About Stacey Van Riel

Smiling woman with curly hair leaning on a worn wooden frame.

Finding the right therapist can feel overwhelming, especially if you have tried therapy before and still feel stuck. I am a Registered Social Worker and Psychotherapist with more than seven years of clinical experience and over 15 years supporting mental health, wellbeing, and relationships.

My work is grounded in Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), which helps you understand and work with the emotions underneath what you are experiencing. Rather than simply pushing feelings away or trying to think differently, we make sense of your emotional responses in a way that feels safe, manageable, and meaningful.

I am interested in what is happening underneath, not just what is happening on the surface.

My background in early childhood education continues to shape how I understand attachment, emotional development, and the patterns we carry into adulthood. I also have extensive experience supporting people affected by trauma, including complex and developmental trauma, and I work at a pace that prioritizes safety, trust, and emotional regulation.

My practice is inclusive and affirming, with experience supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent people. I also offer sex-therapy-informed support around intimacy, sexuality, relationships, and the ways these experiences can connect with identity, emotion, and past experiences.

I began my career working with immigrant and newcomer communities, and my own bicultural and interfaith family life has kept conversations about culture, faith, identity, belonging, and family traditions close to me. I try to approach these parts of therapy with curiosity and humility rather than assuming I understand someone else’s experience.

More than anything, I want therapy to feel like a place where you can be honest, understood, and supported in making sense of what you are carrying. If you are looking for therapy that goes beyond coping and focuses on deeper emotional change, you are welcome to reach out and see whether working together feels like a good fit.

Cultural Humility, Accountability & Ongoing Learning

Working toward cultural safety

I believe therapy should consider the whole context of a person’s life, including their relationships, family, culture, community, spirituality, identity, history, and lived experiences. I also recognize that psychotherapy and social work have largely developed within Western systems and are not culturally neutral.

As a white, third-generation Dutch Canadian settler, I see cultural responsiveness and decolonizing practice as ongoing responsibilities, not something I can simply claim to have achieved. This means continuing to reflect on how power, privilege, bias, and Western assumptions may shape my work, learning from Indigenous-led teachings, seeking culturally informed supervision and consultation, and being honest about the limits of my own knowledge and experience.

My role is not to define what healing should look like for someone. I aim to work collaboratively, respect each person’s own knowledge and choices, and support connection with cultural, community-based, spiritual, traditional, or other forms of support when these are important to them.

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Credentials

“I believe being a therapist means remaining a learner: curious, reflective, and willing to keep growing.”

— Stacey Van Riel

My Training & Qualifications

Master of Social Work Degree – Advanced clinical education in mental health assessment, counselling, and evidence-informed practice, with additional training in Emotion-Focused Therapy.

Bachelor of Social Work Degree (Honours) – Education in counselling, ethics, social justice, and relational approaches to mental health and well-being.

Early Childhood Educator Diploma – Training in child development, attachment, relationships, and family systems.

Therapeutic Approaches & Training

Emotion-Focused Therapy – A relational, evidence-based approach that serves as an essential part of mental health support, helping individuals understand and transform their emotions (Certification in progress, expected October 2026).

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) – A skills-based support that is integral to our psychotherapy services, focusing on emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and coping with intense feelings (Completed 2021).

Specialized & Continuing Education

2SLGBTQ+ Foundations Certificate (Rainbow Health Ontario) – Offering affirming and inclusive care for LGBTQ+ individuals and families, this program also explores Emotion-Focused Therapy to enhance mental health support.

Indigenous Canada Certificate – This certificate provides culturally informed and decolonizing perspectives in health and social care, emphasizing the importance of traditional practices in psychotherapy services.

Central Black Youth Wellbeing Certificate – This program focuses on anti-racist and culturally responsive approaches to youth mental health, integrating essential mental health support practices.

Parkinson Foundation Certificate – Designed to support individuals and families living with chronic neurological conditions, this certificate includes insights into effective mental health support strategies.

Adolescent Brain Development Certificate – This course delves into how developing brains influence emotions, behaviour, and decision-making, connecting this understanding to effective psychotherapy services.