We’re here for the whole family, through all stages of life.
Our Services
Therapy & Counselling
Counselling is the skilled and principled use of a relationship to assist a client to develop self-knowledge, emotional acceptance and growth, as well as guidance to learn how to use one’s strengths optimally. At your initial session, counselling goals are discussed with your therapist and a path to wellness is designed.
Trauma Integration & EMDR
All therapists offer trauma-informed approach to your healing. Specifically, Certified Trauma Integration and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) are offered by two of our therapists, with EMDR the gold standard approach for trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
EMDR for Children & Teens
Children and teens quickly benefit from EMDR because developmentally, their brains are more malleable and have less complex memory networks. EMDR is an easily understood, sequentially step-based process that involves less direct questioning than other traditional forms of therapy like cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT).
Couples Therapy & EFT
Couples therapy focuses on improving relationships by improving connection, reducing conflict and addressing communication challenges. EFT is a type of couples therapy that is attachment based, and recognizes rigid, negative communication patterns that cause distress in couple relationships.
Family Therapy
Family therapy is an evidence-based treatment grounded in theory and skill-based dialogue focussing on the improvement of relationships within a family unit. The goal of family therapy is to work together to heal the wounds that make members feel less attached to each other.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
DBT is an evidence-based model of therapy based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that helps people learn and use new skills and strategies so that they build lives they feel are worth living. In DBT, four core skills are taught: mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness and emotion regulation.
Educational Assessments
A comprehensive Psycho-Educational Assessment helps understand learning strengths and needs and determines if a student has a learning disability, or cognition or processing issues that are impacting learning. Potential mental health issues are also considered and referrals made as necessary.
University Assessments
We are able to complete assessments for students with learning disorders and/or ADHD that are planning to attend or attending community college or university. Recommendations are tailored to the individual based on their learning profile and program of study.
Career Counselling
We offer Career Counselling to those who desire a career path that brings engagement, fulfillment and purpose. During an assessment, a person’s mental health needs, learning challenges, and ideas about personal happiness are incorporated.
Autism Pre-Screening
Some learning and attentional difficulties can present similarly to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These can be diagnosed in our clinic. Pre-screening includes behavioural checklists, standardized assessment measures and consultation and collaboration between families, school and outside agencies to ensure the most effective assessment process.
Behaviour Intervention
At Spirit, we are able to complete functional assessments of your child’s behaviour to help determine which behaviours are concerning and their purpose. A supportive plan is developed to improve these behavioural challenges and can also be provided to your child’s school upon request.
Social Skills & Emotional Regulation
Our psychologists and speech language pathologists are able to evaluate skill areas that require development and directly teach these skills to your child/teen or young adult. Evidence-based programs such as PEERS™ (used extensively in ASD), Friends for Life™ and Everyday Speech™ are used in one-on-one and small-group settings within our practice.
ADHD Assessment & Coaching
At Spirit, we want you to thrive! Our ADHD assessments follow a comprehensive process that examines all potentially affecting factors. We help our clients to understand their diagnosis and learn strategies to be more successful at any age. Post-assessment, opportunities for ADHD Coaching and psycho-educational counselling are offered.
Speech & Language
We offer comprehensive Speech and Language services that help meet your child’s communication needs. Our speech and language assessment, treatment and interventions use a family-based and naturalistic approach to address: Articulation Delays, Motor Speech Disorders, Language Delays, and Phonological Awareness Delays.
Newcomer Counselling & Trauma Support
We use a trauma informed approach with newcomers to Canada, helping them to integrate all of their life’s experiences. Using a collaborative approach with community organizations and resources alongside therapy, processing and moving forward from what has happened allows newcomers to feel connected and seen.
Consultation & Advocacy
Consultation is a collaboration between a client and Spirit team member to gather information for support. This can include: speaking with outside agencies on our client’s behalf; conducting interviews to define issues and next steps; educating others that support a client; and advocating for a client’s needs in educational spaces.
“Happiness is the highest form of health.”
— Dalai Lama
New Client? Seeing us is accessible and secure. We subscribe to a Canadian Psychological Association approved privacy compliant service, Owl Practice. This allows for safe, secure, private video sessions with us where your information is securely stored with bank level encryption, confidently uploading even large files to share with a Spirit team member.
Owl Practice meets and exceeds PHI and College Compliant laws, and the servers are Canadian. It is the only fully compliant PHI and College mental health solution in Canada.
The video platform can accommodate multi-person sessions, perfect for couples, family, and consultations. You can download your paid receipts through your portal as soon as your payment is processed, so your reimbursement process isn’t delayed.
Having a mental health emergency? In case of a mental health crisis or emergency involving yourself, child or teen, please:
Call the Mobile Mental Health Crisis Team at (902) 429-8167 or 1-888-429-8167, toll-free. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
A mental health crisis sometimes involves: thoughts of suicide, distorted or psychotic thinking, intense anxiety, overwhelming depression or feeling unable to cope/out of control.
Go to your local emergency department. We recommend taking a support person with you if you are able to.
Call 911. In the event that MMHCT is not responsive within a time frame and you feel your functioning/ situation or that of someone else with you is worsening and travelling to help is not possible, do not hesitate to call 911 for help.