Christine Heinola, MHA

Hi, I’m Christine. My love for people, along with my conviction that therapy has the power to transform lives, is what attracted me to my role here at Counselling & Co. However, without a doubt, it is the wonderful opportunity to connect with and hear about the successes of our clients, as well as working with an outstanding team of therapists (and humans) that keeps me here.

Client Care

My favourite part of the day is connecting with you, our clients. You are why we are here! My approach will always be to understand your counselling goals and connect you with the best possible fit on our team, a client-therapist Matchmaker if you will! Don’t be surprised to receive a response from me in the early hours of the morning (my favourite and peaceful part of the day) or late on the weekend (sometimes I can be a workaholic night owl too). It is important to me to connect with you and to help you coordinate appointments and communicate with our team, hopefully making this journey into and through counselling as smooth and seamless as possible.

Operations

As Director of Operations, my role, in a nutshell, is to make sure that all things behind the scenes are running smoothly. I am passionate about program development and evaluation. For the past two years, I have led the development of an onboarding program for student interns, which encompasses the entire internship process, from initial inquiries to getting organized, trained, and all things in between, up to the point where the intern is transitioned into an associate therapist. The program I am referring to is very close to my heart, and I could talk at length about it for hours. If you are interested in discussing whether an intern program is right for you or would like someone to review your current program and make recommendations, I am your woman!

In collaboration with Jodi, we offer a variety of comprehensive consulting opportunities that value and highlight both the clinical and operational sides of the business. Whether you have specific questions related to your individual or group practice or are looking for an in-depth review of your policies and procedures or practice as a whole, we would be honoured to work with you and are excited to offer a variety of consulting options.

Why Work with Me?

I hold a Master of Health Administration (MHA) from the University of British Columbia.

I have over 20 plus years of experience in the healthcare field in various operational capacities ranging from Quality & Patient Safety, Scorecard Analysis & Identification of Key Performance Indicators, Review of Polices & Procedures, Program Creation & Implementation, Cost Analysis, etc.

Experience working in the public, not-for-profit and private sectors.

Professional Background

My passion for the healthcare industry started in high school when I worked at The Richard Ivey Foundation and learned about all the amazing programs and initiatives they funded. My first role in Quality and Patient Safety was when I joined the team at Clinidata, the provider of Telehealth Ontario in its early years. The exposure to medical guidelines, policies, and procedures is what ignited my passion for pursuing a career in healthcare operations. I completed a Master of Health Administration, commuting to the University of British Columbia monthly for two years while working with an amazing team at Sunnybrook Health Sciences in the Quality and Patient Safety Department. After completing the MHA, I joined a team of exceptional women as the Leader of Patient Care Projects at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (UHN).

Things I Bet You Didn’t Know About Me

• I have three daughters who are all involved in competitive sports.

• I am OBSESSED with dogs and currently have two rescues who are very nosey and will often join my virtual meetings.

• I have a passion for connecting with people and have been drawn to the idea of pursuing a career as a therapist myself in the future.