Toni Gordon   MA, MEd, CCC, RLMP

It's always quite amazing to witness the changes that occur when our feelings and emotions are heard by a sympathetic and experienced listener.

We have all experienced life as being complicated, painful and even frightening. And sometimes we find that how we dealt with things in the past no longer works in the present. It is at these times that we may want to seek some assistance to find new ways of working through the emotional challenges, and better ways of experiencing our life. As your counsellor, a primary goal is to provide a safe place for you to share your experience and be understood. I am here to provide compassionate support, new skills and ideas, a space to process old feelings and pains, and to further develop your potential. The relationship offered through counselling is a rich opportunity for greater self-awareness and exploration with another person honestly, openly, and without judgment. Whatever your goals, as your therapist I am here to assist you in coping with or resolving the painful emotional challenges and removing barriers to better living.

As an Ayurvedic Counsellor, I may draw upon a broad range of skills and knowledge to provide a body/mind approach to health and wellness. I decided to unite the ancient healing wisdom of Ayurveda with Western psychotherapies as a unique way of providing a more complete and multidimensional approach. Ayurveda supports therapy goals by approaching life and its challenges from a holistic perspective, igniting not only the mind's but the body's interest in life and healing.

What is Ayurvedic Psychotherapy?

The principle of Ayurveda is to restore balance of body, mind and emotions by reawakening your own source of biological intelligence. Mental and emotional suffering indicates a state of imbalance and a disconnection from our internal intelligence. Getting stuck in our extreme feelings of anger, anxiety, and grief are signs of our imbalance. Using constitutionally specific diet, herbs, exercise, meditations, and other practices that help awaken self-understanding and self-awareness, the mind relaxes and is less driven to intense emotional extremes and better able to make decisions, solve problems and cope with challenges. Balance of body supports balance of our mental and emotional states.

Therapy Goals and Issues

I have experience working with clients on a number of issues, including:

• Anxiety
• Trauma
• Abuse
• Anger
• Grief
• Depressive moods
• Stress
• Addiction
• Exploring your emotional, mental, and spiritual development
• Kundalini awakening /spiritual emergence
• LGBTT challenges including sex/gender identity and transition

My approach

I believe that personal growth and change are facilitated through a compassionate and honest relationship with oneself. Psychotherapy cultivates self-awareness and self-compassion through the healing power of relationship and by providing a place to find and speak your truth. It is the opportunity to explore with another person honestly, openly and without judgment.

My approach is based on the belief that each person is inherently equipped with the wisdom of health and healing. My role is to enhance your journey towards exploring and connecting to this wisdom. My goal is to make a meaningful contribution to your personal growth and to contribute in a manner that suits your approach to learning, loving and living.

Our work can use a strictly Western psychotherapy approach or a more Ayurvedically informed holistic framework, and anywhere in between. The Western therapy approach I use is eclectic, employing Feminist Relational, Narrative, Brief, Cognitive, and the Eastern-informed mindfulness therapies. I provide both secular and spiritual approaches. With a growing understanding of your goals, needs, and compatibility, we continue to expand and refine the tools we use for your development. The path we take is entirely dependant on your comfort and preference.

Professional History

I have been working in social services for almost 20 years, where I began my career counselling women survivors of sexual assault in Ottawa. I am a graduate from OISE, University of Toronto with a Master of Education in Counselling Psychology. In addition, I have a Master of Arts in International Development from St. Mary's University in Halifax, where I specialized in women's reproductive health and international reproductive rights. My work has taken me across Canada and Latin America where I worked in rural communities in Panama and large urban hospitals in Argentina, and my greatest pleasure was working in a women's emergency shelter in Toronto.

I am a graduate of the Centre for Ayurveda and Indian Systems of Healing (CAISH) where I became certified as an Ayurvedic Counsellor. In addition, I studied Women's Herbal Remedies at the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico, as well as Ayurvedic Psychotherapy at Renaissance Yoga and Ayurveda in Toronto. I am certified with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCC) and registered with the Examining Board of Natural Medicine Practitioners (RLMP).

I provide the opportunity to have an initial consultation, preferably in person, to determine if there is compatibility between you and me, to see if my skills are best suited for your therapy objectives, or to discuss fees. My office is located in Bloor West Village, at Bloor and Windermere, 2 minute walk from either Runnymede or Jane TTC subway stations, close to High Park and the Junction. Phone therapy is available.

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.