Alison (she/her) is a registered social worker in good standing with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, and is a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers and the Canadian Association of Social Workers. She has been working in helping professions since 2006 in various capacities, and has spent over 10 years in leadership supervising social workers.
Alison completed a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology at Brock University in 2005. After learning about the brain and behaviour, she wanted to understand how to apply this knowledge into a helping profession, subsequently pursuing a Social Service Worker diploma at Fleming College which she completed in 2006. After gaining experience in the field, Alison returned to academia and received her Bachelor of Social Work from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in 2013, and her Masters of Social Work from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2022. Alison's hunger for learning and continuous growth and development has led her to begin her doctoral studies starting in September 2024, pursuing a PhD in Interdisciplinary Social Research at Trent University. She has a passion for education and has been a sessional instructor at both Trent University in the School of Social Work and Fleming College in the Social Service Worker and Mental Health & Addictions Worker programs.
Alison has experience providing treatment and support to individuals, couples, families and groups across the lifespan with a diverse range of clinical concerns, and she has extensive experience in child welfare. She is particularly passionate about supporting adult survivors of adverse childhood experiences, psychological trauma, first responders and other helping professionals, grief and loss, stress management, parenting, and couples counselling. Over the years Alison has worked in partnership with the education system, criminal justice, and healthcare, and she has often worked alongside first responders.
Alison is rooted in a strong foundation of trauma-informed practice and anti-oppression, having led organizational change initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion. She is committed to providing a positive and affirming space for you to bring your whole self, and approaches each individual with compassion, curiosity and humility. Alison welcomes individuals from any background or identity and would be honoured to walk alongside you in your therapeutic journey. Above all, Alison is driven by relationships and connection, remaining person-centered and respecting your right to self-determination. She believes in resilience, healing, and recovery and supports these goals through strength-based and solution-focused strategies and an eclectic mix of therapeutic modalities informed by cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, emotionally focused therapy, family systems therapy, gestalt therapy, and narrative therapy, among others.
“Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
