Meet the Circle of Support

Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist (MSW, BSSW, RSW)

Emily founded Maternal Health Niagara ( est. 2017) to build 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 healing from childhood trauma. Emily enjoys working with birth and health care professionals as they navigate the intricacies of the field, and she is a therapists therapist. 

During her perinatal journey of pregnancy loss and pregnancy complications, Emily's lived experience sparked her passion for maternal mental health. Emily had hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), which affected her physical and emotional wellness. From her challenges during the perinatal period, Emily recognized the service gap and was determined to build a circle of support for others. Combining lived experience and extensive professional skills allows Emily to bring her clients a unique clinical lens of empathy, validation, and healing. She is down-to-earth, nurturing, realistic and accepting.   

Emily has been in the profession for 18 years. She obtained her Master's in Social Work from Ohio State University and is a Registered Social Worker in Ontario. Emily is trained in EMDR levels 1 and 2, advanced perinatal EMDR, Maternal Mental Health Now, Postpartum Support International advanced perinatal training, and FLASH. Emily often says therapy is an art and blends different skills into her therapy with clients. She uses her intuitive connection to help guide her work. 

Developing community capacity and awareness is essential in helping individuals and families build their circle of support. Emily has facilitated perinatal mental health training for healthcare professionals and provides clinical consultation and mentorship to other therapists in periantal mental health. 

When she is off work, Emily enjoys spending time with her family. She is a mom of two active kids and is often at the baseball diamond (year-round.) She would describe herself as an HSP and loves to have some quiet time to reset. Her favourite things are going for walks, sending handwritten cards, or cuddling with her furbabies!

AVAILABILITY: 

Monday to Friday 9 am-2 pm

Location:

Ontario 

Virtual & In-Person

Schedule A

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Lisa Marie's journey to joining Maternal Health Niagara was shaped by her 15 years in the education sector, where she worked closely with youth. These experiences ignited her desire to transition into a counselling environment where she could work with individuals, couples, and families on a more personal level.

She obtained her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University in 2018. She completed her thesis in couples counselling, which focused on restoring relationships to the foundation of effective communication. Lisa Marie also received her Level 1 certification in EMDR and has a heart for working with individuals and couples to find strength and healing. 

At the core of Lisa Marie's counselling philosophy is a belief in a client-centred approach. She sees individuals as active participants in their healing process. Lisa Marie empowers her clients through techniques such as cognitive behaviour therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, EMDR, and the Gottman method for couples. 

Lisa Marie's counselling practice is inclusive and versatile. She is adept at working with youth, adults, and couples, providing support for challenges such as anxiety, depression, stress, and marriage or family concerns. Her understanding of the intricacies of post-partum allows her to provide empathetic support to new moms on their journey through motherhood. 

When Lisa Marie is not counselling, she is a busy mom of three who spends time in a rink, gym, or studio. She enjoys choreographing musical productions, working on puzzles, or spending time near the water. She is so grateful to be a part of this incredible team. 

AVAILABILITY:

Wednesday: 9:30 am - 3:30 pm

Thursday: 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Friday: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm *virtual

Location

Ontario

In-Person & Virtual

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 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 recognizes the importance of healthy adult relationships and has experience supporting caregivers in healing early attachment wounds that may show up in your current adult relationships. Randi can work with you to identify specific challenges you may face, such as fostering open communication with your partner, setting healthy boundaries, resolving intimate partner conflict, and honouring your relational needs. These domains may not have been modelled for you growing up and can make these skills much more challenging to integrate within adult relationships.  

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 them 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. 

AVAILABILITY: 

Tuesday: 2:00 pm- 9:00 pm

Wednesday: 2:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Thursday: 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Friday: 10:00 am- 5:00 pm

Location:

Ontario

Virtual only

Schedule  A

NHIB provider

DIRECT BILLING

R.P. (Qualifying)

Krista completed her practicum placement at Maternal Health Niagara for the Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University. She holds Qualifying registrant status with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Krista also 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 strengths-based co-pilot stance.

Krista shares personal lived experience with fertility treatments, perinatal loss, and birth/parenting during the pandemic. 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 areas of care include perinatal mental health, fertility, relationship issues, attachment science, anxiety, grief, coping development, and self-compassion. Krista follows a flexible, integrative approach to therapy, viewing the client as the expert of their experiences, using strategies from psychodynamic therapy, emotionally-focused therapy, compassion-focused therapy, strengths-based cognitive behavioural therapy, EMDR, and Gottman method therapy models.

Krista has completed additional training in Gottman method couples therapy (Level 1 and Level 2), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and EMDR, as well as advanced training in perinatal mental health issues.

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:

Tuesdays & Thursdays: 10:30 am-3 pm

Wednesdays: 5:30 pm-7:30 pm

Saturdays (every other): 10 am-1 pm

Location:

Virtual Only

Ontario

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.

AVAILABILITY: 

Tuesday 10-6 pm

Wednesday 3-7 pm (bi-weekly)

Location:

Ontario

In-Person

Client Care Coordinator

MSW, Student, supervised by Emily Pollak, MSW, RSW

Shannon has several years of experience in social services, supporting individuals through crises in the criminal justice system. She has a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a postgraduate certificate in Addiction: Treatment and Prevention. She is a Master of Social Work Student at Wilfrid Laurier University. 

Shannon is a parent to two young children. Her passion for perinatal mental health is rooted in her perinatal mental health journey. She focuses on creating a nonjudgmental space for clients to navigate the complexities of the perinatal period with curiosity and compassion. Shannon has completed perinatal mental health training and has experience supporting individuals through infertility, grief and loss, identity shifts in parenting, overwhelm, burnout, mom guilt and rage, and career and relationship challenges. 

Shannon is dedicated to meeting individuals where they are and supporting them to attain personally meaningful goals through a collaborative, client-centred approach. She practices from a trauma-informed lens, respecting clients' boundaries and asking their permission to pursue various themes in their stories. She believes that she is a humble visitor in the client's life, where the client is the expert and the therapist's job is to encourage clients to notice things along the way. Shannon practices with gratitude and is honoured to be invited into her client's world.

Shannon is down to earth and practices in a casual, conversational style. Her aim is to welcome each client and nurture the therapeutic relationship as the vehicle through which growth and healing are supported. 

Outside of the office, Shannon enjoys playing volleyball with her partner, reexperiencing the world through her children, playing with her rescue Husky mix, Hopper and baking.