I knew I wanted to pursue a career in a helping profession from a young age, and chose Psychology in my 20s. However, my journey to becoming an entrepreneur and founding my own practice was more of a surprise that emerged over time.
I started my career as a Psychologist, like most, working for an agency. While I enjoyed this work, it was not sustainable for me. Through personal experiences of burnout, loss, chronic illness, and trauma, I learned that I could not keep up with the workload of agency work while also maintaining my health and serving my clients in an effective and fulfilling way. I founded Monarch Psychology so that I could work in a sustainable and rewarding way, and had a vision of providing the same opportunity for other therapists. My goal is for our clients to receive effective treatment and for our therapists to have a rewarding career that allows work-life balance.
The Monarch butterfly seemed an apt symbol after which to name my company. Across many cultures, the butterfly is a symbol of growth and transformation. Like the caterpillar that goes through the long and difficult process of metamorphosis to become the beautiful butterfly, I believe that we often find our best selves through the difficulties that we face. Growth and change is not easy and is often not quick, but the butterfly reminds us that the process is worth it.
From a personal perspective, butterflies are symbolically connected to the memory of my mom, whom I lost in 2014 to a chronic illness. My mom was a very compassionate person and the drive that I have to be of service to others is something that I believe I learned from her. Naming my business after a butterfly is, in a way, a dedication to my mom.
We create space to understand people and their stories by looking beyond symptoms and diagnoses.
Everybody will feel seen and heard and nobody will feel alone on their mental health journey.
People first: Our people are our top priority. This includes the people we serve, as well as our clinicians. We want everyone that enters our office to feel safe and supported.
Destigmatize mental health: We believe there is no shame in struggle and that it is a necessary and inevitable part of life.
Integrity: We believe it is our responsibility to know and do what is right.
We dig deeper: We treat people, not symptoms. We focus on finding and healing the cause of your symptoms, rather than focusing only on downstream symptoms, to support long-term change.
Everybody is welcome here: We work with people of all religions, races, ethnicities, abilities, gender, and sexual identities and aim to be allies to marginalized communities.
We believe that many mental health disorders and diagnoses are reactions to underlying issues such as trauma, grief, or systematic oppression, rather than innate. While some mental health disorders are biological in nature and innate, for many people, symptoms develop as coping strategies in response to difficulty. If we address the underlying issue, we can address the need for those coping mechanisms.
Building on this guiding belief, we dig deeper with our clients. Many forms of therapy only address symptoms. This may be a good fit for some, but many people need to go beyond symptoms to heal and to lead a full, satisfying life. Our hope for those we serve is to not only experience symptoms reduction but to live a life that is meaningful to them.
We also recognize that the field of Psychology has a history of colonialism and has done harm to many. Psychology as a science was founded by educated, white, straight, western men and does not represent the worldview of many, particularly those from marginalized groups. While we have been trained in traditional forms of Psychology, we aim to change this paradigm through creating space for and lifting marginalized voices, recognizing that individuals exist within systems, and acknowledging multiple forms of knowledge.
Our warm, compassionate therapists offer a safe and supportive space for you to feel seen and heard and to explore your challenges without shame. We will create a roadmap to help you on your journey of creating a more satisfying and fulfilling life. We utilize evidence-based methods that have been shown to successfully facilitate healing and growth. We have used these methods ourselves and have experienced the healing they offer, and we feel honoured to share them with you.