Jake Bradshaw

The world we’re living in today was not set up for us to thrive. Young people are navigating a future that is uncertain while being bombarded with a constant stream of messages from social media and the education system about who they should be and how they should act. Parents have a million things competing for their attention with never enough time in the day to get through the never ending to do list, let alone engage in deep rest. For a young person or caregiver that feels deeply or experiences constant worry, navigating these dynamics can be unbearable and we might respond in ways that harm ourselves or others. 

I work with parents, children, teens and families to create a space in therapy to slow down and better understand themselves. I support parents in understanding how their emotions influence the way they respond to their children and share evidence-based interventions to help strengthen the parent-child relationship. With children and teens, I help them learn about their nervous system, explore core elements of their identity and identify tools to manage strong emotions. 

I like to start therapy with the Wonderfulness Interview which focuses on uncovering your strengths and discovering how these strengths might be able to help with the challenges you’re facing. Once we have explored what brought you to therapy we will co-create a treatment plan involving evidence-based interventions in addition to movement, mindfulness and community based healing. My approach combines Narrative Therapy with interventions from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT) and Mindfulness. My research on movement-based approaches to mental health and my lived experience as a queer non-binary person also deeply inform the work I do.

Families have said I have an ability to build rapport grounded in genuine care through deep listening skills and an emphasis on playful approaches to therapy. Clients I’ve worked with have described developing more awareness of their emotions and confidence in managing them, as well as stronger more secure relationships within their family. 

Jake is a Registered Social Worker who completed their Masters of Social Work at the University of Toronto with a specialization in working with children and families. They have extensive experience working with young people and families within community mental health organizations, schools and the shelter system. In addition to working at Foundations for Emotional Wellness, they lead movement-based mental health programs for youth and adults based on research they conducted at the University of Toronto.