PSYCHOTHERAPY

and the sun

Welcome, wanderer

Are you yearning to know and express your truth and power? I'm Mariana, a Gestalt therapist based on Mnidoo Mnis / Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada. I provide support for self-awareness through relationship, imagination, somatics and nature.

'Tis no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
Have you seen this quote before? It's guided me here and maybe calls to you too.If you've found your way here, it's likely that you're feeling at odds with how things are and you want change.You sense there's a different way needed, one that is yours to carve out of the noise, beyond trauma, anxiety, addiction, depression, grief and confusion.And if you’re walking a liminal path around death, illness, burn-out, drop-out, grief, you are especially welcome; I'm no stranger to darkness, margins and edges, and you're no stranger to me.

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and the wind

Approach

While some therapies may seek to help you cope with our world by offering somatic tools and cognitive techniques, I invite us to see your struggles differently, as:

  • Flashes of vitality and resilience

  • Creative solutions where there's been no other option

  • Symptoms of societal sickness, not personal failure

  • Silent protests against what's not right in the world

  • Your most loyal guide towards your heart's deep longing

In other words, your struggles are not problems to be solved, but beacons that shed light on the world around you and your truest path forward. I can support you, no matter how far towards the edges that path may lead us.

In sessions, I hold a calm, open presence and I aim to respond to you with authenticity, wonder, and compassion for our shared humanity. My work serves to invite new awareness (and therefore new choices!) through an embodied, relational approach fully present in the here & now.

Embodied

...the body and nervous system are our allies, pathfinders, and truthsayers. We listen and follow where they lead us.

Relational

...sessions are a relational laboratory for new experiences in relating & explorations of what's possible.

Here & now

...the enlivening, creative energy of the present moment (vs. the past or future) guides us to where change is ripe.

Sessions start as conversations and move towards spontaneous and creative experiments that call on movement, nature, drawing, active imagery, and role play. The outcome of these experiments is often surprising to us both and I'm here to support the emerging awareness that results.More often than not, our explorations will lead to where grief, sadness, anger, and fear reside unmet. Many people are afraid to stay stuck in negative feelings, however the only way to stay stuck is to refuse a feeling. With the support of compassionate presence in relationship, feelings can be felt, moved and resolved.In this way, we move towards increased acceptance of what's present and true for you, unlocking stuck energy along the way. Often, new possibilities then emerge spontaneously.

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and the earth

Who I support

If you’re walking a path around death, grief, illness, burn-out, drop-out, you're very welcome here.Specifically, I provide support for:
- Youth (18+) in finding their own path
- Adults of all ages who are in the midst of stuckness or change
- Men of all ages who feel lost, restless, or disillusioned
- Folks & families anticipating death, including Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)For my clients, the call for change often shows up as:

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Addiction

  • Anger

  • Relationship difficulties

  • Sexuality issues

  • Loneliness

  • Codependence

  • Grief

  • Ecological grief

  • Chronic illness

  • Medical trauma

  • PTSD or C-PTSD

  • Early childhood trauma

  • Family conflict

  • Emotional disturbances

  • Spiritual crisis

  • Self-harm

  • Low self-esteem

My practice aims to be warm, human-scaled, trauma-informed. I include my worldview in my work, which places humans within the web of our ecological, ancestral and spiritual relationships.My lens includes my lived experience as a descendant of colonized French and Irish migrants. I belong to a linguistic and cultural minority here in Ontario and was an ESL student. I am LGBTQ2S+ allied and sex positive. While I have lived in large cities, I come from a deep rural context and was raised as much by the land as by my family. As a white person on Anishinaabe territory, I have life-long experience with and alongside Indigenous communities and have taken steps to educate myself in the language, in cultural safety, and systemic racism. I continue to seek learning opportunities.I work and live with deep gratitude on the traditional and current lands of the Anishinaabeg, between the dramatic, enchanted Michigiwadinong and the deep and clear Gchigami.

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and the sun

About me

My name is Mariana Lafrance, I'm a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying), Gestalt practitioner, group facilitator, interdisciplinary artist and wildcrafter on Mnidoo Mnis / Manitoulin Island.I come to psychotherapy with five years of training in embodied relational psychotherapy at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto. A large part of my training included participation in individual therapy and group process. I've been seeing clients since early 2024.I have over a decade of practice in somatics, group process facilitation, teaching, community life, intuitive practice, embodied creativity and movement, in addition to thousands of solo hours spent on the land, observing and relating with the other-than-human world. My influences include ecopsychology, animism, Core Energetics, Somatic Experiencing, shamanic practice, depth psychology, Bill Plotkin, contact improvisation, Pochinko clown, mask work, 5 Rhythms, Stephen Jenkinson, Kung Fu, and more.I trained in life coaching at the Co-Active Training Institute, an approach that is embodied, playful, and inspiring.

My background includes a B.A. Highest Honours in Cognitive Science with a specialization in Psychology, and a Masters degree focused on science communication and adult learning.I have corporate experience as a facilitator, trainer, and coach.And finally, I'm a qualifying member of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario #21294 and a member of the Ontario Society of Registered Psychotherapists #71475910.

Formal training

  • Indigenous Land-Based Counselling, Gwekwaadziwin Miikan, in progress

  • Gestalt Institute of Toronto, 5-year psychotherapist training diploma, 2025

  • One-Year Initiation to Shamanic practice, The medicine Circle, 2025

  • Co-Active Training Institute, coaching (fundamentals, Fulfillment, balance), 60 hrs, 2022

  • Living with the Land, 10-day experiential course in Anishinaabe land-based practices and spirituality, Laurentian University, with Elder Josh Eshkawgogan, Wiky, 2013.

  • M.M.St., Science communication and adult learning, University of Toronto, 2006

  • B.A. Highest Honours, Cognitive Science with specialization in Psychology, Carleton University, 2004

and the woods

Work with me

Psychotherapy
I offer online 1:1 services to Ontario residents over 18. I also offer in-person services on Manitoulin Island and Sudbury (starting in 2026 -- please inquire), either in-office or outdoors on the trails.I also offer group therapy for small groups (adults only), please inquire.À noter : J'offre aussi les services en français.Fees
$150 for a 60-minute session for individuals*
$250 starting rate for 90-minute group therapy session*Sliding scale slots ($80 - $120) are available if you need it, just ask.Insurance
Sessions are typically eligible for full or partial coverage by many insurance plans. Please check your coverage for "Registered Psychotherapy".NIHB coverage is available to those who qualify.Please note that I do not use AI-powered note-taking apps in my practice.

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and the water

Want to test the waters?

Let's connect and make sure we're a good fit.
Schedule your free call this week.

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Subscribe below to receive monthly to quarterly updates on my offerings and reflections on the intersections of wellness, nature and community.

and the night

Book a free consultation

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, call 988 for immediate assistance. Or, call 911 for all emergencies. This mailbox is not monitored 24/7.Fill out the form below to book a free, confidential 20-minute consultation where we can explore how I can serve you.Your confidentiality is of utmost importance and will be honoured from the moment you first reach out. While I ask for your phone number, I will reply only by email unless you ask otherwise.My response time is typically 48 hours.

Alternately, you can contact me directly at:
mlafrance (a) gestaltmail.ca
705-500-1289

© Mariana Lafrance. All rights reserved. Photography by Ali Kazal, Allen, Andy Sanchez, Casey Horner, Cynthia Magana, Heberti Almeida, Heidi Fin, Johny Goerend, Ksenia Makagonova, Pete Nuij, Carl Schlabach, Alexas_Fotos, Pierre Lemos, Ronald Gijezen, and T MG.

THANKS

I have received your message and will contact you within 48 hours.

Groups

In addition to individual therapy, I also offer therapy in group settings.Group work, whether with an existing group or with a group of individuals gathered just for this purpose, is a rewarding, stimulating, and sometimes intensive way to do therapy. With others present you have access to forms of support unavailable in individual therapy.Note: There are no groups running currently.

1. At the mouth of the river

Dates & location to be announced.This nature / process group will be a place to come together and connect deeply with others in these times of turbulent change, with the natural world as a backdrop, container, and active participant.Click here to be taken to the group website.

2. Private groups

I'm available to facilitate group processes for business, education, and communities. Please contact me for details.