About
Slow down and cultivate a trusting relationship with yourself
I’m Alex. I’m a registered social worker, psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, consultant, and yoga instructor.
I believe embodied psychotherapy is about understanding how your thoughts, sensations, feelings, emotions, impulses, images and behaviours all hold intelligence.
I want you to feel liberated from the conditioned tendencies you had to develop in order to survive inside oppressive systems that were not designed for you to thrive.
I want you to arrive to life with greater capacity, courage, and interdependence.
I believe in getting clear on our values, the choices that bring them to life, and the patterns that pull us off course.
Back in 2020, I decided I needed to make a change.
I left a full-time permanent role as a Clinical Manager to start my private practice, driven by a desire to work in a way that supported my deepest values, my clinical strengths, and the direction my work had been naturally moving.
I had grown tired of working within under-resourced mental health care systems focused on short-term support — outcomes, progress, and rushing clients back to “function.”
Today, my work centers on creating relational, embodied spaces where healing happens on your terms.
I come to this work grounded in my identity as a bi+, bi-racial Filipina and Acadian woman, shaped by lineage, land, migration, and the histories that live in my body.
I grew up in an environment where the unspoken rule was that compliance equals safety. In adulthood, I had to learn how to trust myself, set boundaries, and figure out who I was outside the expectations of others. This shaped my commitment to examining the embodiment of social conditions that keep people, including myself, stuck and disconnected from self and community.
My early career began in 2010 in Toronto, facilitating leadership and personal development workshops for youth. I supported them in engaging with community-led activism — consumer/survivor movements, anti-racism work, and anti-poverty organizing. This path eventually led me into nonprofit community practice, beginning in case management, then moving into clinical therapy.
I spent many years studying movement training and yoga, developing a lived understanding of embodiment where body, mind, and spirit move together. These teachings continue to inform everything I do.
A few pieces that have moulded my vibe
When I found somatic work, it captivated me
I am fascinated by somatics, human movement, the neurobiology of trauma, depth psychology, and how trauma shapes unconscious patterns.
For me, this work is powerful because individual healing has become a form of embodied social justice.
By tending to our conditioned tendencies, we open the possibility to transform how we relate to ourselves, to one another, and to the structures around us. This allows us to cultivate relationships that are more generative, interdependent, and capable of shifting culture.
The little delights that bring me back to myself
Outside of my psychotherapy practice and as part of how I cultivate an embodied relationship with pleasure in everyday life, I delight in:
Journaling and tracking my dreams
Lifting heavy weights after a long day
Watching my dog Enzo jump in piles of snow or swim
Self-expression through slow fashion
Eating a good burrito
Being a volleyball enthusiast
These small, ordinary joys remind me that healing doesn’t have to be sombre. It is also about reclaiming pleasure, humour, and connection with what truly matters.
Education & Qualifications
I hold reverence for all forms of knowledge and understand healing work to be something that cannot be contained within any single modality, lineage, or credential.
While some of my most profound learning has emerged outside of formal institutions — I remain mindful of the access and privileges that have made formal training possible, which I hold with responsibility and humility.
I invite you to remember that any trust you offer in this work is always yours to keep. The information shared here is offered to support you in choosing a therapist or consultant that aligns with your values, needs, and longings for change.
ACADEMIC & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING BACKGROUND
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Master of Social Work, Specialization: Equity and Diversity Studies, University of Toronto, June 2015
Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics, St. Francis Xavier University, June 2010
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Alchemy of Edge-Play: Personal and Cultural Transformation in a Complex World (18 hours), Kai Cheng Thom & Karine Bell, in progress
Somatic Experiencing™ Practitioner (SEP) Certificate Training with practicum, one-to-one personal sessions, and clinical consultation, SETM International (247 hours), January 2024, courses completed;
Advanced 2 (36 hours), Berns Galloway, November 2023
Advanced 1, (36 hours), Berns Galloway, May 2023
Intermediate 3, (24 hours), Linda Stelte, October 2022
Intermediate 2, (24 hours), Linda Stelte, July 2022
Intermediate 1, (24 hours), Linda Stelte, April 2022
Beginner Level 3, (24 hours), Berns Galloway, January 2022
Beginner Level 2, (24 hours), Berns Galloway, October 2021
Beginner Level 1, (24 hours), Berns Galloway, May 2021
Brainspotting Certification (6 hours) with Jackie Tyson, MSW, LCSW, June 2023
BIPOC Brainspotting Phase 2 with practicum (21 hours), Grace Community Counseling & Social Services, Tracy Gantlin-Monroy, MA, MDiv, LPC., November 2022
Brainspotting Intersectionality and Social Justice with practicum (21 hours), Grace Community Counseling & Social Services, Tracy Gantlin-Monroy, MA, MDiv, LPC., October 2022
BIPOC Brainspotting Phase 1 with practicum (21 hours), Grace Community Counseling & Social Services, Tracy Gantlin-Monroy, MA, MDiv, LPC., September 2022
Safety, Belonging, and Dignity: Using the Generative Power of Somatics to Heal Individual and Systemic Trauma (15 hours), Staci Haines, Academy of Therapy Wisdom, June 2022
Foundations in Somatic Abolitionism (8 hours), Resmaa Menakem, MSW., LICSW., SEP., Education for Racial Equity, June 2022
Certificate in Somatic Embodiment and Regulation Strategies (10 hours), Linda Thai, MSW., LICSW., June 2021
Movement for Trauma Level 1 (10 hours), Jane Clapp, March 2021
Mindfulness-Based Intervention Train-the-Trainer Intensive Certificate with practicum (35 hours), Center for Mindfulness Studies, December 2020
Mindfulness-Based Wellness Certificate with practicum (35 hours), Center for Mindfulness Studies, May 2019
Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), Certification Training with practicum, Level 3 (24 hours), Janina Fisher, Ph.D. & Denise Tordella, M.A, LPC, LLC, Academy of Therapy Wisdom, June 2023
Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), Level 2 (24 hours), Janina Fisher, Ph.D., Academy of Therapy Wisdom, April 2023
Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), Level 1 (24 hours), Janina Fisher, Ph.D., Academy of Therapy Wisdom, August 2022
Trauma Informed Care for Youth (20 hours), Kristin McLeod, Ph.D., June 2019
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a Brief Intervention (8 hours), Russ Harris, Ph.D., Psychwire, August 2020
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma (24 hours), Russ Harris, Ph.D., Psychwire, January 2018
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Beyond Basics (14 hours), Shelly McMain, Ph.D., University of Toronto, January 2018
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy Essentials (14 hours), Shelly McMain, Ph.D., University of Toronto, November 2017
Skills for Safer Living (14 hours), Yvon Bergmans, PhD, RSW, St. Michaels Hospital, June 2017
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Beginner and Intermediate Skills (18 hours), Stephen C. Hayes., Ph.D., Association for Contextual Behavioural Therapy, May 2016
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Introduction (18 hours), Dr. Patricia Rockman, MD., Center for Mindfulness Studies, August 2015
Narrative Therapy Certificate (35 hours), Bonnie Miller, MSW., RSW., Hincks-Dellcrest Gail Appel Institute, November 2016
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Restorative Yoga and Somatics (40 hours), Kim Mcbean & Indu Vashist, Union Yoga, December 2020
Personal Training Specialist Certificate (27 hours), Anastasia Berezowsky, Canfitpro, December 2019
Trauma-Informed Yoga (12 hours), Sarah Kinsley MSW., RSW., Union Yoga, November 2018
Yoga Teacher Training Certificate (250 hours), Jason Lu & Ali Alexander, Yoga Tree Studios, April 2018
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Foundations of Clinical Supervision (30 hours), University of Ottawa, August 2022
Trauma Informed Supervision Training (6 hours), Kathryn Mettler, Safeguards Training for Children and Adult Services, June 2021
Supervised Clinical Supervision (35 hours), Gini Bechard, MSW., RSW., December 2019
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Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
Ontario Association of Social Workers
Yoga Alliance
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In order to offer effective and ethical psychotherapy services, I participate in regular clinical supervision sessions with leaders in their respective fields. My past supervisors have included Dr. Sheri Turrell,C. Psych (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy supervisor), Tracey Jastinder Mann MSW., RSW., (embodied anti-racism and anti-oppressive practice supervisor), Linda Stelte MEd., CCC, SEP., and Claire Khudai Dagenais , SEP., (Somatic Experiencing supervisors), and Jackie Tyson, MSW., LCSW., (Brainspotting supervisor). I am currently supervised by Denise Tordella, M.A, LPC, LLC (TIST Supervisor). I am also a part of a peer consultation group that is made up of experienced therapists who specialize in complex trauma and embodied psychotherapeutic approaches.
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I have been a client of humanistic existential psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing®, EMDR, Brainspotting, attachment-focused work, and parts work. I continue to prioritize somatically oriented personal sessions with an experienced coach and attend regular psychotherapy with a body centered Jungian analyst. My goal is to be a grounded and resourced presence for your healing process.
If you feel done with pushing through, let’s connect
I invite you to reach out if you feel called to the work of deep somatic and mindful processing, or if you’re looking to grow your clinical skills.
Together, we’ll explore your hopes, goals, and vision for meaningful change.