Olga Panteleeva

As a clinical social worker I view mental health as a part of wider social systems. Anyone who lives with a nonconforming identity has likely experienced minority stress and/or some form of relational trauma at some point in life.

Minority stress can have a profound effect on mental health. Being in the world that isn’t built for us can affect our feelings of belonging and self-worth, our capacity to metabolize stress, and our ability to feel joy. This can feel like isolation or grief, or contribute to symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Since minority stress is systemic and ever-present, resistance to it must be so as well. I approach my work with clients as building everyday practices, not as a project of fixing problems. I support clients by helping them invent, adopt, and integrate practices that over time can help make their lives more sustainable. These practices can look like evidence-based tools: ways to be compassionate with yourself, embracing your protective parts, transforming negative core beliefs, getting more in touch with your body, or learning to feel strong feelings without overwhelm. They can also be your tailor-made practices for sustaining hope, pacing your energy, or relating to others.

❦ In my work I center systemic lenses: anti-racist, anti-ableist, anti-colonial, anti-carceral, anti-cisheteronormative, anti-mononormative, etc. I am driven to work with individuals who experience multiple marginalizations, whether they are similar to or different from mine.

❦ At the heart of my practice lies a conviction that mental health cannot be viewed separately from social power dynamics we all inhabit. I aim to create a space in which clients can feel safe sharing that part of their inner selves. I also strive to stay aware of the power dynamics in the therapeutic relationship itself, and invite open conversations about my own biases rooted in identity and (lack of) lived experience.

❦ I see all mental health work as collaborative. I don’t view myself as an expert but rather a champion on your own pathway to healing. I typically start a collaboration with a client by asking: “What does ‘care’ mean to you?” I trust my clients to be experts on their own experience. Together, we will assemble a personalised therapeutic toolkit. Our work will be guided by your sense of what helps and what doesn’t.

❦ I will invite you to use your wisdom and ingenuity to co-create practices of resilience that work for you personally. We will pinpoint the practices that are already working in your life and build new ones on this foundation. I will be your champion and collaborator in this process.

❦ I use tools from a range of evidence-based modalities, such as Internal Family Systems (aka parts work), self-compassion therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical-behavioral therapy, and trauma-informed mindfulness.

We would likely not be a good match if…

❦ You are seeking a diagnosis. I am a counseling therapist, which means that I don’t diagnose psychiatric conditions and don’t prescribe medication

❦ You are younger than 18 years. I only work with adults (i.e. persons who have reached the age of majority)

❦ The nature of the issues you would like to work on is complex or acute, such as suicidality, self-harm, or experiencing non-consensus reality (sometimes called “psychosis” or “mania”), and/or you are likely to experience a crisis situation. Since my chronic illness requires careful planning in order to be able to work at all, I am not available for short-notice sessions and crisis support and it would be irresponsible of me to take on clients who are likely to require this kind of support

❦ If you are seeking support with substance use, disordered eating, domestic violence, or sexual trauma. These issues are currently outside of the scope of my expertise