MEET KIRSTEN
I endorse therapy as a lifelong tool for anyone and everyone who is interested in improving and maintaining their mental health.
By tending to our psychological well-being on a regular basis, we have the power to better manage crises when they arise. We tend to ask ourselves, “is my situation bad enough to make a change?” when we could be asking, “is my situation good enough that I can’t make it better?”
Since I was a child, the human ability to reflect on our own thoughts, feelings and behaviours has never ceased to amaze me, and I am honoured to walk alongside my clients as they do so. To me, there is no greater reward than helping facilitate positive change in someone else’s life – I cannot imagine working in any other profession. As said by American Neuroscientist and Philosopher, Sam Harris, “Of all the things worth tending to, what’s more important than your mind?”.
The Making of a Therapist
As it turns out, I was nurturing my inner therapist well before the job was ever on my radar. Let me bring you on a trip down memory lane to explain this a bit more . . .
When I was only 6 years old, I created a psychological analysis for an imaginary character who I called Bob (See Image #1 – Overlay Bob looking at the chart). This was completely unprompted – not part of a school assignment, why would it be? I was only 6 – and this is where my little Mind The Gaps mascot got his name: Bob. And! There’s more where this came from. My parents found a journal from when I was 7 years old, which includes a chart I’d created to analyze how often my friends got into arguments or fights at school (See Image #2). Again, this was unprompted, on my own time – I remember making it while watching the Disney channel.
There’s a quote by Picasso that says, “the meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away.” Which brings us to present day Kirsten; following my inner voice that tells me to give this gift away. The same inner voice that concerned me with the nature of our minds when I was only a child – except now I have a therapy practice, and I’m inviting you to engage in this beautiful, transformative, and lifelong journey of Minding The Gaps.
Professional Accreditations/Memberships
– Registered Psychotherapist (RP)
– Member of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)
– Member of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO)
Education
– Bachelor of Arts Honours, BA (Hons), Major in Psychology & Minor in Family & Child Studies, University of Guelph
– Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, MA, Yorkville University
When I’m not living my dream job in my therapy office, you can find me upside down at the yoga studio, right side up reading a book, painting in my studio, pondering life by the lake, wandering the downtown of Burlington Ontario, recording a podcast episode, spending time with my loved ones, and of course, Minding The Gaps.