Franklynn Bartol

I know how scary it can be to face our struggles and open up to a new person—I’ve been in therapy myself for many years. It’s not easy work! That's why I’m focused on building trust and staying curious about who you are and how you’re experiencing the process. My hope is that you leave sessions feeling cared for, understood, accepted, and connected with. Clients find that this experience builds self-understanding, a sense of worth, and a growing agency they carry into the rest of their lives. I’m a Student Therapist in my final year at the Toronto Institute for Relational Psychotherapy. What is relational therapy? This approach understands our struggles as stemming from difficulties in relationships, past and present. Maybe you haven’t received the kinds of connections, supports, and understanding you’ve needed and it’s impacted how you relate to yourself and others. Perhaps bad experiences have made it hard to navigate daily life or build new dynamics. You might be navigating loss, abandonment, harm, guilt, or conflict and need support with this. We’re nearly all impacted by cultures of disconnection, over-work, domination, and hyper-individualism. Relational therapy can be a space to notice all of this and experience something new—a more connected and fulfilling inner and outer life. I’m dedicated to practicing from a client-led and trauma-informed perspective that understands the deeply traumatic impacts of white supremacy, colonialism, cishetero-patriarchy, ableism, and other oppressions. I will hold curiosity for how systems, culture, and identity impact your life, relationships, and our work together. But in all of this, we only go as deep and as wide as you want to—I make sure we’re following your pace and attending to what feels most urgent. I won't tell you what healing looks like for you, but I'll be excited to figure that out together.