DESIGN

Dr. Stacy Thomas is an award winning Clinical Psychologist, acclaimed speaker, and the CEO, founder and clinical director of The Design Your Life Centre, a psychotherapy practice based in Toronto.

Her mission to democratize mental health motivated her to create The Growing Forward Journal and her recognition of the great need for reliable mental health education inspired the development of The Design Your Life Community & Academy, a platform featuring masterclasses of her most powerful teachings that have helped countless clients design their lives.  She has also had the honour of hosting several online summits for Mindful World, including the Mindful World Parenting Summit which has reached a global audience of over 200,000 and counting.

Whether you are struggling or striving, Dr. Stacy is passionate about helping you fulfill your life’s purpose and is honoured to have the opportunity to play a role in helping you Design Your Life

Dr. Anjuman Bains has more than 8 years experience helping people navigate through concerns like stress, anxiety, depression, sudden traumatic events and infertility. She is also an expert in Performance Psychology, and has worked closely with Olympic athletes, sports federations such as the Weightlifting Federation of India and The Indian Sports Federation of Cerebral Palsy.

Her passion for educating the public on the subject of mental health has been featured on various platforms like BBC World News and in TED talks. She has also been involved in research and various government initiatives to improve awareness of mental health issues in society.

In addition to her skill in helping people overcome life challenges and perform at their best when it counts, Dr. Anjuman’s strengths include her ability to work with people from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds and do psychotherapy in several languages including English, Hindi and Punjabi. Her work with clients integrates Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, with Mindfulness based practices and Mental skill training for high performance.

Dr. Anjuman is honoured and excited to help clients design their lives as part of The Design Your Life Centre clinical team while also continuing her mission to build programmes and initiatives to spread mental health awareness for the good of society

Gabrielle Iwaskow is a Registered Psychotherapist.

As a former athlete, with a love for psychology, Gabrielle is excited to now be leveraging all of her passions to do what she loves most: empowering millennial women during times of transition, with healing conversations and evidence-based mental skills that work.

Why? Because she knows what it’s like to be a young woman with tons of inspiration struggling with a lack of clear direction.

he also knows the power a single conversation can have to get you moving on the right path.

As a dedicated, results driven professional who is highly skilled at quickly developing authentic connections, she feels incredibly fortunate for the training and support she has received that helped her find her purpose and she is excited to have the opportunity to help you find yours.

Hazel Zindoga, Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) has worked in mental health services for over a decade and understands that there can be apprehension in reaching out for help. She seeks to provide a safe, inclusive, non-judgemental, and supportive environment to explore and resolve challenges in one’s life.

Hazel’s approach comes from an understanding that every person’s mental health journey is unique, and she aims to make the therapeutic relationship a collaborative one. Through conversations together, she is committed to helping you understand why you feel and think the way you do, and to challenge and shift behaviour patterns which could be holding you back from experiencing a more connected, fulfilled, and meaningful life.

Her practice is grounded in a client-centred and trauma-informed approach that draws upon techniques from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Schema Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) and mindfulness. She provides individual therapy for adults struggling with anxiety, depression, life transitions, trauma, grief, self-esteem, and interpersonal issues.

Najma is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) providing individual therapy to adults struggling with anxiety, depression, racial Identity, trauma, interpersonal issues, life’s transition and grief.

Life challenges can be immense for those of us who come from racialized and diverse backgrounds. As a Black Muslim Woman, Najma is mindful of the many intersecting identities that can influence an individual’s life and incorporates this into her therapeutic approach. She practices from a trauma-informed, anti-oppressive and feminist perspective and empowers you to meet your emotional, mental, and spiritual goals using evidence-based skills.

Driven by curiosity, connection and community, Najma’s work is rooted in values of authentic collaboration and aims to walk beside her clients on their journey of rediscovery and reclaiming a healthier authentic self. With compassion and respect, she seeks to create a warm, safe, and non-judgmental space that facilitates self-awareness, healing and growth.

Divyanksha Gaind is a Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO) with a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology.

Divyanksha’s passion for helping individuals break free from perceived limitations and truly thrive was fuelled by her early work helping individuals with learning disabilities and neurological differences learn how to realize their full potential.

Her early work with neurodiverse clients and those who love them, has expanded over the eight years of her career to now include people facing chronic pain, chronic illness, stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Divyanksha works with individuals with mental health issues and their caregivers to help them process their experience by integrating a range of approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Mindfulness, Solution-Focused Therapy and Clinical Hypnosis.

She is also able to provide psychotherapy services in both English and Hindi. No matter what the challenge, she is honoured to journey with her clients to help them see hope, wisdom, resilience and the power they have within, to Design Their Lives.

Dennis Keefe is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with a Master’s in Counselling Psychology and significant volunteer experience in community counseling settings.

His background in documentary film storytelling has prepared him well to explore different life narratives and to help clients choose more positive and empowering ones. On top of this, he has intimate experience with chronic illness, chronic pain and disability and has a strong passion for working with those affected by these challenges as well as with men who have the courage to connect with their vulnerability and leverage this to design their lives.

Dennis is available to help adults presenting with a broad array of mental health concerns including anxiety, stress, depression, struggles relating to identity and life-purpose. He is honoured to take part in the change process with anyone who is open to doing deep personal work.Dennis is available to help adults presenting with a broad array of mental health concerns including anxiety, stress, depression, struggles relating to identity and life-purpose. He is honoured to take part in the change process with anyone who is open to doing deep personal work.

Dragan Kljujic, a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), holds a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology. He studied clinical psychology in Europe and subsequently worked for over two decades as a psychotherapist in a city hospital before moving to Canada.

Dragan’s experience with a diverse array of clients and their unique complaints has led him to adopt an integrative approach, utilizing the best evidence-based therapeutic practices and techniques tailored to each client’s needs and preferences. His work combines a holistic approach, grounded in Humanistic Psychology, which emphasizes human potential, free will, self-discovery, and personal meaning in life. This is integrated with a variety of therapeutic modalities including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, Psychoanalysis, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques.

Throughout his extensive counseling career, Dragan has predominantly worked with adults grappling with anxiety, phobias, depression, trauma, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sexual dysfunctions, and relational issues. He also worked with refugees and soldiers dealing with PTSD and other stress-related issues. He is proficient in providing psychotherapy services in English, Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian.

His main goal has always been to assist clients in overcoming their problems, improving their quality of life, fostering personal growth, and enabling them to design their own lives.

Shelly Dilawri has been working in the mental health space for over 15 years and her passion to help women going through various mental health issues, life changes, and postpartum has not diminished.

She is ignited by the challenges that come with helping those who need assistance to overcome and reach their full potential.

Shelly has learned to build programs to suit the individual through the lens of Cognitive and Dialectical Behaviour therapy. Using these core principles as the foundation for her approach, she has helped many climb over their mental barriers and reach new highs.

As a mother, wife and daughter, Shelly knows first hand the complexities that come with the ups and downs of life. That’s why she has made it her mission to help patients regain their independence by identifying unhealthy patterns that aren’t driving them to live their best life.

Working alongside Dr. Stacy Thomas, she is looking forward to this opportunity to reach a wider audience who truly need the help to shift their life momentum in a positive direction.

Jennifer Henderson is the Client Care Coordinator for The Design Your Life Centre. She spent 20 years in the financial services industry before taking the leap of becoming an entrepreneur. Over her 25 year career she has held many roles, but all of them have had the same underlying passion, which is to help others, solve problems and create excellent client experiences.

Jennifer is our friendly and helpful first contact for clients, and provides ongoing support for any administrative issues that may arise while you are working with us.

Alexandra is passionate about connecting people in need with people that want to help.

During the day she works at a children’s charity, working alongside donors to help youth in child welfare create their own unstoppable successes.  In the evenings she is dedicated to creating a welcoming space for clients at the Design Your Life Centre.

As a new mom, she knows first hand how impactful it can be to work with a team and clinicians that can truly hold space for you during challenging times.  Alexandra is honored to help create a well-rounded positive experience for clients.

Mesha is the Client Care Coordinator for The Design Your Life Centre. She spent 20 years in the financial services industry before taking the leap of becoming an entrepreneur. Over her 25 year career she has held many roles, but all of them have had the same underlying passion, which is to help others, solve problems and create excellent client experiences.

Mesha is our friendly and helpful first contact for clients, and provides ongoing support for any administrative issues that may arise while you are working with us.