Jae Steele, MACP, BHSc, RP(Q), RHN
I am Jae (they/them), a compassionate and curious psychotherapist with almost 20 years of working with people in various healthcare spheres.
I am particularly suited to welcoming clients looking for support related to:
ADHD/neurodivergence (including identity, management, masking, and burnout)
addiction
anxiety
borderline personality disorder (BPD)
grief and loss
high sensitivity (HSP) and rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD)
intergenerational trauma and family systems/constellations
LGBTQ+ identity (sexuality, gender, relationships, creative expression and more!)
life transitions (school, work, moving, illness, you name it)
parenting (from pregnancy, to sole or co-parenting, to relationships with adult children, and everything in between)
premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) or premenstrual exacerbation (PME)
relationships (dating, partnership, ethical nonmonogamy/polyamory, separation)
supporting a loved one through their mental health struggles
I delight in working collaboratively with clients in holistic and trauma-informed ways, incorporating humour and mindfulness. I endeavour to be humble, with a decolonized, intersectional and otherwise anti-oppressive stance. I appreciate individual identity and collectivism. I celebrate diverse gender expression and ways of building families. I value harm reduction and various recovery pathways. I want to help improve how we give and receive care in communities, rather than in isolation.
And what did you do before you were a therapist?
My path has been far from linear. I worked and studied in the perinatal field for a decade before pursuing my Master’s degree, studying infant and early childhood mental health while working as a postpartum doula and early parenting conference organizer. Before that, I was a midwifery student, which afforded me the privilege of working intimately with hundreds of families and attending almost 200 births. Prior to all that, I wrote cookbooks, and worked as a holistic nutritionist.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I love cooking with and for people. I deeply appreciate walking through natural areas with my kid and my dog and getting a change of air and scenery from our busy west-end Toronto neighbourhood. I enjoy a good TV series binge but love reading, too - mostly memoirs and fiction. I’m also a quilter and a knitter. I have a habit of collecting and propagating far too many houseplants, so I occasionally sell them at my local farmers’ market to raise money for various Indigenous-led organizations.
My Formal Education
Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP), Yorkville University, 2024
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Graduate Certificate, Seneca College, 2018
Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) in Midwifery, Toronto Metropolitan University, 2015
Holistic Nutritionist Certificate (RHN), Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, 2006
Additional Relevant Training
Introduction to ADHD for Health Care Professionals, CADDRA, 2024
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), LivingWorks, 2023
Counselling Skills, Bonnie Miller/SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health, 2018
Hand-in-Hand Developmental Support Training, SickKids IMH Promotion, 2018
Unconditional Parenting, Alfie Kohn/Oakville Parent-Child Centre, 2018
Relationship & Resilience, Gordon Neufeld/BOOST Child & Youth Advocacy Centre, 2016
Various trainings with certified Nonviolent Communication instructors, 2009-2011
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Lucinda Sykes, 2008
Vipassana Meditation 10-day intensive, S.N. Goenka , 2005