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.

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!

Chris Kardol, MSW RSW (OCSWSSW) (she/her)
Chris is a Counsellor/Therapist and a Registered Social Worker on the Waterloo campus.  She obtained both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Laurier. She enjoys working from an integrative perspective to better understand the diverse and unique experiences of each student.  Chris is collaborative and introspective with students to support them in making sense of their experiences.  She uses a range of different approaches such as mindfulness, cognitive-behavioural, and short-term psychodynamic to help students take steps to overcome challenges, build confidence, and achieve their goals.

Sam Katerji, MA RP (CRPO) (she/her)
Sam is a counsellor on the Waterloo campus and a Registered Psychotherapist whose therapeutic approach is informed by her diverse background and training in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT).  Prior to joining Laurier’s wellness team in 2011, she worked at a community out-patient mental health clinic.  She works collaboratively with students to articulate their unique struggle, to be present with it in a safe therapeutic environment, and to move toward their desired effective living through change and acceptance.

Heather Landells, MSW RSW (OCSWSSW) (she/her)
Heather is a counsellor/therapist on the Waterloo campus.  Heather 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. Heather enjoys assisting first year students with making strides in their development and in coping with change as they adjust to university. 

Lauren MacGregor, MSW RSW (OCSWSSW) (she/ her)
Lauren is a counsellor on the Waterloo campus.  Lauren practices from an anti-oppressive and trauma-informed lens and likes to use a strengths-based and solution-focused approach to counselling.  Lauren enjoys working with a variety or therapeutic approaches and getting to work with Laurier's diverse and vibrant student population.

Carrie Pollard, MSW RSW (OCSWSSW) (she/her)
Carrie is a psychotherapist on the Waterloo campus who has been providing counselling to students at Laurier since 2004.  She has a strengths-based, compassion-focussed approach to her clinical work and uses various therapeutic modalities, including (but not limited to) dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and compassion-focussed therapy (CFT).  She views therapy as a safe, non-judgemental space to be heard and understood, and to be empowered to develop insights and skills to foster self-growth and positive change.  Carrie has been a member of the Waterloo-Wellington Eating Disorder Coalition since 2007.  She enjoys listening to audio books and doing yoga in her spare time. 

Robert Simms MSW candidate, RSW (OCSWSSW) (he/him)
Hello everybody, my name is Robert Simms.  I identify as Metis Non-Status.  My spirit name is Man of Many Faces and my clan is Thunderbird.  I am the Indigenous Counsellor (OCSWSSW) and I work on both the Brantford and Waterloo campus. I have been a social worker for over a decade and have worked primarily with Indigenous People of all different nations and bands all across Turtle Island within that time span.  I look forward to getting to know the Laurier community and strengthening ties with the Indigenous communities and peoples, both within campus and without.  Miigwetch (Thank you)

Sherrie Steinberg, MSW RSW (OCSWSSW) (she/her)
Sherrie is a psychotherapist (OCSWSSW) at the Student Wellness Centre on the Waterloo campus.  She  has been providing support to Laurier students since 2011.  She works collaboratively with students to move toward the goals they choose for themselves.  Sherrie works with from a broad base of various modalities and believes in a journey with students, neither pushing them ahead nor pulling them along, but walking beside offering compassion, perspective, and tools to support growth.

Megan Svarich-Knights, MSW RSW (OCSWSSW) (she/her)
Megan is a counsellor on the Waterloo campus and a student with the North American Drama Therapy Association.  She is a cis white female with Irish, English, and Ukrainian ancestry.  Megan is rooted in anti-racist, sex-positive, harm-reductive, and queer/trans-affirming practice.  Megan draws upon short-term narrative, art-based, mindfulness, somatic and emotion-focused interventions.  

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.