Jessica Sandhu, MSc

Hi, I’m Jessica! I graduated with my Masters in Couple and Family Therapy in 2015 and have been practicing psychotherapy since. I have extensive experience working with children, teens and families through my past work in Children’s Mental Health agencies in Toronto and Milton. I am Counselling & Co.’s resident family therapist, and also provide supervision and consultation to other clinicians.

Therapy is one of the most empowering and life changing spaces. Its a container to express vulnerability and connect into the ways you wish to live your life. I was first drawn to becoming a therapist when I realized the difference it can make within my own life and the lives of others.

I am a firm believer that family therapy can create ripple effects of change. Together we can work through past intergenerational trauma, issues in communication, cultural and societal influence on our family structure, and to provide kids the skills they need to succeed in the future. I have been doing some of this work myself, as I navigate parenting in my own growing family. It's a freeing experience to explore one's family of origin and to recognize that we get to decide what we take with us into our parenting style and what we get to leave behind.

Coming from experiences of marginalization myself, I am also very passionate in having the difficult but much needed conversations around how privilege, marginalization, oppression and power dynamics influence our lives and our relationships. We do not live in a vacuum and so it would be naïve to assume that these factors don’t influence Your day to day life. My clinical practice is rooted in an anti-oppressive and anti-racist framework that is culturally responsive, so we can examine these delicate parts of your life more closely.

Why Work With Me

Given that we all are attachment-focused beings, I believe that we all possesses the universal need to feel love and connection with those closest to us. It is for this reason that I chose to do a Masters in relational therapy and make it my goal to work with couples and families to improve their communication and connection with one another.

Reaching out for help can seem very daunting and scary at first, which is completely understandable, but I also know that the therapeutic outcomes can be dramatically different with some hard work and a well trained clinician. Here is how I can help:

• Repair and deepen attachment relationships

• Set boundaries and understand appropriate discipline

• Find emotional balance in the face of challenging situations

• Learn how to use connection (not separation) to bring children into alignment

• Explore and understand counterwill and automatic resistance in children

• Reauthor your narrative about who you are and what you have experienced

• Nurture your child's development

• Disarm conflict

• Explore adult-child & parent relationships

• Navigate life transitions with more awareness and ease

Professional Background

I am a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario and a member of the Canadian Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. I completed my MSc in Couple and Family Therapy at the University of Guelph. I also have a Specialized Honours BSc in Psychology from York University.

My training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, Gottman Couples Therapy, and Sex Therapy has been vital in helping couples work on strengthening their relationship and moving closer to the kind of connection they want.