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Welcome to Maternal Health Niagara's Portal
Consultation Call: REQUIRED for new and returning clients
Welcome,
Our consultation call is required for NEW & RETURNING clients.
** Please note that due to high demand, we are currently have a waitlist for some services**
We provide a complementary 15 minute consultation call.
*** Please be sure to complete the consultation form before your consultation!
During the consultation, we will discuss the following:
* Goals for therapy
* Preference for in-person vs. virtual
* Availability for sessions (Days/ Times)
* Payments/ Extended Benefits
* Previous therapy experiences
* Qualities you are seeking in a therapist
* Answer any questions
* Book your session
* Review Jane App and Paperwork
The client care coordinator will discuss with you who may be a therapuetic fit to meet your needs from the consultation. At that time, you can book an INTAKE appointment with the therapist, which is 50 minutes, or if you prefer, you can have a free consultation with the suggested therapist.
Maternal Health Niagara has an open-door policy regarding Therapuetic FIT, and we are committed to ensuring you feel connected to your therapist. If it's not the right fit, we will work together to find someone who is.
Please note the phone number may be blocked.
Registered Psychotherapist & RP (Qualifying)
Registered Psychotherapists included RP and RP(Qualifying) and are regulated by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario
Counselling
Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) are part of The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)
Shannon Wurster
(She/Her/Hers)
MSW, RSW
In-Person Services
In-Person Services Read More
Heidi Bercovici
(She/Her/Hers)
BSW, MSW, RSW, SEP
HEIDI BERCOVICI (she/her) Associate Therapist Registered Social Worker (RSW, MSW, BSW, BSc )
VIRTUAL ONLY!
Heidi is a somatic therapist who focuses on the connection between the mind, body, and spirit. She believes everyone has inner wisdom and strength waiting to be uncovered; sometimes, we need support. Heidi recognizes the transformative power within each individual to overcome challenges.
As a Registered Social Worker and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, she is deeply committed to her clients, fostering an atmosphere of warmth, creativity, compassion, and empathy. Heidi guides her clients toward finding balance in their lives by working with nervous system regulation. She understands that the body holds and stores trauma. With Somatic Experiencing and EMDR, healing becomes possible by improving access to internal resilience and releasing trauma at the body level. Heidi emphasizes the importance of her clients discovering the answers within themselves and adopts a gentle approach to help them connect with their bodies.
Heidi practices from anti-oppressive and strength-based perspectives, integrating modalities such as mindfulness-based therapies, Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, body-based techniques, attachment theory, and FLASH.
Clients can use the skills learned to support their nervous systems between sessions. Heidi invites clients to be mindful and to learn to trust their needs between sessions.
Heidi holds a Bachelor of Social Work from York University, a Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Exercise Physiology with a joint major in Spanish Language and Culture from Concordia University. Her diverse educational background has shaped her comprehensive approach to therapy. She has experience working with women and families in physical health, rehabilitation, and emotional and mental well-being, utilizing various modalities to create a holistic therapeutic experience.
Additionally, she is trained as a postpartum doula with Doula Canada and has completed the Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders course through the Seleni Institute. Her training includes grief and trauma, and she continuously engages in professional development.
In her leisure time, Heidi enjoys being in nature, playing hockey, dancing, and travelling.
Heidi is bilingual and speaks both English and French.
Location: Virtual
HEIDI BERCOVICI (she/her) Associate Therapist Registered Social Worker (RSW, MSW, BSW, BSc ) V... Read More
Zara Uppal
Zara works alongside our Client Care Coordinator to ensure the first steps into your mental health journey feel safe and pressure-free. Through her own life experiences, she has discovered a passion for creating and nurturing healthy human connections and believes that everyone deserves the chance to feel like their best self.
During your initial consultation call, you can expect Zara to offer you a space where you can be vulnerable and feel heard, while discussing the goals you are hoping to work towards in therapy. She hopes to create a feeling of empowerment that can ripple into all areas of your life.
With a diverse background in client care and mental health, Zara understands that therapy is far from a one-size-fits-all experience. With this in mind, she places value in meeting you where you’re at – honouring your pace, your needs, and your life experiences.
Outside of her professional life, Zara enjoys staying active in the gym, indulging in her favourite restaurants and spending time in the sunshine with family and friends.
Zara works alongside our Client Care Coordinator to ensure the first steps into your mental healt... Read More
Jessica Cleeve
(She/Her/Hers)
MSW, RSW
Virtual Provider in Ontario
Virtual Provider in Ontario Read More
Sarah Dolphin
(She/Her/Hers)
MSW, RSW
Amanda O'Malley
(She/Her/Hers)
BSW, RSW
Amanda O’malley, (She/Her) Registered Social Worker, RSW, BSW
Associate Therapist Amanda is a Registered Social Worker with over 20 years of experience supporting children, youth, and adults through life’s messier seasons. She does not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach and honours people as the experts of their own lives—she simply helps hold the flashlight.
An eclectic, trauma-informed approach guides her work, drawing from narrative therapy, attachment-based approaches, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), motivational interviewing, and mindfulness. Amanda is certified as a Level 1 Tree of Life Narrative Therapist and is currently completing certification in trauma therapy.
Additional training includes Bringing Light to Motherhood, an evidence-based program offered by Maternal Mental Health NOW, supporting perinatal resilience, connection, and emotional well-being across pregnancy and early parenting.
Areas of care include perinatal and parenting support, trauma-focused care, support for individuals living with health concerns including cancer survivorship, and care for family members supporting loved ones through illness.
A grounded, relational, and strengths-based lens shapes Amanda’s approach. She supports people in reconnecting with their inner resources, finding steadiness during times of uncertainty, and making sense of experiences that can impact identity, relationships, and daily life. Caregivers are also supported in holding deep care for others while staying connected to their own well-being.
At the heart of this work, Amanda believes in people’s capacity to heal, adapt, and author lives that feel meaningful and aligned.
Known for her warmth, authenticity, and straight-talking style, Amanda believes therapy should feel like a real conversation. She creates a non-judgmental space where people feel valued, supported, and truly heard. Amanda laughs loudly, prefers plain language over social work jargon, and welcomes humour—including the occasional swear word—when it helps people breathe a little easier and feel more like themselves.
Her education includes a Correctional Worker Diploma from Centennial College, a Bachelor of Social Work from Toronto Metropolitan University, and current completion of a Master of Social Work at the University of Windsor.
Alongside professional training, Amanda brings meaningful lived experience. Having navigated her own life traumas and as a breast cancer thriver, these experiences continue to shape her empathy, resilience, and deep respect for the courage it takes to heal and practice self-compassion.
Outside of her work, Amanda is a mom to three teenagers, a dog, and a Holland Lop bunny—each regularly reminding her to practice patience and savour life’s small moments. She enjoys working out, hot yoga, gardening, and travelling.
Amanda believes people have the capacity to author their own stories, and she is honoured to walk alongside them as they do.
Location: Ontario Virtual Only
Amanda O’malley, (She/Her) Registered Social Worker, RSW, BSW Associate Therapist Amanda is a Re... Read More
Lisa Marie Thompson
(She/Her/Hers)
RP (Qualifying); CCC
LISA MARIE THOMPSON (she/her) Associate Therapist
RP (Qualifying) & Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC)
Lisa Marie’s journey to joining Maternal Health Niagara was shaped by her 15 years in the education sector, where she worked closely with youth. These experiences ignited her desire to transition into a counselling environment where she could work with individuals, couples, and families on a more personal level.
She obtained her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from Yorkville University in 2018. She completed her thesis in couples counselling, which focused on restoring relationships to the foundation of effective communication. Lisa Marie also received her Level 1 certification in EMDR and has a heart for working with individuals and couples to find strength and healing.
At the core of Lisa Marie’s counselling philosophy is a belief in a client-centred approach. She sees individuals as active participants in their healing process. Lisa Marie empowers her clients through techniques such as cognitive behaviour therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, EMDR, and the Gottman method for couples.
Lisa Marie’s counselling practice is inclusive and versatile. She is adept at working with youth, adults, and couples, providing support for challenges such as anxiety, depression, stress, and marriage or family concerns. Her understanding of the intricacies of post-partum allows her to provide empathetic support to new moms on their journey through motherhood.
Behind the scenes, Lisa Maire is a ray of light and loves to laugh and have fun! She keeps things real and shows up for her colleges by small acts of kindness. When Lisa Marie is not counselling, she is a busy mom of three who spends time in the rink, gym, or studio. She enjoys choreographing musical productions, working on puzzles, or spending time near the water. She is so grateful to be a part of this incredible team.
AVAILABILITY: Tuesday: 12:00 pm - 7:00 pm Wednesday: 9:30 am - 3:30 pm Friday: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm *virtual
Location: Ontario In-Person & Virtual
LISA MARIE THOMPSON (she/her) Associate Therapist RP (Qualifying) & Canadian Certified Coun... Read More
Randi Paxton
(She/Her/Hers)
BA, BSW, MSW, RSW
RANDI PAXTON (she/her) Associate Therapist Registered Social Worker (BA, BSW, MSW, RSW)
VIRTUAL ONLY
Randi has completed a diploma in Social Service Work, a Bachelor’s and a Master of Social Work degree. Randi is a lifelong learner who continues to passionately build her knowledge about the impact that childhood trauma and hurtful adult partnerships can have on current parenting challenges. Throughout her studies, Randi primarily worked with caregivers and children aged 0-6 through a lens of relational and attachment-based trauma-informed care. From this, it sparked her clinical passion for providing parenting support to caregivers of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. She focuses on self-compassion and well-being while parenting, promoting secure attachments, and exploring the role our relationships with our caregivers growing up may play when responding to children’s emotional spectrum. Randi believes all caregivers possess the strengths and tools to help their children thrive, and through a collaborative therapeutic process, those skills and expertise can flourish!
Randi has experience supporting parents in recovery from substance use, women parenting and co-parenting after hurtful and/or abusive relationships, and supporting pregnant and parenting youth. Randi uses warmth and curiosity, bringing her authentic self to the therapeutic dynamic. Randi recognizes that the parenting journey can be tough! Randi will work with you to explore the role that your unique experiences may play in the parent-child dynamic as you support your child throughout evolving stages of development. She will honour and recognize your needs as a parent/human.
Randi recognizes the importance of healthy adult relationships and has experience supporting caregivers in healing early attachment wounds that may show up in your current adult relationships. Randi can work with you to identify specific challenges you may face, such as fostering open communication with your partner, setting healthy boundaries, resolving intimate partner conflict, and honouring your relational needs. These domains may not have been modelled for you growing up and can make these skills much more challenging to integrate within adult relationships.
Randi has experience integrating a working blend of trauma-informed cognitive behavioural therapy principles, attachment theory and strengths-based perspective through anti-oppressive and intersectional lenses. Randi values mindfulness and grounding strategies in her practice and helps caregivers integrate them with their children using child-friendly techniques.
Randi believes that work/life balance is crucial to self-fulfillment and personal well-being. In her spare time, Randi loves to read fiction, do yoga, spend time outdoors and listen to comedy podcasts.
Location Ontario Virtual only
RANDI PAXTON (she/her) Associate Therapist Registered Social Worker (BA, BSW, MSW, RSW) VIRTUAL ... Read More
Emily Pollak BSW, MSW, RSW, Social Worker
Emily founded Maternal Health Niagara (est. 2017) to build a circle of support for individuals and families during the perinatal period and beyond. Emily’s clinical focus is infertility, surrogacy, pregnancy and infant loss, birth trauma, postpartum anxiety, and healing from childhood trauma. Emily enjoys working with birth and health care professionals as they navigate the intricacies of the field, and she is a therapists therapist.
During her perinatal journey of pregnancy loss and pregnancy complications, Emily’s lived experience sparked her passion for maternal mental health. Emily had hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), which affected her physical and emotional wellness. From her challenges during the perinatal period, Emily recognized the service gap and was determined to build a circle of support for others. Combining lived experience and extensive professional skills allows Emily to bring her clients a unique clinical lens of empathy, validation, and healing. She is down-to-earth, nurturing, realistic and accepting.
Emily has been in the profession for 19 years. She obtained her Master’s in Social Work from Ohio State University and is a Registered Social Worker in Ontario. Emily is trained in EMDR levels 1 and 2, advanced perinatal EMDR, Maternal Mental Health Now, Postpartum Support International advanced perinatal training, and FLASH. Emily often says therapy is an art and blends different skills into her therapy with clients. She uses her intuitive connection to help guide her work.
Embracing all parts of yourself is something Emily deeply values, and lives true to this by embracing her ADHD as a superpower. Emily can connect themes with her clients, use her creatively to explore topics and go to a deeper level. Emily values accepting all people for who they are, and strives to be inclusive.
Developing community capacity and awareness is essential in helping individuals and families build their circle of support. Emily has facilitated perinatal mental health training for healthcare professionals and provides clinical consultation and mentorship to other therapists in periantal mental health.
When she is off work, Emily enjoys spending time with her family. She is a mom of two active kids and is often at the baseball diamond. She would describe herself as an HSP and loves to have some quiet time to reset. Her favourite things are going for walks, sending handwritten cards, diamond art or cuddling with her furbabies!
Emily founded Maternal Health Niagara (est. 2017) to build a circle of support for individuals an... Read More
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Social Worker
Social Workers include RSW and MSW designation: Regulated by the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers