Sherani Sivakumar

Counselling BIPOC Healing and Wellness CentreToronto

About Sherani

(On maternity leave). “May you have places and spaces where you don’t have to perform or pretend. May your authentic self find or create soft places to land” – Dr. Thema Bryant. Welcome! I understand how difficult it may be to exist in spaces where you feel you can’t bring your authentic self. Whether it is because it hasn’t felt safe for you or because you are exploring your identity, navigating life transitions, or managing mental health concerns might impact your ability to do so. I strive to create a therapy space that invites, embraces, and uplifts all parts of you-mind, body, heart, & spirit to show up authentically. You can also expect me to show up as my authentic self, gentle, warm, collaborative, and compassionate. I practice with a culturally responsive & socially just lens, which means I consider how cultural identity, values/beliefs, worldview, and positioning influence your overall well- being and interact within the therapy space. I hold various intersectional identities, such as being Tamil and a daughter of immigrants. These intersections and my lived experience impact my passion for supporting BIPOC communities to heal from culturally diverse challenges. My hope for you is to be seen, heard, & supported in accessing culturally responsive therapy services. I embrace cultural humility and a relational stance so therapy can be a safe(r) space for you to process life’s difficulties in a way that prioritizes trauma-informed, equitable, anti-oppressive and decolonial values. I offer free 15-minute consultation calls to determine if we would be a good fit to work together, and I would be honoured to get to know and support you if it feels right. A little bit about me: I enjoy practicing yoga spending time outside and with my loved ones. I prefer sweets over savoury options, except I am a huge popcorn lover :) Clients: individuals & families; children & teens (age 6+) Areas of Support: Cultural Bereavement; Grief & Loss; Racial Trauma / Stress; Cultural-identity exploration or challenges; Attachment and social-emotional difficulties; Family of Origin concerns & intergenerational trauma; Relationship struggles Approach to Therapy: I work from an integrative-eclectic approach drawing from Narrative Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy and Somatic Based-Therapies. Education and Training Master of Counselling in Counselling Psychology (Athabasca University); Bachelor of Arts, Major in Psychology, Minor in Sociology (University of Alberta); Hakomi Mindful Somatic Psychotherapy: An Experiential Introduction - 2023; 5 day Brief & Narrative Therapy Certificate – 2023; Body-Oriented Trauma Counselling Strategies- 2021; Introduction to Play Therapy - 2021; Working with Newcomers-Understanding Pre-Migration & Trauma - 2021; First Responder to Sexual Assault & Abuse Training – 2018 Professional Experience: I have been involved in the mental health field for the past decade in various roles, working with children, youth, adults, and families. My experience includes supporting children and youth’s development in a school, group, and community setting, anti- sexual violence advocacy work, supporting survivors of sexual violence and working with other professions to support young people who have experienced marginalization & abuse/neglect.