We Are a Network of Queer and Trans-identified Mental Health Professionals Who Serve the 2SLGBTQIA Community
Finding affirming mental health counseling means connecting with therapists who understand your identity, honor your experiences, and ground their work in social justice values. Umbrella Mental Health Network provides LGBTQ Mental Health Counseling Jarvis residents can trust, delivered by registered psychotherapists and social workers trained in trauma-informed, anti-oppressive care. Whether you're exploring your gender identity, processing trauma, strengthening a relationship, or simply seeking a space where you belong, this guide walks you through how to access the right support. Jarvis is a tight-knit community in Norfolk County where many people value connection and authenticity. If you live here or work in the area, you deserve mental health care that meets you where you are-care that doesn't require you to explain or defend who you are. By the end of this guide, you'll know exactly how to take the first steps toward working with a therapist at Umbrella Mental Health Network. Before reaching out, spend a few minutes thinking about what brings you to seek counseling. Are you navigating questions about your gender identity or sexual orientation? Are you healing from trauma or working through anxiety and depression? Are you in a relationship-whether monogamous or ethically non-monogamous-and want to strengthen your connection with a partner? Are you a young person exploring who you are? Umbrella Mental Health Network offers services across all these areas, including individual psychotherapy, couples therapy and ENM counseling, trauma and PTSD treatment, and youth and young adult counseling. You don't need to have everything figured out before you call. In fact, many people come to therapy precisely because they're uncertain. What matters is naming the general shape of what you're carrying-the thing that made you search for support in the first place. Write it down in a sentence or two if it helps. This clarity makes your first conversation with a therapist more focused and helps them understand how to serve you best. Once you've named what you need, contact Umbrella Mental Health Network directly through their website at umhn.ca. The team there can discuss which therapist might be the best fit for you based on your needs, your identity, and what you're working through. They understand that finding a therapist who gets it-who shares your values around gender, sexuality, relationships, and social justice-is essential to healing. When you reach out, you can ask questions about their approach, their experience with the specific issues you're facing, and what to expect in those first sessions. Because Umbrella is rooted in feminist, anti-oppressive, and sex-positive values, they won't pathologize your identity or your desires. They work with 2SLGBTQIA individuals, queer couples, families, trauma survivors, and anyone else in the community seeking care that honors all of who you are. The therapists there have expertise in gender identity exploration, relationship dynamics including alternative structures, and the complex trauma that LGBTQ+ people often carry from living in an oppressive world. Whether you're in Jarvis proper, in nearby Norfolk County towns, or elsewhere across the Greater Toronto Area, Umbrella Mental Health Network serves the region. You don't have to navigate this alone, and you don't have to find someone who requires you to shrink yourself to fit their framework. When you're ready to take that step, visit umhn.ca or get in touch with the team directly. They're here to help you find your way toward healing and growth in a space that is genuinely, radically yours. Yes. Umbrella Mental Health Network serves Jarvis and the Greater Toronto Area with specialized counseling for 2SLGBTQIA individuals and families. Their therapists provide trauma-informed, affirming care grounded in anti-oppressive and feminist values. You can reach them through their website to discuss your needs and find the right therapist for you. Umbrella Mental Health Network supports clients with gender and sexual identity exploration, trauma and PTSD recovery, anxiety and depression, couples therapy and ethically non-monogamous relationship counseling, youth and young adult mental health, and more. Their therapists work with the unique experiences of LGBTQ+ people and are trained in sex-positive, kink-positive, and culturally competent care. Start by thinking about what you need support with and then contact Umbrella Mental Health Network directly. Their team can discuss your needs, identity, and values to connect you with a registered psychotherapist or social worker who is the right fit. Finding someone who truly understands you-and who shares your values around justice, identity, and liberation-makes all the difference in therapy.Lgbtq Mental Health Counseling Jarvis
Step 1: Clarify What You Need Support With
Step 2: Reach Out to Umbrella Mental Health Network
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there LGBTQ mental health counseling available near Jarvis?
What kinds of issues does LGBTQ mental health counseling address?
How do I find the right therapist for me?

Acknowledgement
Tkaronto and the surrounding areas that we serve are within the Dish With One Spoon Territory. The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and Peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect.
We at Umbrella recognize that the professions of psychology, psychotherapy, and social work have roots in colonial violence. As psychotherapists and social workers, we understand that we have a responsibility to continuously work to decolonize the practice of psychotherapy/social work and acknowledge the origins of the various healing practices we utilize.
Our therapists actively engage in regular training that emphasizes professional development, team support, and sharing the current knowledge in 2SLGBTQIA mental health, to ensure the highest level of care for our clients.
Meet Our Team
Christopher Shillington
MA, CCC, RP
(they/them)
Clinic Director/ Registered Psychotherapist
Areas of focus:
- Healthy Relationships
- Intersectional Identities
- Trauma & PTSD

Andrés Gayoso Descalzi
MSW,RSW
(he/him)
Registered Social Worker
Areas of focus:
- Gender Identity & Embodiment
- Life Changes & Transitions
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth & Families

Aysha Natsheh
MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker
Areas of focus:
- Food, Body, Self-Image
- Trauma
- Gender & Sexual Identity
Bushra Ahmed
MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker
Areas of focus:
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth
- Exploring Neurodivergent Identities
- Impact of Oppression & Trauma on Mental Health

Clara Doucette
MA, RP (Qualifying)
(she/her)
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Areas of focus:
- Relational Styles & Attachment
- Friendships & Kinship
- Stress
Cressida Frey
MSW, RSW (she/her) Registered Social WorkerAreas of focus:
- Children, Adolescents and Adults
- Violence, Trauma and Healing
- Stress and Anxiety
Derek Cassidy
MSW, RSW
(he/him/they/them)
Registered Social Worker
Areas of focus:
- Relationships and Attachment
- Complex, Relational Trauma
- Sexuality and Sexual Health

Jesmen Mendoza
C.Psych. (he/him) Adjunct PsychologistAreas of focus:
- Complex Mental Health
- Consultation

Jett Peters
MSW Candidate
(they/them)
Student Therapist
Areas of focus:
- Gender Identity
- Relationship(s) with Food & Body
- Trauma
Kathryn Bargis
MSc, RP (she/her) Registered PsychotherapistAreas of focus:
- Relationships
- Trauma
- Gender and Sexual Identity
Maxine Bower
MSW, RSW (she/her) Registered Social WorkerAreas of focus:
- Attachment in Individuals and in Relationships
- Complex Trauma
- Deepening Connections
Nicholas Sorg
MSc, RP
(he/him)
Registered Psychotherapist
Areas of focus:
- Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
- Sexual Identity Development
- Alternative Relationships, Relationship and Family Stress
Rae Griffin-Carlson
MSW, RSW
(she/her)
Registered Social Worker
Areas of focus:
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth & Adults
- Stress, Anxiety & Depression
- Sexual & Gender-based Violence

Rahim Thawer
MSW, RSW
(he/him)
External Clinical Supervisor
Areas of focus:
- Identity Conflict & Shame
- Dating, Relationships, Single by Chance/Choice
- Sexualized Substance Use

Saadia Khan
BA (they/them) Administrative and Social Media Assistant
Stephanie Wu
RP, Professional Art Therapist
(they/them)
Registered Psychotherapist
Areas of focus:
- Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Assault & Childhood Abuse
- Impacts of Oppression
- 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth & Adults







