Our Mental Health Professionals

Abraar Elmi, M.Ed. , RP

Registered Psychotherapist

Abraar uses a compassionate, collaborative, and strength-based approach to help clients identify their goals and create personalized therapy plans. She provides a safe, non-judgmental space where individuals can explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, develop new coping strategies, and build on their existing strengths. Abraar tailors her approach to each person’s needs, drawing from various therapeutic methods including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Solution-Focused Therapy, and person-centered therapies.

She is passionate about supporting the 2SLGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups. Her areas of interest include relationship challenges, anxiety, depression, grief, ADHD, interpersonal issues, self-esteem, and life transitions.

Abraar is a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO). She holds a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Counselling Psychology from the University of Ottawa.

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Adrien Tempier, BSc, MSc, MSc

Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)

Adrien has over ten years of international clinical experience in hospitals, community agencies, and private practice, and has recently returned from the United Kingdom. He is currently a registered psychotherapist (qualifying) and provides sessions under supervision at the Ebb Therapy Group in Ottawa.

Adrien aims to create a compassionate and safe space for clients to share their lived experiences. His practice employs an integrative scientist-practitioner approach, meaning that while he critically reflects on and draws from research evidence to inform his practice, he also stays close to clients’ lived experiences with curiosity and empathy. He helps clients understand the patterns, thoughts, and feelings they have toward themselves and others by exploring how these were formed through past and present relationships. This enables clients to reduce their distress, gain more control over their lives, and develop more meaningful relationships.

Adrien trained in counselling psychology and psychotherapy in both Canada and the United Kingdom, which has broadened and enriched his practice. Following graduate training in neuroscience, he sought a more holistic method of clinical practice that individualizes interventions to match the body-psycho-social-spiritual needs of clients. He specializes in humanistic, transpersonal, existential, relational psychoanalytic, neuroaffective, and cognitive behavioural approaches. He also draws from treatment interventions based on dialectical behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing to support clients’ needs and goals.

Adrien provides therapy in both English and French.

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Agnieszka Szymanowicz-Yalcin, M.Ed., RP

Registered Psychotherapist

Agnieszka believes that every person is unique and an expert of their own life experience. Therefore, she adopts an integrative approach in counselling to aid in addressing client’s challenges. She tailors her approaches according to the client’s needs, and this includes humanistic, client centered, cognitive-behavioral, dialectical-behavioral, multicultural, developmental philosophies, narrative, solution focus, brief, positive psychology, mindfulness base stress reduction, motivational interviewing, anti-oppressive, empowerment and trauma informed lens within community perspective to promote healing and strengthen resiliency. Agnieszka aims to approach individuals with compassion, flexibility, and non-judgment to support their growth, healing process and improving quality of life.

She offers counselling in both Polish and English. She has completed a Master’s Degree in Education with specialization in counselling psychology. She is a full member of the Collage of Registered Psychotherapist of Ontario, CRPO.

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Amal Ahmed, MA, RP

Registered Psychotherapist

Amal’s foremost focus is to provide a safe, warm, and validating therapeutic space where clients can feel heard and understood. She uses an integrated approach to help raise awareness and facilitate emotional processing, drawing from narrative and attachment family therapies with the hope of expanding on clients’ strengths.

Amal has experience working with a variety of clinical issues, such as depression, anxiety, burnout, life transitions, and relationship challenges. She has also worked with individuals struggling with anger, school difficulties, and challenging family dynamics.

Amal is a Registered Psychotherapist and has completed a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Spirituality.

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Amira Nazarali, MSW, RSW

Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist

Amira is a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, and a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers. She approaches counselling from humanistic and existential perspectives, which means that she views clients as innately having the inner resources to confront challenges, gain insight into themselves, pursue their self-determined goals, and create greater meaning and purpose in their lives.

Amira sees her role as providing clients with support, some appropriate tools, and an enabling environment for them to engage in their own individual process of growth. She strives to approach her clients with warmth, empathy, acceptance, authenticity and an appreciation of the uniqueness of every individual’s lived experience in the world.  She believes strongly in collaborative, anti-oppressive and trauma-informed practice.

To best suit the individual needs of each of her clients, Amira draws upon a range of approaches and therapeutic models. These include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Approaches and Positive Psychology. She is open to working with clients of all ages, but has specific experience working with youth and young adults as they grapple with concerns such as depression, anxiety, social and interpersonal challenges, academic and workplace stress, and as they navigate personal identity, life changes and adjustments.

Amira completed her graduate degree in social work at the University of Toronto. She also holds a graduate degree in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK, with a specific interest in equity and social determinants of physical and mental health. Before her counselling role, she spent time working in the global health and humanitarian assistance field.

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Dellan Woodger, M.Ed, R.P. (Qualifying)

Registered Psychotherapist

Dellan works using an eclectic therapeutic approach, which draws on multiple therapeutic orientations in order to adapt to a client’s individual needs. His experience is primarily with person-centred and third-wave approaches; most frequently utilizing the following therapeutic methods: narrative therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), acceptance commitment therapy (ACT), and compassion-focused therapy (CFT). Dellan’s approach to counselling is highly collaborative and utilizes clients’ strengths and values to assist them as they navigate life’s challenges. Dellan has lived experience as a queer, neurodiverse, and transgender man. These identities informed his interest in narrative and client-centred approaches which emphasize the client as the expert in their own life.

Dellan’s primary experience lies in working with youth, families, 2SLGBTQIA+, and neurodiverse individuals. He holds an M.Ed in counselling psychology from the University of Ottawa. Dellan is a registered psychotherapist (qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO).

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Evelyn Wong, MSW, RSW

Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist

In her work with individuals and families, Evelyn provides a person-centred, non-judgmental and compassionate space to explore and navigate a range of life experiences including critical illnesses, addictions, grief and loss, interpersonal relationships, stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideations.

Evelyn views her role to be that of a co-navigator in the process of psychotherapy. Her goal is to journey with individuals and families in their quest to reconnect with what is most important to them, with a focus on promoting resilience and growth for each individual and family that she works with.

Practicing from Narrative Therapy and Attachment-Based frameworks, Evelyn also draws on other therapeutic modalities (Emotionally Focused, Feedback-Informed, Trauma-Informed, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy-Informed, and Internal Family Systems) to help individuals and families chart their own roadmap from where they are to where they would rather be.

Evelyn holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Carleton University and a One-Year Training Certificate in Narrative Therapy from Dulwich Centre, Australia. Evelyn is a Registered Social Worker in good standing with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) and is also a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW).

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Hannah Irvine, MSW, RSW

Registered Social Worker

Hannah Irvine is a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. Hannah primarily works with children, youth, and their families. She brings an empathetic, warm, and non-judgmental approach based on existentialist-humanistic and attachment perspectives. In her practice, Hannah emphasizes the process of building authentic and transformative therapeutic relationships, creating a safe and collaborative space for clients to explore issues and take risks. Through this process, she helps clients identify their unique strengths, resources, and values, which can be used to navigate distress, connect with the world, and build a meaningful life.

Hannah integrates a variety of counseling modalities to best meet the unique needs and goals of each individual. She draws from approaches such as narrative therapy, emotion-focused family therapy, play and art therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Regardless of the approach, Hannah brings a non-pathologizing and strength-based lens that understands each person within their environment and considers the impact of structural barriers and social injustices on our experiences as individuals. Hannah incorporates a trauma-informed perspective into all her work and maintains a continuous practice of self-reflection, learning, and cultural humility.

Hannah has extensive experience working with children and youth in various settings. She possesses experience and interest in working with depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, perfectionism, social-emotional difficulties, and LGBTQ+ issues. She is particularly knowledgeable in working with ADHD, Autism, and other neurodivergences and disabilities.

Hannah earned her Master of Social Work from Carleton University. She previously completed her Honors B.A. at York University, majoring in Psychology with a strong focus on child and adolescent development and mental health.

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Jesse Henneberry, PhD, RP, MA, CCC

Registered Psychotherapist

Jesse is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) and a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC).

He has worked with The Counselling Group since 2011 as a member of the adult individual team. In his practice he supports individual adults who present with a broad range of concerns including trauma (both current and historical), grief, anxiety, depression, life transitions, relationship stress, addictions, and anger management.

The primary therapeutic modalities that he draws upon in his work with clients include narrative therapy, existential therapy, attachment therapy, interpersonal therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. He strives to bring a calm and relaxed energy to all his work with clients, working collaboratively, and at a pace that is respectful to all those with whom he meets.

In addition to being on the adult individual team, since 2014 he has also worked at the agency’s walk-in counselling clinic—as a therapist seeing clients who access the clinic, and as a clinical supervisor providing clinical support to both therapists on the team and to therapists-in-training. Jesse also offers clinical consultation and supervision to other clinicians in the community.

He has a wide breadth of experience in various non-profit public mental health settings, including previously working as a therapist at an Employee Assistant Program (EAP), and as a therapist in a Partner Assault Response (PAR) program—a program funded by the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General for clients who have been charged with a domestic assault and mandated to attend counselling as per probation conditions.

A lifelong learner in the field of psychotherapy, he frequently attends workshops and reads books on the process of psychotherapy to continually refine his practice. In addition, he has published articles in international academic journals on the topic of grief and bereavement and was a teaching assistant and guest lecturer in a Psychopathology and Assessment course in the University of Ottawa’s MA Counselling Psychology program.

He holds a master’s degree in counselling and spirituality from Saint Paul University, and a doctorate in education from the University of Ottawa where he conducted research on how psychotherapists effectively use brief narrative therapy to support the development of client preferred identities in single session settings.

Prior to his work as a psychotherapist, he completed a bachelor’s degree in criminology and criminal Justice at Carleton University and subsequently worked in various front-line social service settings across Ottawa. These included advocacy groups supporting victims of violent crime, a homeless shelter, and as a volunteer in the Ottawa Civic Hospital’s ICU family lounge where he provided emotional support to families with loved ones in the Intensive Care Unit.

 

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Katherine Marr, MA, CCC, RP

Registered Psychotherapist

Katherine believes that human beings are beautifully complex and perfectly imperfect. In her work, she strives to help people reduce their sense of overwhelm, increase their sense of belonging, find freedom from suffering, improve their relationships with themselves and others, and enhance their overall quality of life.

Katherine has been working in the mental health and social services field for over twenty years, primarily within the child, youth, and family services sector. She began her career as a child and youth care worker and program coordinator in schools, community agencies, youth mental health treatment centers, and detox and addiction recovery programs. Since 2011, she has been practicing counseling and psychotherapy in Ottawa, expanding her work to include adults of all ages, managing mental health services, and providing clinical supervision to other therapists.

Katherine holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology from the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Vancouver, B.C. She is a Registered Psychotherapist (RP) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) and a Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). Additionally, Katherine is a Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), a mindfulness and meditation teacher, and is nearing completion of her practitioner training in Somatic Experiencing with Somatic Experiencing International.

In her work with children, youth, and their families, Katherine relies on her foundational training in Adlerian psychology and incorporates various approaches, including Emotion-Focused Family Therapy, Family Systems Theory, Collaborative Problem Solving/Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS), Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Positive Discipline, and Positive Youth Development. Most recently, she completed her training as a Forest and Nature School Practitioner with the Child and Nature Alliance of Canada. When working specifically with children, Katherine integrates nature, movement, and art forms into a playful and engaging therapy process.

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