Sarah Ortiz

I am a student intern pursing my Honours Bachelor of Counselling Psychology and aiming to continue on to a Psychotherapy Masters and/or PhD program following graduation. My focus will be on brief, solution-focused counselling, drawing inspiration from an eclectic combination of cognitive behavior therapy and humanistic approaches. I love the philosophy of unconditional positive regard and helping folks find congruency between their ideal selves and real selves. I will be emphasizing the importance of goal-setting and empowering people to scaffold with small, obtainable steps towards their desired outcomes.

To share a little bit about myself, I’ll start with saying I’m very passionate about mental health and spirituality. I graduated from a General Arts and Science diploma, have obtained a Mindfulness Ambassador Program Facilitator certification from Mindfulness Without Borders, and have completed Reiki levels one through three. I was born in Italy and am half Peruvian; I’m multilingual with English being my third language. I had a lot of resistance towards the formal educational system, leading me to take a break from my early studies to focus on my health, establish work experience in various and unrelated fields, resulting in finally finding myself and calling.

I aim to help diminish the mental health stigma and encourage clients to sit with their feelings, whether positive or negative, as all feelings are valid and connected to an underlying purpose. While I am still learning, I am incredibly eager and able to provide a safe space for clients.