Oftentimes, current challenges connect to unresolved family dynamics or stressful life events. My role as a therapist is to help you make sense of the past and see how these circumstances may contribute to current-day emotional reactions and interfere with our personal or professional relationships. These challenges are met with compassion in therapy, which allows us to contact fundamental parts of the self and create new forms of awareness. We can then transform those modes of reaction that represent adaptations to past circumstances. This awareness will be a catalyst for change. The process of therapeutic change can motivate you to feel more alive and hopeful in the present—and allow you to experience less fear of the future.

How I Work

Individual & Couples Work

I excel at helping clients navigate significant shifts in themselves, their relationships, or their lived circumstances. When moments feel like a crisis, like a challenge too large to work through, we are presented with a valuable opportunity to explore the underlying personal vulnerabilities they signal. We can then access untapped personal resources and resilience. Clarifying the sense of crisis and the meanings behind it are powerful opportunities to forge new meaningful paths.

In addition to individual work, I support couples who are experiencing a crisis in their relationship or are simply feeling stuck. I work with them to transform their unhappiness into reconnection. I lean on Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), founded by Dr. Sue Johnson, which draws on attachment theory to stabilize the self and your relationship. This work illuminates the negative “dance” couples may fall into and change unhelpful patterns of relating that cause distress. Regardless of the relational issue, we collaborate to create a safe space where both partners feel heard and respected. It is my personal passion to watch couples come into therapy feeling distressed and disconnected, and leave feeling heard, understood, and hopeful.

If you are unhappy with your status quo and feel you do not know how to approach your situation alone, I invite you to reach out. I offer a caring, confidential, judgement-free space, where clients feel heard and supported. I look forward to hearing from you.

About Me

My formal training includes a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s in Counselling Psychology where I graduated with distinction. I have pursued additional certifications in couples work; the treatment of anxiety and depression; trauma-informed treatment; and certification in treating grief and bereavement. My personal therapy has also been largely influential with my approach with clients. Having sat in both the therapist’s and the client’s chair, I know that feeling heard, supported, encouraged, and safe are key to good therapeutic work.

Prior to becoming a psychotherapist, I held a twenty-year career in various high-level financial services strategy positions. A change management role during a company acquisition catalyzed a personal desire to pursue more meaningful ways I could help others in tumultuous situations, which led me to pursue training in psychotherapy. I have also had the privilege to volunteer at Kensington Hospice in Toronto for several years, which led to a certification in Contemplative End of Life Care. This deepened my interest in supporting those who are near their end of life, as well as those who are impacted by the grief associated with the loss of a loved one.

The First Step

I am an ally to people from diverse backgrounds. I welcome both individuals and couples to my practice. If you are curious or have questions about my approach, please contact me via email at lakolesa@icloud.com to schedule a phone consultation at no charge so we can address any of your questions and determine if we are the right fit for each other. The therapeutic connection has a vital role in the overall impact of healing and change.

If you would like more information or to schedule an initial consultation, please contact me at lakolesa@icloud.com. I look forward to hearing from you.