and reproductive loss into Perinatal mental health.
Not sure where to begin? The free 15-minute call is for that too.
Context, connection, and choice.
Our nervous systems feel safest when we know what to expect, when we feel understood, and when we know we have a say in how we proceed. That is the frame I bring to every session.
The work we do together also models something children need: validation, patience, kindness, structure, and repair.
Context
I will tell you what therapy with me looks like. How sessions flow. What the first call covers. When and how we slow down. You will not be working in the dark.
Connection
Before we work on anything else, we work on safety. Reflective listening, gentle pacing, validation. I will not move ahead until you are ready.
Choice
You lead. I follow your direction while holding the therapeutic structure. When we hit forks in the road, I tell you what I see and we choose together.
Two ways to work together.
In person on Tuesdays in St. Agatha, or virtually across Ontario throughout the week. Many clients move between the two depending on the season they are in.
Common questions.
It is normal to have questions before reaching out. Here are the ones I hear most often.
You do not have to be in crisis to come to therapy. If you have been carrying something heavy for a while, that is reason enough. The free 15-minute call is a no-pressure way to find out whether working together feels right, with no obligation to book a session afterward.
A short phone conversation, about 15 minutes. You tell me a bit about what is going on. I tell you how I work. Together we figure out whether I am the right fit for what you are looking for. If I am not, I will do my best to point you toward someone who is.
Many third-party insurance plans cover Registered Social Worker services in Ontario. Coverage varies by plan, so it is best to check with your provider on your per-session and annual limits before we begin. I provide a receipt after each session for you to submit.
Yes. I see clients in person on Tuesdays at the Southern Ontario Counselling Centre in St. Agatha. I also work virtually across Ontario throughout the week through a secure video platform. Many clients move between formats depending on the week.
Yes. Child sleep consulting is a separate service for parents of children over 4 months. It is a 60-minute planning call followed by a written plan and ongoing email support. If sleep deprivation is also affecting your mood or your relationship, we can talk about both.
The first step is a conversation, not a commitment.
Every new client starts with a free 15-minute phone call. We talk about what is going on, what you are hoping for, and whether we are the right fit. No paperwork. No pressure.