We Are a Network of Queer and Trans-identified Mental Health Professionals Who Serve the 2SLGBTQIA Community
LGBTQ Mental Health Counseling in Vittoria connects queer individuals and families with registered psychotherapists who understand the specific challenges that 2SLGBTQIA people face. Umbrella Mental Health Network serves Vittoria and the surrounding Greater Toronto Area with culturally competent care grounded in feminism, social justice, and anti-oppressive practice. The landscape of mental health in Vittoria, like much of rural and semi-rural Ontario, has historically lacked affirming, queer-centered therapeutic services. Many LGBTQ+ people in the region have traveled to Toronto for counseling, or worse, accepted therapeutic relationships that were not trauma-informed or sex-positive. Umbrella Mental Health Network brings specialized expertise directly to Vittoria and the GTA, eliminating that barrier. Jordan, a 28-year-old non-binary person living in Vittoria, came to Umbrella Mental Health Network carrying multiple layers of distress. They had spent years in a heteronormative therapeutic relationship that pathologized their gender identity and offered no framework for understanding their trauma history. After a difficult breakup with a partner who did not support their transition, Jordan experienced depression, dissociation, and deep shame about their body and identity. Jordan's search for "LGBTQ Mental Health Counseling Vittoria" led them to contact Umbrella Mental Health Network. Unlike previous therapists, the clinician they were matched with approached gender identity not as a problem to be solved, but as a core aspect of self-discovery that was inseparable from healing trauma. Here is how the work unfolded: Over six months of consistent work, Jordan's relationship to their body began to shift. They reported less intrusive trauma memories, greater ability to tolerate difficult emotions, and a growing sense that being non-binary was not the source of their pain but rather a valid part of their identity. They started attending a queer social group in Vittoria and reconnected with a friend they had distanced from during their depression. Their therapist provided guidance on coming out to family members in psychologically safe ways. Not all psychotherapists are equipped to offer LGBTQ Mental Health Counseling in Vittoria or anywhere else. Generic trauma therapy, however competent, misses crucial dimensions of queer experience. Umbrella Mental Health Network's clinicians bring specific training in: By the end of Jordan's work with Umbrella Mental Health Network, they had developed a coherent narrative of their life that made room for both the pain they had endured and their emerging sense of possibility. They were no longer searching for a therapist who would fix their queerness; they had found one who understood that affirming their identity was integral to healing their trauma. If you are seeking LGBTQ mental health support in Vittoria or the GTA, Umbrella Mental Health Network is here. Whether you are navigating trauma recovery, exploring your gender or sexual identity, strengthening a relationship, or managing anxiety and depression with someone who truly understands queer experience, reaching out is the first step. Contact Umbrella Mental Health Network to schedule a consultation and begin the work of building the life and relationships you deserve. Yes. Umbrella Mental Health Network serves Vittoria and the wider Greater Toronto Area with specialized counseling for 2SLGBTQIA individuals, couples, and families. Our clinicians are registered psychotherapists and social workers trained in trauma-informed, culturally competent care for LGBTQ+ communities. LGBTQ-specialized counselors understand how systemic oppression, family rejection, and discrimination shape mental health in ways that generic therapy training does not address. We affirm gender identity and sexual orientation as valid, integrate knowledge of queer resilience and community, and refuse to pathologize queerness itself. Yes. Gender identity exploration and affirmation is a core part of our practice. We support transgender and non-binary people through coming out processes, medical transitions, family navigation, and healing from gender-based trauma, all grounded in the understanding that your gender identity is valid. Yes. Umbrella Mental Health Network specializes in trauma recovery for LGBTQ+ people, using trauma-informed approaches that recognize how oppression compounds personal trauma. We work with survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, family rejection, workplace discrimination, and other forms of harm. Yes. We provide couples therapy and ethical non-monogamy counseling for queer and LGBTQ+ couples, with full affirmation of your relationship structure and expertise in navigating power dynamics, communication, and consent. Yes. Umbrella Mental Health Network offers counseling for youth and young adults exploring gender and sexual identity, managing anxiety or depression, navigating family relationships, and building self-acceptance in affirming spaces. It means we recognize how systemic oppression-racism, colonialism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, and class inequality-shapes your experience and mental health. We do not treat queerness or transness as individual problems, and we center social justice values alongside individual healing.Lgbtq Mental Health Counseling Vittoria
A Case Study: Finding Safety and Self-Acceptance in Vittoria
Why LGBTQ Mental Health Counseling Vittoria Requires Specialized Expertise
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer LGBTQ mental health counseling in Vittoria specifically?
What makes LGBTQ-specialized counseling different from general therapy?
Do you work with transgender and non-binary clients?
Can you help with trauma and PTSD?
Do you offer couples therapy for queer couples?
Do you work with youth and young adults?
What does "trauma-informed and anti-oppressive" mean in practice?

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







