Natalie McMullen

Life gets hard. So many responsibilities, it's hard to put ourselves first and we can stumble. We can feel isolated, overwhelmed, a sense of dread and anxiety with each passing day. This can lead to depressive feelings, loss of self confidence, addictions, self harm, and even suicidal thoughts. You're not alone if you're feeling this way. It can be especially hard to understand what is happening inside, if we had challenges in our past. I use an integrative person-centred approach so that together, we can work together to untangle the past, connect fully with yourself today, and build tools for the brighter future that you are hoping for. There may be many goals on your journey to well-being. In collaborating together, you will have a safe place to name your feelings for what they are: yours. I offer a trauma-informed, anti-oppressive lens to understanding, processing, and healing the roots of negative thoughts, feelings and experiences that may have been holding you back. Stepping into healing is an amazing act of courage. Working together, we can explore what is most meaningful for you today, as we navigate your journey towards mental health and well-being.

Do you ever feel like you don’t quite belong—like you’re putting on a mask just to make it through the day? Maybe life feels heavier than it should, or quietly exhausting. I work with people who are navigating anxiety, procrastination, imposter syndrome, and a lingering sense of disconnection. Together, we’ll gently explore what may be keeping you stuck and begin creating a life that feels more authentic and more your own. With a PhD in chemistry and a background outside of mental health, I understand the pressures of high performance, the weight of expectations, and the loneliness that can come with feeling different. I work relationally, offering a calm, curious space where you can begin to reconnect with yourself. I offer a free 30-minute consultation so you can get a sense of how I work and ask any questions. You don’t need to have it all figured out — just a willingness to take one step. If something in this profile resonates with you, I invite you to reach out and begin the conversation.

I am a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) under clinical supervision and an MA Counselling Psychology student. With over 5 years of experience supporting individuals on the spectrum, I bring both training and lived clinical practice to my work. I offer a warm space for growth and learning. As a first generation Canadian, I understand the work it takes to seek help. It can be stressful to take the steps to talk to someone about the difficulties going on around us, fearful of judgement or stereotypes. That's why I strive to make the environment as safe and inclusive as possible, let's joke about a meme and sip coffee, the session is your time to feel free and express your true authentic self. In our work together, I focus on creating a collaborative and compassionate environment where you can explore your thoughts, emotions, and experiences at your own pace. My approach is grounded in empathy and curiosity, while also offering practical tools and strategies to help you move forward in tangible ways. I enjoy using interventions such as CBT, which allows us to understand the roots of problems and how it affects our emotions and behaviours. Though I am not limited to just CBT, I implement different theories to best fit your needs, making the process smooth and comfortable. Starting therapy can feel a bit intimidating, you might not know what to say or where to start. That’s okay. You can show up exactly as you are. If you’re ready to explore things and feel more like yourself again, when you’re ready, reaching out can be the first step forward.

In my journey as, first, a therapy client, and then a psychotherapist, one of the most striking things I've learned has been that we tend to hold deep knowledge about what we actually want, need, and feel. That the signals our bodies and brains deliver to us aren't random. The anger that we might try to push down can actually tell us where a boundary of ours - one we might not have even recognized for ourselves yet - is being crossed. The tiredness or pain in our bodies might be telling us to slow down, to pay attention to an important part of ourselves, an important feeling, that we've tried to ignore out of fear. When we have a hard time getting moving on a project, it isn't a character flaw - it's giving us important information about a need we have, perhaps around relaxing our own expectations for ourselves, or getting more clarity around what we're trying to do. It makes sense that we don't always listen to these inner signals of ours, for so many reasons. In today's world, many of us are busy just trying to survive, and might feel like turning inward is unhelpful or a waste of time. We might fear that we'll discover a part of ourselves that's asking for a change that we don't yet feel ready to implement in our lives. We might have learned throughout our lives that our feelings are too big or threatening to handle, so ignoring them becomes the default. I believe, however, that if we're able to receive support in slowing down and listening to that inner voice, we can start to truly move toward an easier, more aligned, more fulfilling life, with more fulfilling connections - with others and with ourselves. I love to support folks moving through this type of work. I often work with clients who might be feeling stuck, unhappy, isolated, or overwhelmed. I also see many clients who are neurodiverse, and hold lived experience with AuDHD myself. I love working with creative people, people who have self-identified as "people pleasers," anyone experiencing relationship difficulties or life transitions - whatever it is you're going through currently, and whoever you are, I'd love to chat about it! I am a graduate of the Toronto Institute of Relational Psychotherapy and am trained as a relational therapist, which means that I think about the rules we learn implicitly in our lives about relationships - who were we taught that we need to be in order to stay in connection with others? These often-invisible-to-us rules deeply impact how we relate to those around us, but also how we relate to ourselves, and to what degree we're able to listen to that aforementioned inner voice. If we learned our needs were too big and the people around us needed them to be smaller - we'll ignore anything inside of us that's trying to alert us to a need we have. If we learned we had to constantly fight for ourselves, we might have a harder time listening to an inner voice of ours that's asking for some softness. I would love to support you in letting all of the complex pieces of yourself have space to share and room to shine. If my profile resonates with you, please don't hesitate to reach out - I would love to hear from you, and to have the chance to chat about how we can work together! :)