I have been both a licensed Psychologist and educator for over 25 years. I am a member of the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec and hold a PhD in Educational Studies in Psychology from McGill University. My practice began in youth drop-out prevention and evolved into a life’s work focused on supporting adolescents, young ‘emerging’ adults, and adults to overcome difficult life challenges including anxiety, depression, stress, feelings of low self-esteem, relationship problems, eating disorders, and trauma.

I ground my practice in Attachment Theory, which suggests that our earliest relationships underlie many of the patterns in which we engage throughout our lives. However, I also prioritize the present and how you are feeling now. My approach is client-centered and I draw on techniques from Strengths-Based CBT and Mindfulness practices, to help you reframe how you see a problem, situation, or relationship. I will help you gain awareness, while also equipping you with strategies to create new meaning, thoughts, and behaviours as you move forward. My aim is to create a safe space to work authentically with you as you take steps toward positive change.

Derek is a graduate of Concordia University in the field of Psychology, and he obtained his Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Yorkville University in 2012.

With extensive clinical expertise in the treatment of substance misuse and mental health concerns, he invites clients to take part in a collaborative and non-judgmental approach to addressing their personal treatment goals. He draws on principles of psychodynamic theory, mindfulness, harm reduction, emotion focussed therapy, and somatic therapies when working with clients. He is well-trained in group therapy, individual, couples, and family counselling. Derek’s approach is trauma-informed, and values cultural sensitivities.

Derek also works as an experienced integration therapist. His work in this domain is geared towards individuals who are interested in, or who have had experience with non-ordinary states of consciousness. Working with Derek, you will be invited into a safe and confidential environment where you may begin to explore and integrate psychedelic experiences into your everyday life.

If you have any questions about his practice or therapeutic approach, he is more than happy to connect with you. You can reach him through email, where he is available to help answer any questions you may have as you begin or continue to evolve your emotional, spiritual or recovery journey. 

After many years of owning a business, Josh decided to change career paths and do something he is truly passionate about. Being in recovery himself, Josh is able to relate and connect to those who struggle with the terrible disease of addiction.

Josh has completed comprehensive training as an interventionist. He has a passion for working with youth and youth-at-risk. His values are rooted in family and truly enjoys giving back to his community.

Josh recognizes the importance of having a strong social support system and will be involved in organizing recreation and leisure opportunities for individuals at Lighthouse.

Nadia Argueta (She/Her) graduated with a Master in Social Work from McGill University in 2016 and has been working in the helping profession for 8 years. She has experience working with survivors of gender-based violence, as well as with people affected by addiction and/or mental health.

Nadia is trained in individual counselling, group facilitation, and crisis intervention. She integrates cognitive and dialectical behavioural therapeutic tools, motivational interviewing, structured relapse prevention, and breathwork skills.

She is passionate about exploring the intricacies of emotions, as she believes they are revealing messages. Nadia hopes to collaborate with individuals, couples, and families in their journey towards their inner work, communication development, and emotional healing.

She is currently studying in the Couples and Family Therapy program at McGill University and is able to provide services in English, French, and Spanish.

Samantha integrates techniques from strong evidence-based frameworks in order to collaborate meaningfully in the process of psychotherapy. Many of Samantha’s clients come to therapy with initial feelings of frustration, agitation, emptiness, loss, nervousness, and fear. Through conversation, she and her clients explore the reasons they are seeking help, the struggle to be different, and the person they want to become.

Together, they become curious about how the past impacts the present, what a life worth living means, and the steps to build it.

The work of therapy involves feeling emotions, looking inward, and developing satisfaction with the choices and decisions one makes.

Samantha engages with her clients warmly and openly. She respects that each client shows up with unique circumstances and challenges. Together they align what was misaligned, connect what was disconnected, and tune what could benefit from tuning.

Samantha is a member of the Ordre des psychologues du Québec (OPQ). She works with adults, couples, and families.

I am a Couple and Family Therapist, Psychotherapist and Creative Arts Therapist. I hold a MA Creative Arts Therapies (Drama Therapy) from Concordia University, Montreal and a MSc(A) in Couple and Family Therapy from McGill University. I am licensed as a psychotherapist by the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec and as a Couple and Family Therapist from the Ordre des des travailleurs sociaux et familiaux du Québec.

I see psychotherapy as a collaborative process that is grounded in a relationship: the one between you -the individual, couple, or family – and me – the psychotherapist. I strive to make the therapeutic space as safe, warm, non-judgmental, and compassionate as possible. Genuinely connecting with my clients, I work to really understand what is going on inside you.

My approach is relational, attachment-based, emotion-focused, and informed by the latest findings in neuroscience and trauma. I ask myself: what does this person bring with them into the room, into the therapy, and into their relationships? What stressors and ruptures from the past might be resonating in the here and now? What are their innate strengths? Thanks to my background in both talk therapy and Creative arts therapies, I have many tools at my disposal to tackle your issues: verbal and non-verbal.

Together, let’s work on relieving your distress, increasing your wellbeing, finding balance and making your relationships more satisfying and supportive. I really look forward to meeting you.

Sarah McNamee (she/her) is a clinician & researcher who divides her time between her clinical practice and academic research.

Sarah has over ten years of experience working with victims/survivors of interpersonal violence, and with people struggling with mental health and substance use. Her clinical work is guided by a systemic & relational approach - meaning she is interested in how people’s relationships and environments impact them, and how they, in turn, impact their social worlds - along with theories of individual and family development, attachment, and trauma. She regularly employs principles from mindfulness, compassion-based therapy, motivational interviewing, emotion-focused therapy, psychodynamic therapy, harm-reduction, and somatic therapies in her work with clients.

She has also done training on the complicated co-existence of risks and benefits of consciousness altering practices, like mindfulness meditation and psychedelic use. She welcomes clients whose experiences with these practices and wellness communities have not matched up to commonly seen positive media coverage.

Sarah is a licensed social worker, couple and family therapist, and psychotherapist, registered with the Ordre des travailleurs sociaux et thérapeutes conjugaux du Québec (OTSTCFQ). She has a psychotherapy permit issued by the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec (OPQ). She can provide services in French and/or English.

www.sarahmcnamee.ca

Anthony has extensive clinical experience working in treatment centers across Quebec specializing in working with both adolescents and adults who struggle with substance abuse and concurrent disorders such as anxiety and depression. He also works with individuals and couples presenting with relationship and communication issues, self-esteem or motivational issues.

Anthony holds a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. He is a member of the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association, as well as the Academy of Naturotherapists. He believes that safety, trust and compassion are essential elements in forming meaningful changes in one’s life. His approach is integrative using CBT, DBT, and solution focused based techniques, in order to ensure meeting the diverse needs of each client.

I am a social worker, couple and family therapist, and psychotherapist. I completed my MScA in Couple and Family Therapy in 2023 and graduated in 2017 with a Master’s in Social Work at McGill University.

At the heart of my practice is my belief in providing a genuine, warm, collaborative, and non-judgmental space where you can feel supported and heard. Drawing on attachment and systemic perspectives, I aim to offer a caring and strengths-based environment where we can explore meaning and address the difficulties you are facing as an individual, couple, family, or relational system. I strive to provide a trauma-informed, culturally safe, and affirmative space for all genders, sexualities, and relationship orientations. I believe in the strength and resilience of clients, and I strive to be genuine, ethical, and empathetic in my practice.

Please email me at emilie.marzinotto.psychotherapy@gmail.com to schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation to explore whether working together would be a good fit.

After years of working in the restaurant business as a part owner and manager, Sean decided to expand on his passion of service to others and venture into the world of drug and addiction counselling.

Sean graduated with a Bachelor's in Social Work from McGill University in 2016 and has recently become registered with the OTSTCFQ. In addition to his training as a social worker, Sean has profound depths of personal experience with drugs, addiction, and recovery that make him uniquely suited to meet the needs of his clients.

Sean hopes to help his clients build a toolbox of strategies they and their families can use to cope with their new reality and set realistic, achievable goals. He believes whole-heartedly in the recovery potential of every person struggling with addiction, and strives to help people find the strength and courage within to overcome their most difficult challenges.

After obtaining his bachelor's degree in Psychology and completing a graduate diploma in Professional Addiction Studies, Paul is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Social Work at UBC. He has experience working in both live-in and outpatient treatment contexts where he facilitated psychoeducation and process groups. Paul is passionate about substance use and addictions treatment, and compassionate towards those who are affected by addiction(s).

The core of Paul’s treatment approach is meeting people wherever they happen to be on their journey and helping them come to realize why entering and staying in recovery is important to them. He believes that the person’s own insights are what will ultimately result in lasting change. Having empathy, non-judgment, and unconditional positive regard towards those he works with are his central tenets.

Paul works from a strengths-based, trauma-informed perspective, and has a knack for delivering psychoeducation in a way that clicks. He believes in the importance of harm reduction; that recovery is an iterative process; and that if people stay engaged in the change process, they will eventually achieve their desired goal(s).

With a background in both psychology and social work, including a Masters degree in social work from Columbia University, Miriam has, for 15 years, treated clients in both individual and group settings within the Eating Disorders Program of the Douglas Institute for Mental Health. At that site she is currently the chef de service of the Eating Disorders Continuum where she manages outpatient, day treatment and inpatient units for adults and adolescents with eating disorders.

With her extensive clinical experience in the field of eating disorders, Miriam has also served as the knowledge transfer coordinator of the Eating Disorders Program, offering training on the treatment of eating disorders to other health care professionals.

Joanna provides individual treatment to adults struggling with their emotions, especially in the context of C-PTSD symptoms.

She uses attachment-informed interventions to better understand her clients’ suffering. Her approach is rooted in the notion that current life challenges are related to early life experiences. Joanna integrates relevant tools from various evidence-based treatment protocols and individually tailors them for each client. She provides an environment that is warm, empathic, and non-judgmental—a foundation for the development of trust and safety within the therapeutic context.

Joanna has worked in a number of outpatient hospital and university settings, as well as in private practice in Montréal.

She is a current member of L’Ordre des Psychologues du Québec.

Shelley Schwartz, MEd. has been practicing and teaching psychology since 1979.

Her experience includes working as a guidance counsellor and a school psychologist in Montréal. She has also taught psychology at Champlain, John Abbott and Vanier Colleges. Additionally, she has worked as a psychologist and psychology instructor at various colleges and universities in New York and Cleveland, as well as teaching Continuing Education at New York University.

Currently, Shelley is working as a psychologist in private practice in Montréal. Her clients are presenting with anxiety and depression, addictive disorders and trauma.

Shelley's approach is generally psychodynamic or analytic but not exclusively. Every case is different and the therapeutic process is specific to each case.

Shelley Schwartz MEd, OPQ# 05690-90

Catherine Smyth-Laporte is a perfectly bilingual Social Worker registered with the OTSTCFQ since 2015 and has 10 years of experience in the field of addictions and mental health.

She graduated from McGill in 2016 with a Masters in Social Work. Her expertise lies in individual, couple, family, and group therapy. Catherine is trained in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Structured Relapse Prevention, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and has a special expertise in problem gambling and cyberdependence.

A 4th degree black belt in taekwondo and former captain of the Canadian national team, Dylan Nadler has competed at the highest levels around the world and been exposed to some of athletic’s greatest adversities.

This experience, fused with his passion for the mental side of sport, lead him to pursue a degree in psychology from the University of Ottawa. Dylan aims to develop a generation of mentally tough competitors that are resilient, flexible, and focused - unshackling the restraints of the mind to allow success that is consistent and meaningful.

Joanne’s approach has been described as empathetic, empowering, and non-judgmental. In her sessions, she collaboratively works with individuals to build upon their resiliency and strengths to help gain insight into their experiences by using tools such as Dialetical Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy skills. Her practice integrates ecological, anti-racist, feminist, family development and trauma-informed theories. Moreover, she works with families, who have a loved one with an addiction, to help provide them with emotional support and build an understanding of the recovery process.

Joanne graduated with a MSW from McGill University in 2005 and a BSW from the University of Victoria in 2001. With over 20 years’ experience in the field, she assisted clients in a broad spectrum of issues including addictions (substance use, gambling, and internet gaming), youth protection, disabilities, immigration, and medical issues. Presently, Joanne is pursuing her Advanced Certificate of Family and Couple Therapy Studies at the University of Guelph.

Joanne is registered with the Ordre des travailleurs sociaux et des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec. Her sessions are currently conducted on-line.

Gabriela is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, graduated from Concordia University with a BA in Therapeutic Recreation and Anthropology. With a few years of experience and expertise, she focuses her practice on Self Determination, Enjoyment and Enhancement.

She believes in a holistic approach towards a healing process, in which recreation can help establish a meaningful and healthy relationship within yourself and your interests. Focusing on improving overall quality of life and well-being, by working hand in hand with you to find resources that make you happy and motivate you to living life to the fullest.