Joey Shaughnessy,MSW, RSW

I feel that we all need to find a way to contribute to our communities and those around us, and this is my way of doing so. Having experienced my own mental health challenges, I appreciate how our mental health can shape our experience of the world. I am drawn to helping to create a sense of change, hope, and possibility together with my clients.

I work primarily using a type of therapy called a feminist-narrative approach, which blends social justice and intersectionality, and understands human experience as positional and embodied. Narrative therapy contributes concepts such as exploring the stories we tell about our lives and considerations of counter-stories. I also use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help mindfully explore aligning our values and actions. Indigenous knowledge and approaches contribute to a holistic framework that considers the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical aspects of life, considering all to be sites of potential change and growth. My framework also draws from concepts in positive psychology, such as vulnerability, self-compassion, and gratitude. I seek to support you in creating a sense of resilience and well-being through trauma-informed, strengths-based, and anti-oppressive approaches.

In session, I tend to take a relaxed, compassionate approach. I can be direct or gentle, depending on the context, but I really believe that while challenging, working towards building mental health can also (and maybe should) be fun, silly, and creative. Mental health, to me, is an art and a science, and so I like to think about blending evidence-based approaches with expressive activities that seek to promote change. I hope we can work hard together and have fun. I’m open to what you bring to the session — whether it’s intense or calm, silly or serious, more formal or full of swearing. I don’t have an expectation about the way you’ll be with me — only that we both come as open as we can to working together in a good way.