Natasha McBrearty, MA, CCC, RP
pronouns: she/her
Hi! My name is Natasha and I am a registered psychotherapist and certified counsellor focusing on children, parenting, and youth and young adults. I am fluently bilingual and offer services in both English and French. I am committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment where you can share and express all aspects of your identities such as gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, ability, and age.
My services are rooted in evidence-based practices. That means that I’m not just going to “talk” to you, I’m going to provide you with tools, approaches and practices that are known to increase positive outcomes in children. The main modalities I use when working with children and caregivers are: Circle of Security Parenting, Zones of Regulation, Collaborative Problem-Solving and Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Because children often express themselves through play, I also use a variety of creative approaches such as sand tray, art, and puppetry.
For youth and young adults, my narrative therapy approach centres on you as the expert in your own life. As a collaborative partner in your journey, I create an open and non-judgmental space to help you heal, grow, and explore what is getting in the way of you living your best life.
I have over 20 years of experience working in community mental health, including Crossroads Children’s Mental Health Centre, the Youth Services Bureau, and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Through my counselling and psychotherapy services, I have the privilege of working with, and learning from, incredible people every day. I am constantly inspired as I witness them making significant changes in their lives, moving closer to their goals and aspirations. That is what drives me.
As a health administrator, I work with teams to innovate, develop, and implement programs to improve mental health outcomes. I’ve also created strategies and frameworks to promote diversity, equity and inclusion across organisations. With expertise in youth, family and community engagement, I support organizations to develop fruitful partnerships to strengthen care and provide better mental health services to our community.
I am the current co-chair of Counselling Connect, an innovative service that provides free same-day or next-day counselling services. I am also an Accreditation Reviewer for community-based health and social services with the Canadian Centre for Accreditation and a Director on the Youville Centre’s Board of Directors.
I hold a MA in counselling psychology from McGill University and a BA in Psychology and Applied Human Sciences from Concordia University. A lifelong learner, I am certified in Collaborative Problem-Solving and I have post-graduate training in Circle of Security Parenting, play therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapies, neuro-sequential model of therapeutics, narrative therapy, solution-focused therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness-based approaches, and health administration.