Call/Text 647.687.6543 info@umhn.ca

We Are a Network of Queer and Trans-identified Mental Health Professionals Who Serve the 2SLGBTQIA Community

Lgbtq Mental Health Counseling Wilsonville

Culturally affirming mental health counseling for LGBTQ individuals means working with a therapist who understands your identity as a strength, who knows the specific pressures facing queer and trans people, and who practices from a foundation of social justice rather than pathology. Umbrella Mental Health Network provides exactly this kind of care to people in Wilsonville and the Greater Toronto Area.

Wilsonville is a tight-knit community where many people value connection and authenticity. If you are LGBTQ+ and living here, you may find yourself navigating the particular experience of being queer in a smaller or quieter setting - one where the therapeutic spaces you need might not feel immediately visible. That is why Umbrella brings specialized expertise directly to Wilsonville: counseling that centers your identity, your trauma history, your relationships, and your right to full personhood without apology or medicalization.

The counselors and psychotherapists at Umbrella are registered professionals trained in trauma-informed care, which means they understand how oppression, discrimination, and past harm shape your mental health - and how healing happens when those root causes are named and worked with directly. They practice from anti-oppressive values, feminism, and an embrace of sexual and gender diversity that goes far beyond tolerance into genuine celebration of queer and trans life.

Who Benefits from LGBTQ Mental Health Counseling in Wilsonville

Umbrella serves people across the full spectrum of 2SLGBTQIA experience: gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, two-spirit, queer, asexual, and aromantic individuals. Their work also reaches queer couples, chosen families, and people exploring non-traditional relationship structures including ethical non-monogamy.

You might seek this counseling if you are:

  • Exploring or processing your gender identity or sexual orientation
  • Recovering from trauma, abuse, or medical trauma related to your identity
  • Managing anxiety or depression alongside the lived experience of being LGBTQ+
  • In a queer partnership working through relationship challenges or major life decisions
  • A young person or young adult navigating identity questions in a sometimes unsupportive environment
  • Interested in sex-positive, kink-aware, or alternative relationship counseling that does not pathologize your desires
  • Seeking support around queer family planning or building chosen family

Because trauma and oppression are stored in the body and nervous system, not just in thoughts, the therapists at Umbrella draw on approaches grounded in how humans actually heal. They do not ask you to simply "think differently" about painful experiences. Instead, they work with your whole self - your history, your community, your identity - to build genuine safety and restore your sense of agency.

Core Services Available in Wilsonville

Umbrella Mental Health Network offers several focused areas of expertise:

  • Individual psychotherapy: One-on-one work tailored to your specific needs, whether that is processing trauma, exploring identity, managing mental health symptoms, or building a stronger sense of self in a world that often does not see you clearly.
  • Couples therapy and ethical non-monogamy counseling: Support for queer and polyamorous relationships navigating communication, commitment, boundaries, and the unique dynamics of alternative partnership structures.
  • Trauma and PTSD treatment: Specialized trauma work that recognizes how systemic oppression, discrimination, violence, and medical trauma uniquely affect LGBTQ+ people, and how recovery requires addressing those realities directly.
  • Gender and sexual identity exploration: A safe, non-directive space to understand your identity at your own pace, without pressure toward any particular outcome or label.
  • Youth and young adult counseling: Specialized support for people under 25 navigating identity, family dynamics, school or workplace experiences, and the particular pressures of coming of age as LGBTQ+ in contemporary society.

What sets these services apart is their grounding in values. The clinicians at Umbrella do not operate from a medical model that treats queerness or transness as disorder. Instead, they practice from a social justice lens that recognizes mental health struggles as often rooted in real external oppression - discrimination, rejection, unsafe environments - rather than personal failure. Healing means both internal work and clarity about what is actually happening in the world around you.

What to Expect When You Reach Out to Umbrella in Wilsonville

The first step is getting in touch. Many people feel nervous about calling or emailing a therapist for the first time. You might worry about being misunderstood, or you might not be sure what to say. That uncertainty is normal, and Umbrella's team is practiced at making that initial conversation feel manageable.

When you connect with them, you will be asked about what brings you in - what you are struggling with, what you hope might be different, what your experience has been. This information helps match you with a therapist whose expertise and approach fit your needs. Because Umbrella brings together clinicians with different specializations, this matching matters: if you are navigating gender transition, you will work with someone trained in that specific territory. If you are in a polyamorous relationship, your therapist will have real expertise in non-traditional structures, not discomfort disguised as neutrality.

Sessions typically happen weekly or bi-weekly, depending on what feels right for you. The process is collaborative - your therapist is not telling you what to do, but rather helping you understand yourself more deeply, recognize patterns, access your own wisdom and resilience, and move toward the life and relationships you actually want. Because the work is trauma-informed, your therapist will be attuned to your nervous system, will ask permission before exploring difficult territory, and will move at a pace that feels safe for you.

What you say in session is confidential. The only exceptions are situations involving immediate danger, abuse of children or vulnerable adults, or a court order - and these limits are explained to you upfront. This confidentiality is foundational to the safety required for real healing.

If you are in Wilsonville and searching for mental health support that actually gets what it means to be LGBTQ+, that does not ask you to shrink yourself or hide who you are, Umbrella Mental Health Network is here to meet you. Reaching out is an act of self-care and courage. You can contact them to discuss whether their services are the right fit for where you are right now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there LGBTQ mental health counseling available in Wilsonville?

Yes. Umbrella Mental Health Network serves people throughout Wilsonville and the Greater Toronto Area with specialized counseling by registered psychotherapists and social workers trained in trauma-informed, culturally affirming care for LGBTQ+ individuals and families. You do not need to travel to a large city to access this expertise.

What is trauma-informed therapy?

Trauma-informed therapy is an approach that recognizes how past harm - including abuse, discrimination, and oppression - shapes your nervous system, emotions, and relationships. Instead of asking you to simply change your thoughts, trauma-informed clinicians help you understand and heal from those experiences so your nervous system feels safe again.

Can Umbrella help with gender identity questions?

Yes. Umbrella offers specialized gender and sexual identity exploration services in a non-directive, pressure-free environment. Their clinicians support people in understanding their identity at their own pace, without pushing you toward any particular label or outcome.

Does Umbrella work with couples and non-traditional relationships?

Absolutely. Umbrella provides couples therapy for queer partnerships and specialized counseling for people in ethical non-monogamy and other alternative relationship structures. They bring genuine expertise in polyamory and relationship diversity, not just tolerance.

What happens in the first session?

Your first session is a conversation where you share what brings you in and what you hope might change. The therapist listens and gathers information to understand your needs, and together you explore whether their approach and expertise are a good fit for where you are right now.

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

Portrait

 

Christopher Shillington

MA, CCC, RP
(they/them)

Clinic Director/ Registered Psychotherapist

 

Areas of focus:
  • Healthy Relationships
  • Intersectional Identities
  • Trauma & PTSD
Portrait

 

Andrés Gayoso Descalzi

MSW,RSW
(he/him)

Registered Social Worker

 

Areas of focus:
  • Gender Identity & Embodiment
  • Life Changes & Transitions
  • 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth & Families
Portrait

 

Aysha Natsheh

MSW, RSW

Registered Social Worker

 

Areas of focus:
  • Food, Body, Self-Image
  • Trauma
  • Gender & Sexual Identity
Portrait

 

Bushra Ahmed

MSW, RSW

Registered Social Worker

 

Areas of focus:
  • 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth
  • Exploring Neurodivergent Identities
  • Impact of Oppression & Trauma on Mental Health
Portrait

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 Worker  
Areas 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
Portrait

Jesmen Mendoza

C.Psych. (he/him) Adjunct Psychologist  
Areas of focus:
  • Complex Mental Health
  • Consultation
Portrait

Jett Peters

MSW Candidate
(they/them)

Student Therapist

 

Areas of focus:
  • Gender Identity
  • Relationship(s) with Food & Body
  • Trauma
Portrait

Kathryn Bargis

MSc, RP (she/her) Registered Psychotherapist  
Areas of focus:
  • Relationships
  • Trauma
  • Gender and Sexual Identity
Portrait

Maxine Bower

MSW, RSW (she/her) Registered Social Worker  
Areas of focus:
  • Attachment in Individuals and in Relationships
  • Complex Trauma
  • Deepening Connections
Portrait

Nicholas Sorg

MSc, RP
(he/him)

Registered Psychotherapist

 

Areas of focus:
  • Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
  • Sexual Identity Development
  • Alternative Relationships, Relationship and Family Stress
Portrait

Rae Griffin-Carlson

MSW, RSW
(she/her)

Registered Social Worker

 

Areas of focus:
  • 2SLGBTQIA+ Youth & Adults
  • Stress, Anxiety & Depression
  • Sexual & Gender-based Violence
Portrait

Rahim Thawer

MSW, RSW
(he/him)

External Clinical Supervisor

 

Areas of focus:
  • Identity Conflict & Shame
  • Dating, Relationships, Single by Chance/Choice
  • Sexualized Substance Use
Portrait

Saadia Khan

BA (they/them) Administrative and Social Media Assistant
Portrait

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