Alicia Panchal

I focus on therapy that is rooted in transparency and respect. My time spent with you will focus on meeting you where you’re at to help you reach your goals, whatever they may be. In working together, my hope is that you will leave feeling confident in your ability to move through life’s obstacles, have a better understanding of your thoughts and emotions, and ultimately, improve your relationship with yourself. I am a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, and have spent my time focusing on supporting those struggling with their mental health, and helping them achieve a positive quality of life. I specialize in anxiety, depression, eating disorders, body image, self-esteem, stress management, and grief/ loss, and use a variety of therapeutic interventions to tailor your therapy specifically to you. What does a session look like with me? Your first session will be a bit more of an exploration session, where we'll talk about what's bringing you to therapy, how it's been affecting you in your day to day, as well as any past difficulties you may have experienced, current barriers to improving your well-being, and any experience you've had in therapy. The goal of this first session is ensuring that you feel I have a good understanding of who you are, what's going on, and what goals feel best for you. Sessions after that focus on psychoeducation, skill development, emotional exploration, and ongoing collaboration between the two of us to ensure that you feel supported and that we are on track to meet your goals. Gentle Reminders I always tell my clients at the beginning of therapy that healing is not linear. What does that mean? Life doesn't stop just because we started therapy, so we'll likely run into other stressful and challenging situations that life has decided to throw your way while we work together - but that's okay! I like seeing these as learning experiences where we are able to explore, learn, and adapt for the next time life wants to throw us a curve ball. Non-linear healing also means that we won't always feel progressively better while we work on ourselves. Therapy is used to explore and process the difficult, which means unpleasant emotions are bound to come up. We may feel worse before we get better, and that's okay too. You deserve a space to feel all the feels freely, without judgement, while simultaneously showing yourself that you can get through it.