Our shared goal is to help you find meaning and contentment in your life. Our skilled and compassionate therapists will help you to heal, honour your authentic voice, and explore what you need to thrive.
OUR TEAM
Laurie Tracey, MA
Registered Psychologist
Laurie provides counselling to adults, couples, youth, and to those identifying as LGBTQ. She specializes in anxiety and coping with life stressors, couples counselling, personal growth and wellness, trauma and abuse, depression and sex therapy. She is also skilled in helping individuals adjust to chronic pain and brain injury. She has extensive training in Emotion Focused Couples Therapy and complex trauma. Laurie's approach to therapy is collaborative, mindful, and empathic. She aims to help clients gain an understanding of their emotions, thoughts, and life patterns as a way to to feel more certain about decisions and goals, be aware of and assert needs, communicate effectively, and live with meaning and purpose.
Laurie is not currently accepting new clients.
Adria Markovich, MSc
Registered Psychologist
Adria is a Registered Psychologist, having completed her Masters training in Clinical Psychology at Acadia University. She works with adult individuals in a broad range of areas, including depression/low mood, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, social anxiety, and panic. Adria brings a kind, genuine, and compassionate approach to therapy, believing in the importance of a supportive environment when navigating change. Whether clients wish to address struggles that are impacting their everyday lives, or they would like to experience more meaning and fulfillment, they are gently encouraged in working toward their therapy goals. Adria has an integrative approach to treatment, drawing from her training in cognitive-behavioural (CBT), acceptance and commitment (ACT), and emotion-focused (EFT) therapies to suit each individual client’s needs.
Adria is currently accepting clients on her waitlist.
Kristen Bailey, PhD
Registered Psychologist
Kristen is a Registered Psychologist who completed her Master’s in clinical psychology at Acadia University and her doctoral training in clinical psychology at Dalhousie University. She provides individual therapy to adolescents and adults presenting with a range of issues including: anxiety (social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic), low mood/depression, adjustment difficulties, chronic pain, difficulties coping with chronic illness, stress, low self-esteem, and trauma. She has a warm, genuine and empathic approach that helps clients to feel safe and supported. Clients can expect to work collaboratively with Kristen to identify their goals and strengths and work towards change that is consistent with their personal values. Kristen has training in evidenced-based treatments including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
Kristen is not currently accepting new clients.
Jamie Collins, PhD
Registered Psychologist
Jamie is a Registered Psychologist, having completed her doctoral training in clinical psychology at Dalhousie University. She provides individual therapy to adults presenting with a range of issues including: anxiety (social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic), substance use/addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), low mood/depression, adjustment difficulties, stress, poor self-esteem, communication difficulties, and trauma. Jamie has an empathic and non-judgmental approach to therapy, focusing on building strong therapeutic relationships. Identifying and working toward client goals is done in a collaborative and supportive manner, helping clients discover their personal values and strengths to guide therapy. She has extensive training in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), as well as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), structured relapse prevention (SRP), and motivational interviewing (MI).
Jamie is currently accepting clients on her waitlist for virtual (video/phone) sessions.
Ainsley Lofstedt, MA
Psychologist (Candidate Register)
Ainsley completed a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. Ainsley has a special interest in working with individuals and couples experiencing sexual concerns such as low libido, desire discrepancies, orgasm difficulties, erectile dysfunction, and painful intercourse (e.g. vaginismus, vulvodynia, and provoked vestibulodynia). Ainsley completed the Intensive Sex Therapy Program through the University of Guelph and is undergoing supervision in this area under Dr. Natalie Rosen. Ainsley believes in providing sex-positive, poly- and kink-friendly, and 2SLGBTQIA+ affirming therapy. She also works with adults experiencing communication difficulties, developmental trauma, low self-esteem, stress and burnout, life transitions, anxiety (social anxiety and generalized anxiety), depression/low mood, interpersonal conflict, etc. Ainsley draws on her training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to guide clients in gaining a deeper understanding of their emotions, including how they are informed by their history, to empower them to build healthier relationships and behavioural patterns. She also applies her training in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help clients develop greater acceptance of challenging internal experiences (e.g. thoughts, and feelings) in the service of living a values-based life.
Ainsley is currently on parental leave and is not accepting new clients.
Brandi Milligan, MSc
Psychologist (Candidate Register)
Brandi completed her Master’s in Clinical Psychology at Acadia University. She currently offers individual therapy to support adults coping with anxiety (social, generalized, panic, phobia), depression/low mood, boundary and communication difficulties, stress/burnout, emotional regulation, self-esteem, perfectionism, grief, and life transitions, as well as with personal growth/wellness. Brandi uses a theoretically integrative approach in assisting her clients to achieve meaningful change in their lives. The models she draws from include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Emotionally-Focused Therapies (EFT). Brandi believes in the creation of a strong therapeutic relationship as the foundation for healing and growth, and uses a collaborative style to assist her clients in reaching their therapeutic goals. She incorporates a warm, empathetic, and non-judgemental style to support clients in their journey toward positive change, and strives to create a safe and affirming space for cultural diversity, sex positivity, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, and those who identify under the umbrella of ethical/consensual non-monogamy (ENM/CNM).
Brandi is currently accepting new clients for virtual (video/phone) sessions.
Nicole Robichaud, MA
Psychologist (Candidate Register)
Nicole completed her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She works with adults of various ages, backgrounds, genders, and sexualities, cherishing the opportunity to bear witness to the diversity of life experiences. Nicole offers support for individuals with various concerns, such as depression, anxiety, trauma, anger, stress, low self-esteem, perfectionism, ADHD, emotional dysregulation, overwhelm, life transitions, and interpersonal concerns. Additionally, Nicole promotes a sex-positive environment and works with individual clients in relationship constellations of all types, including non-monogamy. Nicole warmly welcomes neurodivergent folks and has a special interest in working with ADHD clients. She gently promotes self-compassion, distress tolerance, emotion regulation skills, and deep healing through mindfulness, parts-work, and experiential exploration using an Internal Family Systems (IFS)-informed approach. Grounded in trauma and attachment-informed principles, her approach to therapy is collaborative and goal-oriented, emphasizing clients' strengths, generating reflection, and catalyzing change.
Nicole is currently accepting new clients on her waitlist.
Toni Spinella, PhD
Psychologist (Candidate Register)
Toni is a Psychologist (Candidate Register) who completed her doctoral training in clinical psychology at Dalhousie University. She provides individual therapy to adults presenting with a range of issues including: low mood and depression, anxiety (social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic), trauma and post-traumatic stress, difficulties regulating intense emotions, behaviours used to cope with painful feelings (e.g., self-harm, substance use/addiction, binging, purging), low self-esteem, as well as personal growth and wellbeing. Through her empathic, collaborative, flexible, and non-judgemental approach, Toni strives to build a safe and supportive environment for clients of all identities and backgrounds to help them move towards their goals. She uses an integrative treatment approach to suit each client’s needs, drawing from her training in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), emotion-focused therapy (EFT), and motivational interviewing.
Toni is currently accepting new clients.
Leah Stall, MA
Registered Psychologist
Leah prioritizes fostering a therapeutic relationship where safety and trust is co-created with her clients. She strongly believes that the therapeutic relationship is a powerful agent of meaningful and sustainable change. Leah strives to practice with cultural humility, intersectionality, and in a 2SLGBTQIA+ affirmative way. Leah collaboratively joins her clients in exploring their intra/interpersonal patterns, needs, and unresolved past experiences. Her work with clients is rooted in attached theory and research. Leah uses an experiential and integrative approach to meet her client's where they are, drawing on various evidence-based modalities including eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR), emotion focused therapies (EFT/EFIT), trauma-informed stabilization treatment (TIST), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), among other experiential and relational models of therapy. She also integrates CBT and DBT based on individual needs. Leah works individually with adults (19+) experiencing mood and emotional challenges (e.g. anxiety, depression), trauma and PTSD, attachment trauma and injury, life transitions, stress/burnout, interpersonal/relational problems, family issues, grief and loss, among other challenges. Leah offers psychological assessments (e.g. PTSD evaluation) for Veterans. Leah regularly engages in professional development and enjoys integrating new knowledge into her practice. Leah earned a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology from McGill University.
Leah is currently accepting new VAC assessment referrals, and is accepting clients for individual therapy on her waitlist.
Amadea Vance, MA
Psychologist (Candidate Register)
Amadea aims to create a warm, collaborative, and compassionate space for her clients to feel heard and seen. Amadea believes that healing occurs within relationships, and as such, she prioritizes the therapeutic relationship above all else. She practices using a trauma-informed integrative approach, primarily using Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing therapy (EMDR), Trauma-informed stabilization treatment (TIST), and draws on Sensorimotor psychotherapy, mindfulness, dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and attachment theory, among others. Amadea aims to practice from a culturally infused, 2SLGBTQ+ affirmative, intersectional lens, and welcomes clients from all backgrounds, cultures, abilities, and orientations.
Amadea completed her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology at McGill University. She enjoys working with adults, young adults, and students experiencing a range of challenges including trauma, anxiety, depression, stress, emotional challenges, difficulty in relationships, identity exploration, self-esteem challenges, grief and loss, life transitions, and personal growth, among others.
Amadea is currently accepting clients on her waitlist.
PRACTICE MANAGER
Jessica Martell
Practice Manager
Jessica brings over 10 years of administrative experience and an authentic kindness to her work. She is eager to ease the process of seeking therapy and will work closely with you to find the most suitable therapist. She is also available to facilitate future appointments and other requests throughout your treatment. With her personal focus on mindfulness, Jessica genuinely believes in the work being done at Shift. She is an advocate for the well-being of everyone who comes through our doors.
