Open positions: Registered Social Worker with 4 years of clinical experience
Virtual Therapy across Ontario. In person therapy available Toronto and Hamilton. Book your free consultation today.
Areas of Focus
I support queer, neurodivergent, and racialized people to embrace the fullness of their being. Experiences of marginalization and discrimination create disconnection from our spirit, body, and community. My approach is grounded in the understanding that wholeness means coming back to ourselves, connecting with who we are and where we have come from. Part of this work includes recognizing the ways in which the systems we live in are not built with us mind and creating alternate systems rooted in belonging and joy.
My approach is highly relational and rooted in harm-reduction and trust. In practice, this means we “move at the speed of safety”: honouring the ways your body has learned to protect itself, prioritizing consent and compassion, while becoming curious about what is present.
My work is rooted in identifying the ways systemic oppression impacts mental health, and my understanding of healing is based in an anti-oppressive, anti-colonial, anti-racist framework that pursues justice and liberation for all oppressed communities. I offer both cognitive and embodied therapies while honouring ancestral forms of healing that are culturally and spiritually resonant with you.
Therapies Offered:
Areas of Focus
I support individuals who are carrying the weight of grief, trauma, racism, reproductive challenges, and the uncertainty that can accompany life’s transitions. Through my professional and lived experiences, I have come to appreciate the wisdom held within our bodies and the ways that societal systems can impact our well-being, relationships, and sense of self. I recognize that many people carry burdens that go unseen or unacknowledged. Living in a society that often prioritizes productivity over well-being can leave little space to process our experiences, honour our needs, and engage authentically with ourselves and others.
Together, we can explore the impact of these experiences with curiosity, compassion, and care. I believe therapy can offer an opportunity to better understand yourself, reconnect with your strengths and values, and make sense of the experiences that have shaped you.
My practice is rooted in trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and anti-racist frameworks. I believe that our well-being is influenced not only by our individual experiences, but also by the relationships, communities, and systems we exist within. I believe in meeting you where you are and working alongside you as you define what healing, growth, and well-being look like in your own life.
Therapies Offered:
Areas of Focus
Therapeutic Approach
I enjoy working with creative, neurodivergent, queer, and gender-diverse folks who are navigating identity, relationships, and the pressures of living outside of normative expectations and lifestyles. Many of the people I support are self-reflective and growth-oriented, yet still find themselves feeling stuck or repeating familiar patterns. I’m especially drawn to working with those who long for deep connection but sometimes find themselves slipping into caretaking roles or relying on humor, distraction, intellectualization, and other well-earned strategies for navigating discomfort and staying safe. Often, these patterns reflect adaptations to attachment wounds and formative relational experiences such as parentification, emotional neglect, or chronic shame. Our work often centers on creating more space for authenticity, connection, and belonging – in relationships, community, and within the wider webs of care that sustain us.
I come to this work shaped by nearly a decade of frontline community mental health and social service experience, including crisis intervention, harm reduction, and community health.This background has grounded me in a trauma-informed, intersectional, and relational approach, and in a deep respect for the ways people adapt in order to survive difficult environments and experience. I’m also someone who lives within the neurodivergent experience myself, which informs both my clinical curiosity and my appreciation for the complexity, intensity, and creativity of our inner worlds.
Therapy with me is collaborative, relational, and grounded in curiosity. I offer a space to understand patterns, protectors, and survival strategies with more clarity and compassion. My work draws from somatic therapy, attachment theory, parts work, and mindfulness, and may include exploring how experiences show up in the body, how different parts of self relate to one another, and how long-standing patterns can begin to shift. I aim to offer a space where humor, grief, stuckness, and insight can all exist at once, and where new possibilities for relating to yourself, others, and the world can
emerge.
Areas of Focus
Therapeutic Approach
As a second-generation Portuguese Canadian and queer therapist, I understand the complexity of navigating one’s identity within systems and stories that often fail to capture the fullness of our experiences. My own journey of making meaning of my identities through a decolonial lens has shaped how I approach healing, connection, and self-understanding.
If you are someone who is exploring your identity, navigating cultural or family expectations, processing experiences of marginalization, or seeking a deeper understanding of yourself within the context of your relationships, community, and lived experiences, I offer a collaborative, affirming space to support healing, self-discovery, and meaningful change. Together, we create a space for curiosity, reflection, and self-compassion, honouring both the challenges and strengths that have shaped your story.
My approach is grounded in anti-oppressive, decolonial, and person-centred practices. I strive to cultivate a therapeutic relationship built on warmth, curiosity, collaboration, and humour, recognizing that healing does not have to happen in isolation. I view clients as the experts of their own lives and work alongside them to explore new perspectives, deepen self-understanding, and move towards meaningful change. I believe healing involves reconnecting with ourselves in ways that feel authentic, empowering, liberating, and aligned with our values.
Areas of Focus
Areas of Focus
Certifications
Registered to practice in Ontario and Nova Scotia
Navigating both physical and virtual spaces, Melissa is a third-culture individual deeply versed in cultural nuances and intergenerational trauma. Driven by a mission to reconnect with her ancestors and to help others on their own journeys of reconnection, she specializes in addressing relational and intergenerational trauma as well as oppression.
Melissa’s practice is grounded in principles of anti-racism, anti-oppressive practices, and Black feminism. She’s committed to working with individuals impacted by colonization, enslavement, and 2SLGTBQ+ oppression.
Melissa’s certifications span Cognitive Processing Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Mindfulness, EMDR, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. She’s registered to practice in Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Through her empathy and expertise, Melissa illuminates the path towards healing and reconnection at Ancestral Memory Therapy.
Every step towards healing is a victory. Join us at Ancestral Memory Therapy, where we’ll walk alongside you on your unique journey towards understanding, integration, and healing. Book a free 15-minute consultation to start your journey today.
