Heather Leeanne McDonald

As families grow, parents, youth, and children often experience stress from the pressures of society and outside demands such as work, school, and extended family. Everyone also comes into this world with an inborn temperament that brings both strengths and challenges. While families are designed to be a safe and supportive place away from the world’s stressors, these factors can sometimes lead to disconnection, stress, and emotional pain within the family unit. I take a compassionate and non-judgmental stance, recognizing that families and children are always doing the best they can in the moment to manage growth and life’s stresses. My therapeutic approach focuses on improving communication, deepening connection, and building understanding and awareness of how outside experiences, past experiences, and temperament can affect relationships. Together, we explore both the emotional and mind–body connection, learning to recognize when emotions arise and developing strategies to communicate and manage them effectively. This can include resourcing parents so they are able to draw on their resilience and strengths to show up for themselves and in supportive ways for their children and youth. It also provides children and young people with an emotional toolkit they can carry with them throughout their lives. At the core of my work, I believe that all people need and long for connection, and that this is the greatest resource we have to manage the stressors life brings. Therapy can strengthen this resource for families, parents, and children in their growth and development, helping them to be with one another in more connected and supportive ways, while also supporting children and young people with their own growth and challenges. The goal is not to eliminate life’s stressors, but to free up the inner and relational resources that allow families to meet challenges together and grow as a connected unit. This does not mean that difficult emotions will never arise, but rather that family members will have the skills to recognize, communicate, manage, and move through these emotions with greater resilience and connection.

Heather has worked in children’s mental health and with the school board for over 22 years, supporting children, youth, parents and families across all ages and stages of development. Some examples of her work include: working with new parents and infants, supporting children as they separate from parents for the first time when entering daycare or school, and helping school-age children as they develop their identities as people and learners, as well as navigate fears.  Central to her experience is supporting parents in managing the many demands that can affect parenting, strengthening their co-parenting relationship, and staying connected with their children while setting clear and caring limits that help them grow into who they are meant to be.

Heather takes a systems approach to working with families and relationships, recognizing how each individual’s experiences and needs affect the whole family unit. She uses attachment interventions to support parent-child relationships in times of stress and disconnection.  Her work includes supporting families, children, and youth experiencing anxiety, depression, avoidant eating, emotional regulation difficulties, trauma, challenges related to neurodivergence, executive functioning struggles, learning differences, life transitions, and relationship stresses. Her approach draws from Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Emotion Focused Therapy, and Dialectical behaviour Therapy.  She also integrate mindfulness practices and mind–body approaches, helping clients connect with their body reactions, feelings, and thoughts as part of the therapeutic process.