About Me
As a Certified Canadian Counsellor (Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association) and Certified Music Therapist (MTA, Canadian Association of Music Therapists), I have experience in:
- Community mental health
- Addictions
My Aim
I strive to help individuals, families, and communities reach their greatest health and wellbeing potential. My professional background includes:
- Private practice services
- Community mental health clinics
- Social service agencies in Montreal and Toronto
Who I Work With
I am passionate about working with:
- Anyone who feels stuck and wishes to make a change
- Adults facing psychological, social, and emotional challenges
- Seniors facing cognitive, physical, and emotional challenges
What is Counselling?
For me, counselling is about harnessing the potential of a strong therapeutic relationship to help people:
- Understand themselves better
- Accept their feelings
- Grow and live a more satisfying life
Counselling can focus on:
- Dealing with personal issues
- Making decisions
- Coping with tough times
- Gaining insights about oneself
- Resolving inner conflicts
- Improving relationships
Counsellors aim to assist clients while respecting their values, strengths, and ability to make their own decisions.
What is Internal Family Systems (IFS)?
Have you ever felt torn, with one part of you strongly wanting to do one thing while another part pulls you in a completely different direction? This internal conflict is a common experience in IFS. In IFS, we recognize these differing impulses as parts of ourselves, each with its own needs, desires, and motivations. By understanding and harmonizing these parts, we can:
- Find balance and inner harmony
- Listen to and integrate all parts of ourselves
- Foster a sense of wholeness and self-compassion
What is Music Therapy?
Question: Do I need to have prior musical training to benefit from receiving music therapy?
Answer: No, you do not need to be a musician or have prior musical training to benefit from working with a music therapist.
As someone whose life has been immeasurably helped by music, I have come to recognize its therapeutic potential and seek to share that potential with others. My primary mission is to help individuals reach their greatest health and wellbeing potential through participation in music activities such as:
- Instrumental and vocal improvising
- Songwriting
- Movement to music
- Receptive listening
Music therapy is a discipline in which Certified Music Therapists (MTAs) use music purposefully within therapeutic relationships to support development, health, and well-being. Music therapists address human needs within:
- Cognitive domains
- Communicative domains
- Emotional domains
- Musical domains
- Physical domains
- Social domains
- Spiritual domains
Andy MacDonald 