Meet the Circle of Support

Registered Social Worker (MSW, BSSW, RSW) Psychotherapist

Emily founded Maternal Health Niagara with the vision of building a circle of support for individuals and families during the reproductive period and beyond. Emily’s clinical focus is infertility, surrogacy, pregnancy and infant loss,  birth trauma, postpartum anxiety, and postpartum depression. She coaches people through “guilt” and managing the mental load of parenting. 

Emily’s passion for Maternal Mental Health was sparked during her perinatal journey in pregnancy loss and complications. Emily had hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), which took a toll on her physical and emotional wellness. From her experiences during the perinatal period, Emily recognized the service gap and was determined to build a circle of support for others. The combination of lived experience and extensive professional development allows Emily to bring her clients a unique clinical lens of empathy and validation. She is down-to-earth and intuitive, with a realistic and accepting therapeutic style.

Emily has her Master’s in Social Work from The Ohio State University (2007) and is a Registered Social Worker in Ontario. She has over 15 years of experience supporting families. Emily’s professional affiliations include Postpartum Support International (PSI) and the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OSAW). Emily is trained in EMDR levels 1 & 2 and completed Advance Perinatal Training and FLASH.

Building community capacity and awareness are essential in helping individuals and families build their circle of support. Emily has facilitated perinatal mental health training for health care professionals. She provides clinical consultation and mentorship to other therapists in maternal mental health. 

When she is off work, Emily enjoys spending time with her family. She would describe herself as HSP and loves to have some quiet time to reset. Her favourite thing to do is go for walks and send handwritten cards. 

AVAILABILITY: 

Monday to Friday 9am-2pm

Ontario 

Virtual & In-Person

RATE A

NHIB provider

DIRECT BILLING:

Candian Armed Forces (CAF)

Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP)

Blue Cross

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC)

Alberta Blue Cross 

Canadian Construction Workers Union  

BPA 

Greenshield

Canada Life 

EMPIRE LIFE

SSQ

Medic Construction

Chambers of Commerce (Johnston Group) 

CINUP (Johnston Group) 

Coughlin & Associates Ltd. 

D.A. Townley 

Desjardins Insurance

Equitable Life

First Canadian (Johnston Group)  

Industrial Alliance 

Johnston Group 

La Capitale/Beneva 

LiUNA Local 183 

LiUNA Local 506 

Maximum Benefit (Johnston Group) 

People Corporation 

RWAM 

TELUS AdjudiCare 

Union Benefits 

UV Insurance 

Registered Social Worker (MSW,  RSW) 

Jessica has an undergraduate degree in Psychology with a minor in Family Studies from the University of Guelph, a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Wilfred Laurier. Jessica has received additional training in trauma-specific interventions and has spent most of her career supporting parents. 

She practices anti-oppressive and trauma-informed care. She uses an integrated, evidence-based approach focused on nurturing self-compassion and healing. 

Jessica is passionate about working with families and individuals during the prenatal and postpartum periods. A range of emotions can come up during this time, and having a person you can trust and lean on can make a world of difference. She supports families with infertility, perinatal mental health, infant loss, birth trauma, attachment, and parenting issues and provides relationship and co-parenting support. In addition to her perinatal work, Jessica has experience in addictions and supporting the LGBTQ community.

Some modalities that Jessica practices are cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy, somatic body experiencing, mindfulness-based stress reduction, cognitive restructuring, and narrative therapy. She completed Level 1 & 2 EMDR.

When not working, Jessica enjoys spending time with her partner, her little ones and her pets. She loves playing soccer, going for walks, eating donuts, and tending to her plants.

ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS

AVAILABILITY:

Monday- Friday 9-4pm

Ontario

Virtual Only

RATE A

DIRECT BILLING:

Greenshield

SSQ Insurance

Empire Life

Medic Construction

Registered Social Worker  (RSW, MSW,  BSW, BSc )

Heidi firmly believes that each person has the power to cope with and grow from their challenges. She is a Registered Social Worker who brings warmth, creativity, compassion, and empathy to her client relationships.

Heidi has multiple degrees, including a Bachelor of Social Work from York University, a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Exercise Physiology with a joint major in Spanish Language and Culture from Concordia University. Her educational background has cultivated a comprehensive lens to her work. She has experience with women and families in physical health, rehabilitation, and emotional and mental well-being. She utilizes various modalities to create a holistic therapeutic approach in her practice.

Heidi practices from anti-oppressive and strength-based perspectives and integrates modalities such as mindfulness-based therapies, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), body-based techniques, attachment, and FLASH. She prioritizes using a holistic and client-centred therapy approach focusing on the mind-body connection. She is trained as a postpartum doula with Doula Canada and has completed the Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders course through the Seleni Institute. She has also been trained in grief work, trauma, and fertility and is continuously participating in continuing education for her professional development. She regularly practices 5Rhythms and Ecstatic Dance which are movement meditation practices that strengthen the mind-body connection through authentic expression with oneself and others. She enjoys bringing these principles to sessions with clients.

In her leisure time, Heidi loves being in nature, playing hockey, dancing, and travelling.

Heidi speaks English and French

 
ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS

AVAILABILITY: 

Monday: 9-5pm

Tuesday: 11-7 pm

Wednesday: 9-5pm

Thursday: 9-5pm

Friday: 9-5pm
 

Virtual

Ontario & Quebec

RATE B

SLIDING SCALE* 

*available upon request

DIRECT BILLING:

Alberta Blue Cross 

Canadian Construction Workers Union  

BPA 

Greenshield

Canada Life 

EMPIRE LIFE

SSQ

Medic Construction

Chambers of Commerce (Johnston Group) 

CINUP (Johnston Group) 

Coughlin & Associates Ltd. 

D.A. Townley 

Desjardins Insurance

Equitable Life

First Canadian (Johnston Group)  

Industrial Alliance 

Johnston Group 

La Capitale/Beneva 

LiUNA Local 183 

LiUNA Local 506 

Maximum Benefit (Johnston Group) 

People Corporation 

RWAM 

TELUS AdjudiCare 

Union Benefits 

UV Insurance 

*application to be a provider with Blue Cross & NHIB- pending approval

Registered Social Worker (BSW, RSW)

Krystin has worked in the Social Service field for nine years. She is passionate about supporting people in crisis and debriefing after a traumatic event(s). Krystin's experience working in various mental health and community settings has derived her clinical knowledge of mental health diagnoses, including depression, anxiety, panic attacks, emotional dysregulation, bipolar, and psychosis. From these roles, she has sound knowledge of navigating services and empowering clients through advocacy. Krystin is interested in assisting people in navigating and processing Trauma, including childhood. The environment she aspires to provide is warm, safe, and empathic. As a crisis response worker, Krystin provided direct interventions for people experiencing perinatal distress, including postpartum depression, psychosis, and perinatal/infant loss. It is from seeing people "where they were at" that she saw the direct impact on the individual and family. She joined Maternal Health Niagara to continue this work with people during the perinatal period. She has completed the Maternal Mental Health Now, Bringing the Light to Motherhood training.

Krystin believes in a strengths-based approach to empower people in their journey. She utilizes modalities such as PolyVegal Theory, Trauma-focused care, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), crisis intervention, Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Mindfulness. Krystin has training and certification in Trauma Informed practice in the Motivational Interviewing approach from the University at Buffalo and Trauma and the body training levels 1 and 2 from the Trauma Informed Practice Institute. Krystin also has certification in Concurrent Disorders from the University of British Columbia.

In 2014, Krystin completed her social service work diploma at Niagara College. During her crisis intervention/support counselling work, she pursued her degree in Social Work and graduated with her Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Manitoba. She is a registered member of the OCSWSSW and the OASW. Outside of practice, Krystin enjoys hiking, going to the gym/practicing yoga, trying new activities, and spending time with her family/friends. Krystin believes in a work/life balance and upholding mind, body, and spirit as a form of self-care.

ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS

AVAILABILITY: 

Tuesday 9-5 pm

Wednesday 3-8 pm

Saturday 2-6 pm

In-Person 

Ontario

RATE B

DIRECT BILLING:

See Krystin for details

Registered Social Worker (BA, BSW, MSW, RSW) 

Randi has completed a diploma in Social Service Work, a Bachelor's and a Master of Social Work degree. Randi is a lifelong learner who continues to passionately build her knowledge about the impact that childhood trauma and hurtful adult partnerships can have on current parenting challenges. Throughout her studies, Randi primarily worked with caregivers and children aged 0-6 through a lens of relational and attachment-based trauma-informed care. From this, it sparked her clinical passion for providing parenting support to caregivers of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. She focuses on self-compassion and well-being while parenting, promoting secure attachments, and exploring the role our relationships with our own caregivers growing up may play when responding to children's emotional spectrum. Randi believes all caregivers possess the strengths and tools to help their children thrive, and through a collaborative therapeutic process, those skills and expertise can flourish!

Randi has experience supporting parents in recovery from substance use, women parenting and co-parenting after hurtful and/or abusive relationships, and supporting pregnant and parenting youth. Randi uses warmth and curiosity, bringing her authentic self to the therapeutic dynamic. Randi recognizes that the parenting journey can be tough! Randi will work with you to explore the role that your unique experiences may play in the parent-child dynamic as you support your child throughout evolving stages of development. She will honour and recognize your needs as a parent/human. 

Randi has experience integrating a working blend of trauma-informed cognitive behavioural therapy principles, attachment theory and strengths-based perspective through anti-oppressive and intersectional lenses. Randi values mindfulness and grounding strategies in her practice and helps caregivers integrate these strategies with their children using child-friendly techniques.

Randi believes that work/life balance is crucial to self-fulfillment and personal well-being. In her spare time, Randi loves to read fiction, do yoga, spend time outdoors and listen to comedy podcasts. 

ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS

AVAILABILITY: 

Tuesday: 4:30-7:30 PM

Wednesday: 5:30-7:30 PM

Thursday: 5:30-7:30 PM

Virtual only

RATE: $140

NHIB provider

Registered Social Worker (MSW, RSW)

Ashley has her Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Registered Social Worker in Ontario. Her care areas include working with children, youth, parents, perinatal mental health, and adults. She supports children and youth struggling with various mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, trauma, ODD, and ADHD. Her work with families and caregivers focuses on providing tools and resources to help meet their child’s social/emotional/behavioural needs and develop secure attachment.

Before being a Social Worker, she worked in the field of communication. Her lived experience perinatally was a catalyst for her to switch career paths. She is heartfelt to support people during the perinatal period through loss, pregnancy and postpartum. She brings deep compassion and care into all that she does. 

Ashley utilizes a variety of strength-based approaches, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectic Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness, Attachment Theory, and Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT).

Registered Social Worker at Maternal Health Niagara, Ashley works part-time at a children’s mental health agency. 

ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS

AVAILABILITY: 

Mondays 12-3 and 5-8 

Thursdays 9-3 

Virtual Only

Ontario & Alberta

RATE B

Sliding scale rates available upon request

R.P (Qualifying) Intern

Supervised by Emily Pollak, MSW, RSW

Krista is a student intern, completing her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. As a graduate student, Krista holds Qualifying registrant status with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University. Krista volunteers with Postpartum Support International, connecting people to resources and support. Krista believes all individuals are capable of meaningful change and approaches therapy collaboratively from a co-pilot stance.

Krista shares personal experiences with infertility, fertility treatments/loss, and pregnancy/birth/parenting during the early stages of the pandemic. Stemming from lived experience as a 2020 first-time mother, Krista developed a passion for supporting people, partners, and families facing complex and varied perinatal mental health issues. Krista appreciates the profound transitions throughout the perinatal period, all of which deserve compassionate, timely support toward positive well-being for individuals and families. 

Krista’s main care areas include perinatal mental health, anxiety, depression, fertility, pregnancy loss, parenting, and relationship issues. Krista utilizes a flexible, integrative approach to therapy, viewing the client as the expert of their lived experiences, using strategies from person-centred, Adlerian therapy, strengths-based, mindfulness, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and somatic psychotherapy approaches. Krista is completing Gottman Level I & 2 training and completed a comprehensive certificate course in perinatal mental health through Postpartum Support International.

Outside of professional passions, Krista enjoys practicing yoga, spending time with her family, walking the dog, baking, decorating, and cheering on the Toronto Raptors!

AVAILABILITY:

Wednesday-Friday 9:30-3:00

Virtual Only

Ontario

RATE: $100

Receipts will be issued with Emily Pollak, MSW as a clinical supervisor 

Sliding Scale Space- WAITLIST

Registered Social Worker (MSW, BSW, RSW)

Taylor’s passion for perinatal wellness evolved through her role as a trained and certified labour and birth doula. She uses her frontline doula experience to shape components of her Social Work practice. Taylor supports people through their perinatal journey, including fertility, pregnancy, birth trauma and postpartum. She has bereavement training through Home Hospice Association and has helped families through infant and pregnancy loss. In addition, Taylor has completed Level 1 and Level 2 EMDR training and Advance Perinatal EMDR and FLASH. 

She displays strong compassion for the development and support of families from all walks of life. Her other care areas include grief and loss, disordered eating, self-esteem and sexuality and gender identity. Taylor is part of the LGBTQ2S+ community.

Taylor completed her Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and Bachelor of Social work from Wilfred Laurier University. She is a Registered Social Worker and member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers and Postpartum Support International. 

In addition to her work at Maternal Health Niagara, she supports children at her full-time job and volunteers at Heartland Forest.

WAITLIST*

AVAILABILITY: 

Monday 4:30-7:30pm *Virtual

Thursday: 4:45 pm-7:30 pm *In-person & Virtual

Ontario

RATE A