About Fiona Pasay, RCC – ACS
Registered Clinical Counsellor – Approved Clinical Supervisor
What if you could emerge from this time of crisis feeling calmer, more comfortable in your body and more confident in your ability to cope with change? I offer counselling support to youth (16+), parents, adults, and elders who are confronted with a number of life’s difficulties.
Life can be challenging, complex and messy. There are times when we feel lost, reactive, stuck, overwhelmed, barely surviving day-to-day and struggling to find joy. Transition and change can trigger painful emotions that negatively impact all aspects of our lives, making it difficult for us to see a way forward. Even the change you are excited about – having a new baby, beginning a new job or a new path, a change in relationships – can feel much tougher than you expected. I believe these crucial life transitions are the essential doorways that lead us to creative opportunities for turning suffering into life changing transformation.
I am dedicated to helping people navigate life’s challenges with resilience and strength. With curiosity and mindfulness, we will walk gently into your deepest places of wounding, then with caring compassion, I will guide you safely out of these difficult experiences towards healing and a new more tenderhearted understanding of yourself. Our work together will help you to feel safe in your body and be more present in your life.
My approach to therapy is eclectic – it is compassionate, integrative, experiential, and grounded in neuroscience. It values humour, creativity, and honest self-discovery. I work in a gentle, honest, intuitive way, drawing from my extensive training and 20+ years of working in mental health to offer a variety of evidence-based therapeutic approaches that are tailored to your unique needs and goals. In an open, honest, safe environment you will feel comfortable addressing “the uncomfortable” aspects of your life.
The Mind & The Body: Emerging research in the field of neuroscience shows there is a complex interplay between the mind and the body. Our thoughts and emotions don’t only exist in our minds, they exist in our bodies as well. Feelings are actually physical – think butterflies in your tummy, stress in your shoulders – each emotion we feel has a different representation in the body. During our time together, we will use body awareness and embodiment practices to help bring your body, your emotions, and your spirit into harmony.
Couples: I support couples to strengthen their relationships and overcome the various difficulties that can arise, including communication, attachment styles, emotional attunement, trust, conflict, intimacy, expectations, and road-mapping the future. A key part of my couples work is providing useful frameworks – specific to the couple – for understanding relational dynamics, skills for navigating challenges, and ensuring a safe environment to explore and heal their relationship. I customize the sessions to the needs of the couple and walk along side them as they seek to grow a healthy and strong relationship.
Parenting: Few things challenge us in life the way being a parent does – it is hands down the toughest job on the planet! It is okay to not know everything about raising a child. I want to be a soft place to land for parents. Let’s lose the shame and blame that has been placed on parents. If you are continually getting down on yourself for not getting this parent thing right, if you are feeling exhausted and stuck, please remember that you are your child’s best asset, you are their first and best teacher. Together, we will focus on strengthening your skills for supporting your child’s behaviour and development and building strong family relationships. You can create a home filled with love, peace, and joy. You and your family deserve this.
End of Life Care: I firmly believe that each person matters, and they matter all the way until the end of their life. The end of each person’s life deserves as much care, beauty, and respect as the beginning. Over the years, I have been blessed to accompany many people and families through one of life’s most intimate and complex passages – their end-of-life journeys. My passion for this work expands to supporting family members and carers as well as facilitating groups for those experiencing grief and loss.
Approaches: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), and Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT).
Populations: Youth (16+), Adults, Couples, Parents, Elders, Families, People with Chronic or End of Life Concerns.
Specializations: Trauma, Anxiety, Depression, Grief and Loss, Relationship Challenges, Parenting, Life Transitions, Pre- and Post-Partum Concerns, Emotional Regulation Struggles, Communication Difficulties, End of Life and Palliative Care, Isolation and Loneliness.
Work & Educational Background: I hold a Masters Degree in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville with certificates in Integrated Body Psychotherapy, Family Mediation, Clinical Supervision, and Hospice. I am a certified End of Life Doula with 25+ years of experience as a Hospice Counsellor and Volunteer. I believe in the “magic” and healing ability of groups and have created and facilitated numerous groups over the years for parents, adults, and teens for issues including anxiety, depression, attachment, and substance use. Additionally, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed supervising Master’s students during their counselling practicums.
Cultural Background: Our journeys are unique and so too are the factors that make each of us who we are. Integral to my work is the fact that I am the daughter of Jamaican and British parents. As a biracial immigrant I have experienced first-hand the hardships that culture shock and acculturation have on individuals and families. This is reflected in my warm, welcoming, accepting approach where you will feel safe to explore all aspects of yourself.
Beyond the Work: I am a believer in the impossible, a hope and change evangelist, spiritual explorer, and memory maker, who loves to bake and geek out on cooking shows, go on odd adventures with friends, online shopping for shoes (can you really have too many?), spend the occasional day in complete silence and who especially loves every minute spent with my family.
“Together we are all on a journey called life. We are all a little broken and a little scattered inside. Each one of us is aspiring to make it to the end. None is deprived of pain here and we have all suffered in our own ways.
I think our journey is all about healing ourselves and healing each other in our own special ways. Let’s just help each other put all the pieces back together and make it to the end more beautifully. Let us help each other survive.”
“Walking Each Other Home”
by Ram Dass & Mirabai Bush
