What are the opening hours?

Monday 9:30am - 9pm Tuesday 9:30am - 8pm Wednesday 9:30am - 9pm Thursday 9:30am - 9pm Friday 9:30am - 12:30pm Saturday 9:30am - 4pm

Calming Tree Counselling

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Kitchener, ON
Calming Tree Counselling

Calming Tree Counselling is an inclusive and experienced counselling practice in Doon South, Kitchener, Ontario.

Calming Tree Counselling is an experienced social work practice where everyone; regardless of race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or age, will be met with warmth, empathy and confidentiality. Counsellors employ a personalized, holistic and client-centred approach that ensures clients feel safe, respected and understood.

12/15/2025

The holidays can bring pressure to keep the peace, especially when messages like the recent Mel Robbins’ op-ed say “life is too short to fight with your family”.

Sounds comforting, but it leaves out the truth: estrangement doesn’t happen over night.

Family is our first attachment, and it’s natural to try again and again to make things work. When distance happens, it’s because the relationship has been deeply harmful over a period of time.

Estrangement goes against biology. Our primitive response is to desire the intact family unit until that desire is outweighed by pain, danger, and trauma.

So, the message that “life is too short to fight with your family” is dismissive and can unintentionally support the person who caused the harm.

The person who names the pattern is often labeled the black sheep, even though they are usually the one showing courage and self-protection.

Boundaries are about you, not them.

And, you are allowed to create space in whatever way you choose. You can choose to be civil at a holiday dinner while still knowing someone is not safe for you, or you can choose to walk away. Your behaviour does not erase your experience.

And, if you are the one “trying to keep the peace”, be cautious with simple advice. Trust that everyone is making a decision that feels right and safe for them.

12/12/2025

Sometimes the holidays call for some emergency therapy!

We have therapists available over the holidays, so check out our website if you’d like to book a session!

12/10/2025

Grief can be unpredictable on any day, including the holidays.

You’re expected to show up, contribute, and be on. But that’s not fair or realistic. Here’s our expert tip:

🥖Offer to bring the buns🥖

Hear us out! If you need to bow out at the last minute, dinner can still go on without the buns.

It lets you participate without overcommitting. It gives you room to step back if the day becomes too much. It protects your energy while still honouring the people you care about.

Grief often sits inside expectation. The moments where we imagined the day would feel different. The places where loss shows up quietly and loudly at the same time.

♡ Give yourself time, space and grace.
♡ Look for allies who can acknowledge the hard parts.
♡ Take breaks when you need them.
♡ Do what you can this year, and let that be enough.

Let this holiday season meet you where you are.

12/05/2025

Hey! Melissa here!

I’ve been doing this work a long time and this is the crossroads: when “take care of yourself” turns into “handle everything alone.”

Self-validation becomes self-isolation. And suddenly people are trying to process every feeling, every trigger, every wound internally, and then show up in relationships as if they aren’t doing it in emotional solitude.

That’s not how humans work.
Yes, you’re responsible for your feelings. No, you’re not meant to carry them without support.

We were designed for co-regulation, connection, shared care, and community, not emotional hyper-independence.

When we push individualism too far, we don’t become healthier. We become more disconnected, more overwhelmed, and more uncertain of how to return to each other.

You can take care of yourself and still lean on others.

You can have boundaries and still care deeply.

You can be autonomous and still allow people to support you.

If you feel like you’ve been on an island and would really love some connected support, reach out!

Take Good Care,

Melissa

12/03/2025

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation (sometimes conscious, and sometimes not) where someone causes you to doubt your own memories, feelings, or perception of reality.

If you’ve experienced this, you’re not “overreacting.”

Gaslighting is real, and naming it does not make you “dramatic”.

It slowly erodes the trust you have in yourself: your memory, your feelings, and your instincts.

If you’ve ever felt confused, doubted yourself, or wondered “Am I the problem?” after trying to express your truth, you’re not crazy, but you were being pushed away from your own knowing.

Healing means reconnecting with your inner voice, rebuilding trust in your perception, and learning that your feelings are valid. Remind yourself that your reality matters and so do your instincts.

You are deserving of relationships where your perspective is heard and not dismissed.

12/01/2025

Stephanie has spent years supporting individuals and families in community health, with a special passion for helping women navigate the postpartum period (a time when identity shifts, body changes, exhaustion, and new family dynamics can deeply impact mental health).

If you’re looking for a therapist that will help you build new skills, develop self-awareness, and strengthen your resilience in ways that feel personalized, compassionate, and deeply human, Stephanie might be the right support for you.

And outside the therapy room, Stephanie is all about connection there, too.

You’ll find her hiking local trails with her partner and friends, hunting for new coffee shops, curled up reading, perfecting her chocolate chip cookie recipe, or getting creative with different art mediums.

For a therapist who blends warmth, insight, curiosity, and care, book a consult with Stephanie!

We’re grateful to have her at Calming Tree!

11/28/2025

Self-worth begins the moment you decide you’re allowed to take up space.

When you’re ready, we’re here to help you make that decision!

11/26/2025

Therapy is political and it always has been.

→It is political to challenge systems that keep people small.
→It is political to advocate for rest in a world that rewards burnout.
→It is political to speak up about racism, sexism, and oppression.
→It is political to support survivors of abuse and people in toxic environments.
→It is political to hold space for grief, identity, and belonging in a society that tells people to move on.

For many marginalized and oppressed groups, therapy is activism. That doesn’t make therapy “woke” or one-sided; it makes therapy human.

Therapy, and the people who provide it, have a responsibility to come from an anti-oppressive, uncolonizing, and anti-racist lens that questions the systems, institutions, and power that keep people oppressed.

Acknowledging that is not about bringing politics into the room; it’s about recognizing that politics has always been in the room.

You don’t have to hold a specific worldview to benefit from therapy; you just have to be a human having a human experience!

11/24/2025

Michelle is a therapist with her MSW with more than a decade of experience who genuinely loves the work she’s in.

Whether you’re seeking one-on-one support, navigating relationship or family stress, or simply looking for a compassionate space to share your story, Michelle walks alongside you with kindness, practical tools, and acceptance.

Michelle lived in Australia for 6 years, and now enjoys wandering the beach with her toddler, discovering hidden gardens, and enjoying slow coffee shop mornings with a book in hand.

You don’t need to arrive with all the answers. You just need one brave step. Michelle will meet you there.

If you’d like to book an appointment with Michelle, you can book online via the link in our bio, or contact our office by calling 519-208-2256, or by emailing info@calmingtree.ca.

11/21/2025

In terms of privilege, many of us have ease in some areas and barriers in others; a mix of smooth and bumpy rides.

When the ride is bumpy in places like gender, race, income, or language, it’s natural to look for moments of power. Not power over others, but power that restores dignity, voice, and safety.

Sometimes that looks big, like advocacy. Sometimes it’s small, like standing up to a microaggression or finally choosing what you want.

Not everyone has access to every form of power, but everyone deserves moments where they feel agency, self-trust, and grounding.

Awareness isn’t about guilt. It’s about understanding where you need support, where life has asked more of you, and where you can safely reclaim your sense of power.

Address

10 Pioneer Drive, Unit 109
Kitchener, ON
N2P2A4

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 9pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 8pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 9pm
Thursday	9:30am - 9pm
Friday	9:30am - 12:30pm
Saturday	9:30am - 4pm

Telephone

+15192082256

Website

https://calmingtreecounselling.ca/

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