Mental Health and Counselling

Our team includes a diverse group of practitioners who take a variety of approaches to support your personal and wellness needs.

Brantford

Stephanie Dinsmore, MSW RSW (OCSWSSW) (she/her)
Stephanie is a counsellor on the Brantford campus.  She holds a Masters degree in social work from Wilfrid Laurier University and is passionate about mental health and whole wellness.  She has worked in the mental health field for over thirteen years.  With a dedication to professional development, she is pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership from Capella University. Stephanie has trained in a variety of therapeutic modalities, and her approach is eclectic with a strengths-based focus in her work with students.

Brian Doyle, M Ed RP (CRPO) (he/him)
Brian is a counsellor on the Brantford campus.  He has a Masters in Counselling Psychology degree from the University of Toronto, graduating in 2010. Prior to becoming a counsellor he taught at Humber College in the Liberal Arts and Sciences Department for over 30 years.  Drawing from a variety of modalities (but always with a client-centred, collaborative perspective), Brian works with students to help them cope, and ultimately thrive, as they experience mental, emotional, and relationship challenges in their lives.
Fun Fact: In 2017, Brian achieved a lifelong dream of learning to shoot pool when he joined The Ontario Pool Players League.  In his first season, he was part of the team that achieved the lowest ranking (this is not good) in the Thursday Night League!

Waterloo

Our professional counselling staff are registered social workers and psychotherapists who work within a short-term, goal-directed model for all registered Laurier students. All members of the counselling team have extensive experience in a variety of approaches to support our students’ personal and wellness needs. Our team also includes counsellors with specific roles as outlined below. Our services recognize and support the richness of human diversity and reflect the values of cultural, ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation differences.

Heather Landells, MSW RSW (OCSWSSW) (she/her)
Heather is the residence life counsellor on the Waterloo campus.  She has an undergraduate degree in biology and psychology from Brock University and a Masters degree in social work from Wilfrid Laurier University.  Working with both the Department of Residence and the Student Wellness Centre, Heather counsels first year students living in residence using a variety of therapy modalities and an anti-oppressive, client centred approach. She enjoys assisting first year students to make strides in their development and in coping with change as they adjust to university.  Heather is committed to ongoing un/learning about equity and diversity issues. 

 

Multi-Campus

Shevaungh Thomas, MSW RSW (OCSWSSW)
Shevaungh is a racialized counsellor/ psychotherapist and a Registered Social Worker. She completed her Master of Social Work at the University of Toronto and her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of the West Indies.  Shevaungh works from an anti-oppressive framework as she understands the complex history involved in oppression and its impact on individuals.  She is passionate about equity and diversity issues and believes in creating a therapeutic space where students feel a sense of belonging.  Shevaungh is trained in different modalities and her approach with students is integrative.

Some services are outside our scope of practice, extend beyond our scope of care, or require very specialized providers. Examples may include:

• Students who are already receiving ongoing therapy with another mental health provider.
• Students who cannot be stabilized with short-term crisis intervention; or who consistently need service more than once per week and/or frequent require consultation after-hours
• Students who require intensive outpatient or inpatient treatment (for example, impairing eating disorders, supervised medication administration, a history of multiple hospitalizations, chronic suicidality and/or self-injury behaviours, a history of repeated suicide attempts)
• Students seeking on-going mandated treatment
• Students seeking formal psychological assessments (for example, for learning disabilities or ADHD)
• Students who require counselling to meet an academic requirement, or are interested in counselling solely to gain clinical experience

When off-campus therapy is recommended or preferred by a student, a counsellor will support the student through the process of getting connected. We will help to identify several referral options selected specifically for the student’s personal situation. Local counselling options include providers within walking distance to campus and some that provide low or sliding scale fee services.