Toronto Team

Oksana Halkowicz, M.Psy


We all have a choice in discovering who we are and how we choose to proceed. Learning about ourselves by reflecting on our personal experiences can help to equip us with new insights that we never thought imaginable. I commend your curiosity in making this choice and applaud your willingness to acknowledge that something in your life needs to change. Let’s work together to figure out exactly what it is – and how to go about it.

Perhaps you are finding that some of your thought patterns, behaviours, and reactions that at once were adaptive, no longer serve you. My hope is to facilitate and hold a safe, open, and encouraging space entirely for you in an effort to explore these further.

In order for therapy to be effective, your personal style needs to be considered. Your way of communicating and relating to the world and to those around you, and the manner in which you construct meaning through life experiences will be important to our work together. We will begin with the strengths and resources that you already have and collaborate with one another to figure out our next steps together.

I work with children, adolescents, families, and adults experiencing a wide range of concerns. The focus of my clinical work is primarily with individuals experiencing anxiety and depression, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, and struggling with challenges related to mood, self-esteem, stress, eating behaviours, burnout, transitions, identity work, performance and personality. I also have experience working with clients navigating struggles related to substance use, perfectionism, impulse-control, difficulties with attention and concentration, learning challenges, phobias, panic attacks, self-harm, attachment and issues impeding with developmental maturation. I respect and acknowledge cultural differences while working with clients of diverse backgrounds, social identities and orientations.

I employ an integrative approach in tailoring a treatment plan that is specific to your needs. In this collaborative process, we will work together to develop a shared understanding of your goals and how best to facilitate treatment through therapy. Drawing from evidence-based approaches including psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral (CBT), dialectical-behavioral (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), my aim is to foster insight and develop positive growth through self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-assertion. 

Prior to my work at CFIR, I provided clinical services including group therapy and psychometric assessments at a residential treatment centre for adolescents struggling with addictive behaviours and substance use. I have been actively involved with Pine River Institute in a research capacity while conducting a study on the predictive power of parenting styles on adoelscent substance outcomes. In addition to my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, I also hold a Hons. B.A from Western University and a B.Ed from York University, having worked as a Section 23 teacher in partnership with the Associated Youth Services of Peel, and special education teacher with the Dufferin-Peel CDSB over the last 5 years. As well, I am a member of the Ontario Psychological Association. My clinical work at CFIR is supervised by Dr. Ashwin Mehra, C.Psych. 

Treatments

Therapies