‘We invite you to join us in a helpful conversation’
About Us
Susan Barron
MSW, RSW
(Therapist/Consultant)
I am a Master of Social Work with over 30 years of experience. My private practice specializes in the areas of individual, couple and family counselling with a particular focus on relationships, health, stress/wellness, life transitions as well as loss, grief and bereavement counselling. I consult to various medical and wellness clinics including Genesis Professional Group and CAREpath, Inc. My approach is collaborative and wellness–oriented and combines Solution-Focused, Narrative, Cognitive Behavioural and Mindfulness therapeutic methods. I have provided wellness education and training to various corporations across Ontario and have been involved in the design and build of wellness training workshops for corporate clients. I have also been actively involved in facilitating supportive counselling groups, both in person and on-line for individuals and their families related to issues of loss and health related changes. I began my professional career working in the field of Gerontology at Baycrest where I was involved in various areas in the delivery of care and education. I continue to seek and provide professional development opportunities. I am currently a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers and I am registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.
Renee Climans
MSW, RSW
(Therapist/Consultant)
I am a Master of Social Work and registered social worker with over 30 years’ experience. My private therapy practice specializes in the areas of individual, couple, and family counselling and I consult to a variety of health care clinics in the Toronto area, including CAREpath Inc, Careable and Genesis Professional Group and provide trauma therapy for accident victims. I have also provided and designed wellness training workshops for corporate clients. On topics related to gerontology and health care I have conducted numerous media interviews, lectures, and published in peer-reviewed journals. My areas of expertise include trauma, grief, loss and bereavement, depression, anxiety, stress, relationships, illness and life transitions. I have also worked at Baycrest since 1990 where I have been involved in care, research, and education. I continue to provide education through the University of Toronto’s Institute for Lifecourse and Aging. I have been actively involved in facilitating supportive counselling groups, both in person and on-line, for family members of persons with dementia, mild cognitive impairment as well as other issues of loss and health related changes. My approach is wellness oriented and collaborative and combines narrative, solution focused, cognitive behavioural and mindfulness therapeutic methods. I am currently a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers and I am registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.
Our Approach
Our approach to therapy and counselling is a collaborative, client directed, and goal oriented approach. We want you to know that:
- We acknowledge and validate the feelings and stories of the people with whom we work
- We focus on successes and what is working
- We provide you with tools and strategies to enhance your strengths, abilities and personal resources
- We also encourage you to look at preventative steps that can be taken to enhance your well-being and help you to take charge over your life
We value stories of the past, but our focus is on the present and creating your preferred future. Meeting together and engaging in collaborative conversations is a sign of strength that can lead to greater self-awareness and provide the opportunity for self-reflection. Our aim is to take a positive, proactive stance and maximize your overall health and well–being.
Together we work toward positive outcomes which will help enable you to create a meaningful difference in your life and move forward by finding space for life and growth beyond your current challenges. We work together to co-create meaning in your stories and assist you to take charge over your life.
Together we can help you to:
- Be proactive
- Improve self-awareness
- Learn to take care of yourself
- Find balance in your life and minimize stress
- Create new possibilities for your relationships
- Focus on your values and priorities
- Make healthier life choices
- Create new meaning from your life experiences
- Create the tools to effectively manage future life challenges
Our Services
Individual Counselling
Through our conversations, we create an opportunity for you to explore your strengths so that personal preferences and possibilities can emerge and evolve. We have seen that many people with whom we work are very resilient and we have witnessed significant transformations and positive change.
We combine a variety of approaches including, Solution Focused, Narrative, Cognitive Behavioural, Emotion Focused, Mindfulness, and Trauma Therapies.
Solution Focused Therapy
Solution focused therapy is collaborative, goal and solution oriented, future focused and uses interventions to enhance your strengths, abilities & resources. You are the experts in your own lives and experiences. This approach acknowledges that change is continual and small changes can lead to bigger changes.
Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy separates the person from the problem and encourages you to tap in to your own skills and strengths to change problem stories and highlight unique outcomes to create a new and preferred story and a sense of meaning and purpose.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a method of therapy which helps you to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours to improve your mood and your life. It is structured; time limited and focuses on the present. It helps you identify problems and create achievable goals through concrete tasks and action plans.
Emotion Focused Therapy
Emotion Focused therapy is also collaborative and is related to attachment and bonding perspectives. It helps you to express your emotions and make changes in your interactions with others and create secure relationships.
Mindfulness Based Therapy
Mindfulness is an approach to therapy that involves paying attention to and creating awareness purposefully and non-judgmentally to what is happening in your world in the present moment. It allows you to embrace new ways of taking charge over stress, illness and loss. Together we will engage in mindfulness based practices and relaxation techniques.
Trauma Therapy
People experience trauma in various ways. We will help you to create a sense of coherence and tap in to your existing strengths and internal resources. We help you to tell your story of trauma as a way of shifting your thoughts and creating new meaning. A strong emphasis is placed on the connection between mind, body, emotions and behaviours. We seek to provide you with the tools to help you build resiliency by integrating strategies such as EMDR which is an alternative choice to dealing with stressful or traumatic life events. In this way, we help you to meet your challenges head on to reduce the adverse effects of your experiences and help you to feel and act more in line with your preferred view of yourself.
We integrate these models with our own personal styles and unique relational focus to tailor treatment to best meet your needs and preferences. The relationship of trust and safety that we build together is the most important ingredient in the success of our work together and your change outcome.
You are viewed as the experts of your own experiences. Our aim is to facilitate change and difference, creating new possibilities and helping you move in your preferred directions.
Through our counselling, we have enabled individuals like you to live more effectively with the challenges in your life by creating outcomes such as reduced stress, improved mood, positive changes in overall health, better communication, enhanced relationships, and greater self-worth and confidence.
Marital/Relationship Counselling
In our work with couples we create the opportunity to come together with you and your partner to have open, honest and direct conversations. We will work with you individually or as a couple at various stages in your relationship.
We help you and your partner to connect and focus on your strengths and needs and open the lines of communication so that you both can be heard and validated.
We also work proactively with couples like you to strengthen your emotional connectedness, build secure attachments and enhance your understanding of each other.
Through our conversations, we create an opportunity for you and your partner to explore your strengths so that personal preferences and possibilities can emerge and evolve.
Family Counselling
Families are complex and experience various stages of development throughout the lifecycle. Families are made up of a group of interconnected individuals affecting each other in profound ways.
Various stresses, positive and negative may enter the life of the family such as the birth of a child, illness and loss which can affect the relationships within the family.
We invite you and your family to meet together and engage in an open and honest conversation.
We work together to find ways to come to terms with and accept differences, highlight positive opportunities for growth and change within your family and help shift expectations to a more realistic view.
We emphasize strategies to help you and your family communicate more effectively.
Health/Wellness Counselling
We empower you to make healthy lifestyle choices and encourage you to put your energy toward your psychological, emotional and spiritual well- being which are key elements to self-care. We impart an understanding of the connection between the body and emotions; promote self-care strategies and a preventative, proactive approach to health and wellness. Techniques including deep breathing, meditation, visualization and imagery are practiced with you. We also incorporate cutting edge principles from the new brain science including neuroplasticity to build your skills and inner strengths in areas of contentment, self-compassion, calm and confidence.
We promote self-care strategies and a preventative, proactive approach to wellness. You will learn more effective and healthier ways to manage the stressors in your life.
We can help you move beyond wellness and prevention to emphasize growth enhancing activities leading to a greater sense of fulfillment and competency in your life.
Life Transition Counselling
Adapting to life transitions such as moves, job changes, illness and loss can be stressful and difficult.
We help you learn how to stand up to these challenges by building on past strengths and inner resources.
We assist you with linking and connecting with helpful resources,
broadening your support network and navigating the system.
We provide education and information related to the issues you are facing and create greater understanding which enhances coping and living effectively with the challenges that you are dealing with.
Grief, Loss & Bereavement Counselling
Your experience with loss is real and unique to you. We recognize that we all grieve differently. While we all encounter various forms of loss throughout our lives, the ability to focus on your strengths and resilience can create space for life and growth beyond loss.
Bereavement changes your world as you have always known it as well as your relationship with yourself and others. We introduce you to new approaches to grief that help you to navigate your experience of loss while relearning your world and reconnecting with your strengths and resilience as well as a new view of self. Through our conversations we help you to make sense of your loss and redefine what matters most.
We also know that there is no set time limit on the process of grieving. The process of grief sees peaks and valleys in the overall picture. We help you to maintain ties to the relationship with the person you have lost.
Our main aim is to help you to relearn your world, and move beyond loss to a life with new purpose and meaning.
Our Partners
Our Presentations & Workshops
We have created training programs, workshops and presentations for a variety of organizations and corporations throughout Ontario.
We are happy to create and customize additional presentations and workshops depending on your expressed needs. Please feel free to contact us to find out more about our presentations and workshops and how we can co-create new ideas together.
Our Press
“Relationships & Bereavement” (May, 2017)
“Unique Ontario program geared towards couples living with dementia” (February 2017)
“Retracing my father’s steps in Tofino” (November 2016)
“A new survey reveals the vast majority of Canadians aren’t prepared to care for our elderly parents” (February, 2011)
“More Canadians Helping the Seniors in their Lives” (March, 2008)
Discussion on Caregiver Stress (October, 2007)
“When to Consider Institutional Placement” (May 1998)