Brenda Ponic, MSW, RSW

20-214 Guildwood Parkway,
Toronto, Ontario
M1E 5B6
647-228-4582

brenda@brendaponic.ca


• Individual Therapy
• Group Therapy
• Clinical Supervision


Healing from
Trauma & Abuse
Relationships, Trust & Communication
Dealing With
Difficult Emotions
Expanding Your
Coping Strategies
Self-Compassion
LGBTQ
Sexuality
Parenting

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What Psychotherapy Is To Me

My aim in psychotherapy is to be trustworthy, to pay deep attention to whatever you are bringing to talk about, and to have ideas and strategies to offer that can help. My goal is to work alongside of you to help you figure out the problems you are currently facing, and in the process help you to learn more about trusting yourself so that you can live out what you value, and find greater happiness.

For the last 30 years, I have focused my daily attention on psychotherapy. Psychotherapy, for me, is a process where a person can take the time to talk through current problems, and in the process, explore your deep motivations, fears, and dreams, and your relationship with others and the world. I have been fascinated with helping people to have compassion for themselves by unpacking how we have each been shaped by growing up in complex families and communities. When you really understand how experiences of abuse and oppression have impacted you, you begin to see that you are not “crazy” or “broken”. You can then feel motivated to make the changes that you want and need to make, that allow you to live the life you want to lead.

Finding this self-compassion in day to day living in our minds and hearts is not always easy. Internal Family Systems, or IFS, is a modality that I now often use to help us to see how we have parts with contradictions, motivations, and energy that can be held in mindful awareness with warmth and curiosity.

I spoke to my first sexual assault client in 1984. I was a volunteer with a Rape Crisis Centre and was in the midst of my own unfurling of self-discovery and healing. I became a feminist and an activist, trying to work in an anti-oppressive way before we had the words for it. I didn`t see my clients as all that different from me, and I still don`t. My energy is devoted to exploring this question of how to figure out who we are, and what we need to learn and change, and what we need to keep and value about ourselves. This self-exploration is, in my view, the purpose of psychotherapy, which is facilitated by a caring, trustworthy, knowledgeable collaborator, who is the psychotherapist. I would be honoured to meet you, see how you feel about how I work, and see if we can fulfill this intention together.

I have a diverse clinical background in community mental health services, with an emphasis on helping people heal from the effects of trauma, find safety, develop better coping skills, and build healthier relationships.

Professional Affiliation

I am registered with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) and also the Ontario Association of Social Workers (OASW).