Counselling and mental health services for indigenous people.
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About me

Indigenous Holistic Therapy > About me
about me

About Maxine Ballantyne

My name is Maxine Ballantyne, and I am a BISW, RSW, and Registered Mental Health Therapist, specializing in providing guidance and support for Indigenous clients in the local area. I firmly believe that no matter where you come from or your ethnicity, you should have access to a place where you can feel free to express yourself and heal from traumatic experiences you have encountered. I am a bilingual speaker who speaks English and Cree.
 
There are many points in our lives when everyday anxieties and those more traumatic experiences weigh heavily on us. They can leave you feeling disconnected and disempowered.
 
In addition to my comprehensive studies and the skills I have gained over the years, the thing that makes my practice as a mental health therapist stand out is my own life experiences. I am a survivor of domestic abuse and have raised my children as a single parent. After fighting my alcohol addiction, I beat it and have been sober for over 17 years. I am a residential school survivor and was in a residential school for 11 years.
 
I am also an inter-generational trauma survivor, so I know how things that happen to parents can affect their children, even if it is just indirectly. Owing to my heritage, I am also cultural and ceremonially sensitive, which I feel is essential when collaborating with Indigenous people. I am also using the Medicine Wheel Approaches in therapy
 

I offer a wide range of services designed to help Indigenous clients based on my experience and comprehensive studies. Rather than offering just one form of counselling, I have put together a full menu of different options. I understand that not everyone is different and have avoided an out-of-the-box plan of action. My services include:

– Narrative Therapy
– Inner child Healing
– Grief and loss
– Addictions Therapy
– Suicide Intervention

With all therapy I provide, I aim to tailor it to the individual to meet their needs and specific goals. There is no point, in my opinion, in trying to take an out-of-the-box approach because how one individual deal with trauma and other stressors will be different from how another person does. To find out more about any of my therapy plans, browse this website or contact me directly. I look forward to hearing from you and helping you on the road to recovery, self-discovery, contentment, and beyond.

Qualifications

  • I have studied diligently from the years before I began working with clients, from the formative years
    of my practice to now. Some of the most important qualifications and certifications I have achieved
    over the years that I am very proud of include:
    ·   Certificate of Indigenous Social Work
    ·   Bachelor of Indigenous Social Work
    ·   Certified Addictions-Informed Mental Health Professional
    ·   Trauma-Focused Certificate
    ·   Trauma Treatment Certificate
    ·   Counseling and Treatment, Overdose and Naloxone to Save a Life
    ·   Mental Health First Aid
    ·   Assist Training (Suicide Training)
    ·   Qualified Hypnotist Trainee Clinical Psychologist (DClinPsy), University College of London (UK)